First Lincoln Vehicle to Offer CCS in Front- and Second-Row Seats
NORTHVILLE, Mich., Feb. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Amerigon Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, today announced that its proprietary Climate Control Seat(TM) (CCS(TM))system is available in the new 2010 Lincoln MKT full-size luxury utility vehicle as a standard feature in the front-row seats and as an option for the second-row bucket seats. The Lincoln MKT is the first Lincoln vehicle to offer CCS in both the front- and second-row seats. The Lincoln MKT is expected to be in showrooms late this summer.
The Lincoln MKT features a 3.7-liter, 24-valve variation of the award-winning Duratec engine family as a standard for fuel-efficiency while still delivering driving performance, and a host of other responsible technologies and amenities, including CCS.
CCS, the premier actively heated and cooled seat system in the global automotive seat market, delivers year-round comfort to automotive seat occupants by providing both active heating and cooling. The system is completely independent of the automobile's heating and air conditioning system and does not reduce power available to the engine. It also emits no CFCs or other gases and is completely friendly to the environment.
Amerigon President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel R. Coker said the Company is very pleased to be extending its collaborative partnership with Lincoln's design and engineering teams as the two companies work together to further extend the application of CCS in Lincoln's new product line.
"The addition of our seat system in another prestigious Lincoln vehicle is an endorsement of the value our system delivers to automotive manufacturers and consumers," said Coker. "Our seat system is a perfect match for a number of the MKT's most notable features--utmost comfort and luxury coupled with fuel economy and environmentally responsible engineering. We also believe Lincoln's selection of CCS for both the front- and second-row seats may create opportunities for CCS to be offered in similar four-seat configurations in other future vehicle lines, thus, dramatically increasing the market potential. We look forward to continuing our long and well-established relationship with Lincoln."
Other vehicles from Lincoln that offer CCS are the Lincoln MKZ, the Lincoln MKX, the Lincoln MKS and the Lincoln Navigator.
About CCS
In the CCS system, which is built around Amerigon's highly-efficient, solid-state thermoelectric device, air is forced through the heat pump and thermally conditioned in response to electronic switch input from the seat occupant. The conditioned air circulates by a specially designed fan through ducts in the seat cushion and seat back, so that the surface can be heated or cooled. Each seat has individual electronic controls to adjust the level of heating or cooling. CCS substantially improves comfort compared with conventional air conditioners by focusing the cooling directly on the passenger through the seat, rather than waiting until ambient air cools the seat surface behind the passenger.
Amerigon is the largest supplier of TE systems for cars, with more than 4.5 million thermoelectric-based seat systems sold.
About Amerigon
Amerigon (NASDAQ: ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat(TM) (CCS)(TM) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS, which is the only system of its type on the market today, uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Detroit, Japan, Germany, England and Korea.
Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008.
Contact: Allen & Caron Inc
Jill Bertotti (investors)
jill@allencaron.com
Len Hall (media)
len@allencaron.com
(949) 474-4300
