Johnson Controls Automotive Seating announced it is proud to be the seating sponsor of the first-place award-winning EcoCAR 3 team. Johnson Controls’ team in Plymouth, Michigan, supplied the custom seats for The Ohio State University’s winning lightweight vehicle in the national competition.
As the vehicle’s seating sponsor, Johnson Controls’ engineers conceptualized, designed and built eco-friendly seats that showcase the company’s innovative and sustainable products.
EcoCAR 3 is the latest Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition (AVTC) series sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and General Motors. EcoCAR 3 challenges 16 North American university teams to redesign a 2016 Chevrolet Camaro to further reduce its environmental impact, while maintaining the performance expected from this iconic American car. Teams have four years (2014-2018) to harness those ideas into the ultimate energy-efficient, high performance vehicle.
The Ohio State team, which includes 35 undergraduate and graduate students, ranked first place overall in the competition. The team won first place in 11 events, and placed in the top five in 30 out of 36 events. They also won the second place award for project management and the third place award for communications and were the first team to be approved to drive their car at competition.
“Johnson Controls is proud to be the seating sponsor for this outstanding program and to provide the team with innovative, eco-friendly seats,” said Byron Foster, executive vice president of Johnson Controls Automotive Seating. “We congratulate the team and remain committed to supporting the next generation of vehicle designers.”
Features of the Johnson Controls seats, designed specifically for Ohio State’s EcoCAR, include recyclable polyester fabric, eco-thread stitching, eco-adhesive lamination, lightweight, soy-based foam and bio-plastic side and back panels.
