Visteon Team in South America Scores Big With Vehicle Radio Concept; Earns Company's Highest Award DEARBORN, Mich., March 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Sometimes automotive engineers discover the biggest innovations while looking for something else. And oftenit requires extra hours after work or at home to bring those innovations to life. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040325/DETH023 http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20001201/DEF008LOGO For the 10 members of Visteon's Hybrid Radio Concept Team in South America, this is exactly what took place in early 2003. Little did the team members know how far their efforts would go in helping their colleagues in Visteon's Asia-Pacific and Aftermarket organizations. For their efforts, the group is being recognized with a prestigious Leading the Way Summit Award -- one of only six awarded by Visteon, which has 72,000 employees on six continents. "The Hybrid Radio Concept Team in Sao Paolo, Brazil, is an inspiration in that they believed in something and in spite of any challenges they may have faced, they kept working to bring a new hybrid radio platform to fruition," said Mike Johnston, president and chief operating officer. "The fact that this team worked on this concept in their spare time and after normal work hours is a testament to their level of dedication and professionalism and for that, they are being honored with a Leading the Way Summit Award." The genesis for a hybrid radio concept rose out of the idea of looking for different ways to reduce the cost of the current radio platform, according to Alexandre Tasi, software design engineer, hybrid radio concept team, Visteon South America. It was during this study that Arthur Peres, product design engineer, and his hybrid teammates researched the vehicle radio market's needs in terms of product appearance, technological requirements and especially cost. The team then determined a need for low cost CD radios and then developed a prototype to be sold in emerging markets such as Brazil, China and Mexico. The main idea was to use the most affordable set of components available within the Visteon supply base, while searching the market for new component sourcing opportunities. The team used a tuner carried over from a pre- existing program and added new parts including an audio processor, a microcontroller, an audio amplifier and a display driver. With the support of Brazil's aftermarket team, the radio team determined the correct approach to this market niche, with the initial target being dealerships. Later on, Tasi says, the radio will be pushed to aftermarket stores. The radio will be launched in the South America market by mid-2004. "Being recognized with a Leading the Way award was very important, but to now be recognized with a Summit Award is almost overwhelming," said Tasi. "The team is ecstatic about this honor because it demonstrates the power of believing in something and giving it your best to make it happen. It shows that even one team can have a tremendous impact in helping the company save money and creating innovative new products." As a result of the South America team's effort, the new radio concept was used by Visteon's operations in China to begin quoting on new business with a customer in that region, as well as generating interest from other automakers and the Aftermarket. Launched in 2003, the Leading the Way recognition program honors Visteon employees who demonstrate exemplary performance, accomplishments or behavior that is significantly above-and-beyond expectations, or results that produce noticeable improvement in areas such as quality, value to the customer, speed and people. The Summit Award is granted annually and is the most prestigious award associated with the Leading the Way program. Visteon Corporation is a leading full-service supplier that delivers consumer-driven technology solutions to automotive manufacturers worldwide and through multiple channels within the global automotive aftermarket. Visteon has approximately 72,000 employees and a global delivery system of more than 200 technical, manufacturing, sales and service facilities located in 25 countries. http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040325/DETH023 http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20001201/DEF008LOGO DATASOURCE: Visteon Corporation CONTACT: Liane Bilicki of Visteon Corporation, +1-313-755-2916, or Web site: http://www.visteon.com/

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