| Bureau Report: X8181zz3 |
 |
| Type: |
Summary Transcript of C5 Team
Meeting |
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Covert recording //1213n9b.01.96
File No. 011.659trans
Agent ID No. 0001.31214-0001
Status: Limited Access |
Summary:
C5 Team met recently to
discuss the vehicle's architecture, design and structure and touched
upon several topics including vehicle packaging, human factors, door
construction, damage-resistant plastics, noise and leaks, and
crashworthiness. The limited-access meeting was recorded and the
transcript is documented here.
| Analysis: |
C5 team's approach
to vehicle packaging is called zone coordination. |
| Team member
1: |
"If you're designing a car like the
Corvette, you need some way to partition the car that is
different than if you were putting together a station
wagon." |
| Analysis: |
Which meant that
when the team focused on human factors, it was not from the
"coffee cup" standpoint, but from more of a
performance-related point of view. |
| Team member
1: |
"Our cockpit encompasses many of the
requirements we need to address for high-speed driving, such as
foot/pedal relationships, and designing the windshield surround
and the instrument panel in coordination with vision
requirements. The Corvette buyer has unique requirements in
these areas." |
| Analysis: |
In the years since
the basic design of the C4, GM has amassed a great deal of
experience in door construction. |
| Team member
2: |
"What we've learned from all of our
cars that we've designed since C4, particularly the Camaro/Firebird
program, is to incorporate the concept of the tubular impact
steel beam." |
| Analysis: |
Without giving up
strength, the round-section beam saves weight, has a little more
flexibility, and is less sensitive to misalignment and stress,
ultimately enhancing quietness as well.
In regard to damage-resistant Sheet Molded Compound (SMC) and
other plastics, one team member summarized the benefits:
|
| Team member
3: |
"Plastic gives you the ability to
mold certain shapes that you couldn't stamp in steel. It gives
the designers more freedom to come up with a door that would
enhance the shape of the vehicle." |
| Analysis: |
Regarding progress
made with noise and leaks, a C5 team member points to experience
... |
| Team member
4: |
"What we've learned from other
vehicles has formed the fundamental basis for doing the doors on
the Corvette; we didn't have to go through the same learning
curves on the C5." |
| Analysis: |
Crashworthiness is
the answer to the question of how you manage the energy of
impact during an accident to provide a safe environment for the
occupants. The high-performance nature of C5 demands components
that are strong, yet lightweight. But crashworthiness was not a
subject for compromise. |
| Team member
4: |
"Right from the beginning, we had
the ability to say to the release and design engineers, "We
have only so much crush space. We must have rails that crush
efficiently. The basic infrastructure of the car has to be able
to absorb so much energy. We've got to design those rails of
material and gauge what will manage the energy properly, so that
the air bag doesn't have to do all the work. The structure must
do its part." |
| Team member
3: |
"You want to make things stiff, but
you don't want to make things too stiff. You want a world-class
sports car, but you don't want a 4,000-lb. sports car. You want
a harmonious design that is light and nimble, but still has all
the refinement. That's what we think we've accomplished." |
|
