Visteon Demonstrates Safety Solutions Through Smart Radar 'Cocoon'

    FRANKFURT, Germany, Sept. 12 Visteon Corporation's
advanced safety solutions will improve driver visibility and
provide additional reaction time to help drivers avoid collisions.
    
    Visteon's advanced, systems-integration approach brings several radar
technologies together to give vehicles a Smart Radar "Cocoon."  This "cocoon"
is a 360-degree awareness area surrounding the exterior of the vehicle that
features programmable sense zones.

    "Safety is a priority of our OEM customers and the consumer.  And we are
committed to developing systems that help our OEM customers provide better,
safer vehicles for consumers," said Huw Davies, Visteon's European based
Customer Business Group Platform Director.  "This technology-driven system is
an example of that commitment and Visteon's systems-integration expertise."

    Considering 67 percent of all accidents occur in daylight, with 5 percent
at dusk and 28 percent at night (Verband der Automobilindustrie, E.V.,),
collision avoidance and enabling technologies, such as Visteon's Smart Radar
"Cocoon," can help drivers avoid such collisions.  The system monitors the
entire vehicle's surroundings, sensing and alerting drivers to other nearby
vehicles or objects.  And unlike many radar systems today that only track
moving objects, Visteon's system provides stopped object detection.
 
   The technologies that make up Visteon's Smart Radar "Cocoon" include:

    -- Visteon's Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), the first of its "cocoon"
technologies, is a cornerstone technology of the company's collision avoidance
systems.  Using long-range, forward-looking radar and vehicle dynamics data,
ACC can sense traffic and determine which targets are in the vehicle's
predicted lane of travel.

    Features of Visteon's ACC system include the ability to set predetermined
speeds and the ability to maintain a pre-set gap between the driver's vehicle
and the vehicle in front -- a convenience feature that can reduce driver
workload.  ACC automatically reduces the speed of a vehicle when it detects
slower moving traffic or stopped objects.  When slower traffic clears, the
vehicle automatically returns to its pre-set speed.  Using fixed-beam radar,
Visteon's ACC system works under varying traffic and weather conditions, and
is effective even when there is poor visibility.

    -- While the ACC system determines objects in the vehicle's predicted lane
of travel, Visteon's Near Object Warning System, another "cocoon" technology,
uses near-range, configurable radar sense zones to detect and warn drivers if
another vehicle or obstacle enters the detection zone.  The system helps
improve driver safety, awareness and confidence, by providing a real-time,
360-degree continuous assessment of the driving environment, including traffic
conditions and imminent hazards.

    -- An "electronic bumper" complements the Near Object Warning System by
using electronic throttle and braking to maintain a predetermined distance
from vehicles in the front and rear.

    -- Radar-based sensors provide an "advanced back-up aid" with an expanded
field-of-view to detect and alert drivers to objects behind the vehicle while
backing-up or parking.  This expanded field-of-view, combined with the
predicted vehicle trajectory (determined via steering wheel angle input)
alerts drivers to objects within its predicted path.

    -- Visteon's "side object warning system" also uses short-range radar
sensors, located in key areas of the vehicle's exterior, to detect and warn
drivers of objects within the detection zone on the side of the vehicle, in an
adjacent lane.

    -- Visteon's "lane change aid" uses short-range radar to warn the driver
if another vehicle or object is in the way during turns and lane changes.

    The smart radar "cocoon" works well with Visteon's other enabling
technologies to further improve driver visibility and provide additional
reaction time to help drivers avoid collisions.

    For example, Visteon's Advanced Front Lighting Systems modifies headlight
output by optimizing the beam pattern control for different driving
conditions.  Various vehicle sensors detect changes in speed, direction,
weather and other manufacturer-specified driving conditions and then send
signals to automatically adjust the headlight beam pattern, making it wider,
narrower, or longer for improved visibility.  The benefits of Visteon's
Advanced Front Lighting Systems include improved nighttime and poor weather
visibility and the ability to recognize obstacles up-front, giving the driver
more time to respond.

    Visteon's systems approach to integrating these technologies allows for
consolidating sensor information and prioritizes threats, helping to manage
driver workload.  This systems integration approach allows Visteon to further
leverage its safety technology base to develop products that provide OEM value
and fulfill drivers' needs.

    Visteon's smart radar "cocoon" system will bring key enabling
technologies, including ACC with stopped object detection and 360-degree Near
Object Detection System, to several vehicle manufacturers for the 2004
calendar year.