Motorola Drives Volvo's Four-C1 Technology (Continuously Controlled Chassis Concept)1

HANNOVER, Germany, March 14, 2003; CeBIT -- Motorola, Inc. , a global leader in the worldwide communications and electronics marketplace, and Volvo have joined forces to provide an advanced chassis controller for the new Volvo S60 R and V70 R models. Running on Motorola's technology, the car's electronic controller communicates with the actuators and sensors within the vehicle chassis system, enabling the driver to define the ride, handling and comfort of the vehicle. Three buttons in the center of the dashboard enable the driver to change chassis settings at a flick of a switch to Comfort, Sport or Advanced Sport.

The 'brain' of Volvo's Four-C System is the high performance control unit, which has been developed and manufactured by Motorola. Its 40MHz micro- controller continuously samples road speed information, position information for each single wheel, and horizontal and lateral acceleration of the vehicle relative to the road. Consequently, each damper is updated every two milliseconds. Due to the very fast system response time, the dampers are adjusted immediately to all road and driving conditions without any noticeable delay for the driver. This allows the driver to obtain the maximum ride, handling and comfort experience.

Motorola has developed this electronics platform to drive maximum scalable benefits from a rapidly expanding advanced technology market. Motorola believes that many car manufacturers will launch advanced chassis systems in the near future, and has positioned itself at the forefront of this technology to offer advanced electronics solutions to its automotive customers.

Bob Weber, Motorola corporate vice president and general manager, said, "With this latest development, Motorola and Volvo are at the forefront of advanced chassis engineering -- delivering increased drivability and safety for the driver and in-vehicle passengers in a variety of road conditions."

1 Volvo introduced this concept on its Performance Concept Car, based on the S60 sedan, at the Paris auto show in 2000. Four-C was developed jointly by Ohlins Racings, a developer of high-tech shock absorber systems, and Monroe, the shock absorber manufacturer. Sensors are provided by AB Elektronic and VTI. Four-C means the car can literally 'foresee' what is going to happen to the car and compensate for it.