RDA Group to Discuss Vehicle Owners' Unmet Safety Needs at WARD'S Auto Interiors Show June 4

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich., May 29, 2008 -- To help make vehicle manufacturers and automotive suppliers aware of the top unmet safety needs of today's vehicle owners, RDA Group -- a global market research and consulting firm -- will participate in a panel discussion titled "Improving the Safety Cocoon" at this year's WARD'S Auto Interiors Show held at Cobo Center in Detroit.

In a presentation titled "Understanding Unmet Safety Needs Identified by Today's New Vehicle Owners," Jim Thomas, senior vice president of RDA Group, will discuss key findings from the companies Auto-Ideation(TM) III study -- which asked vehicle owners to rank the importance of more than 500 unmet needs. The panel discussion will take place on Wednesday, June 4 at 8:30 a.m. in room D2 09-10.

"Many of the needs expressed by vehicle owners in all vehicle segments relate to the challenges of driving safely on today's busy streets and highways, such as warning of impending collisions, keeping child passengers securely fastened and helping to eliminate blind spots," Thomas said. "We hope our findings will help automakers and suppliers address these concerns when developing new safety technologies."

Some of the interior safety concerns Thomas will highlight in his presentation, include:

  -- Alerting drivers of unfastened passengers;
  -- Preventing collisions and changing lanes safely;
  -- Preventing intoxicated drivers from starting and operating vehicles;
  -- Notifying drivers of nearby emergency vehicles;
  -- Preventing occupants from being trapped inside their vehicle;
  -- Eliminating glare and blocking bright sunlight;
  -- Keeping other drivers under observation with remote monitoring; and
  -- Monitoring driver health and automatically alerting emergency personnel
     if needed.

The Auto-Ideation III study -- which will be the basis for Thomas's presentation -- provides automotive manufacturers and their suppliers the insight needed to prioritize their own new product development resources for greater product success. Almost 8,200 new vehicle owners ranked the importance of unmet needs in areas such as safety, performance, visibility, comfort, convenience, security, storage, telecommunications and service / maintenance. To purchase a copy of the study, interested parties can call (248) 332-5000.

Established in 1969 and headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., RDA Group is a global market research and consulting firm that conducts advanced product research, customer satisfaction and quality tracking studies for the automotive, financial services, health care, utilities and temporary staffing industries.