Fuel economy keys PACE award winners

Seven of the 14 winners of the competition, which recognizes game-changing new products and processes, were honored for efforts that will help their customers meet tougher mileage and emissions rules.

The awards were handed out this week before an audience of about 500 at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit.

“A new level of efficiency is being achieved with basic science—new materials and electronics,” said J. Ferron, director of judging for the PACE Awards.

Federal-Mogul Corp., for instance, won a PACE Award for a piston-ring coating made of a carbon material with properties of diamond, which cuts friction up to 20 percent.

Also, Valeo won for an efficient generator that uses transistors to eliminate voltage drop. This boosts the efficiency of the generator by 10 percent, improving a typical vehicle's fuel economy by 0.7 mpg.

While innovations that boosted efficiency grabbed most of the awards, the value of style was honored, too. Magna Closures won for an elegant sliding rear window in the 2015 Ford F-150.

Two suppliers, Continental Automotive and Federal-Mogul, won two awards each.

As part of the event, three auto makers were awarded Innovation Partnership Awards for fostering innovations with suppliers: Audi A.G., BMW A.G. and Volvo Car Corp.

Audi was the big winner in this category. An Audi transmission incorporated technology from three PACE finalists: Dana Holding Corp., Continental and FTE automotive.

The awards, now in their 21st year, are sponsored by Automotive News, EY and Transportation Research Center Inc. Independent judges selected the winners from 36 finalists.

The PACE event kicks off the SAE 2015 World Congress.

Here are the 2015 Automotive News PACE Award winners by category.

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