Volvo Gets Safety Award for Child Booster Seat System

NEW YORK – Volvo Car Corp. wins the 2007 World Traffic Safety Achievement Award in the manufacturer’s category for its recently introduced, integrated dual-stage child booster seat system at the World Traffic Safety Symposium here.

Thomas Broberg, a senior safety engineer for Volvo, says the system, which can be adjusted in two stages to accommodate growing children, is standard on the XC70 and V70 and eventually will be integrated into every new-generation Volvo vehicle.

Broberg says booster seats reduce crash injuries in older children by 75% compared with a 30% reduction with seatbelts only. “The system also gains more acceptance by older children,” he says.

Meanwhile, Farmington Hills, MI-based Microheat Inc. wins the award in the supplier category for its HotShot fluid de-icing system.

The system generates four hot fluid sprays in sequence to automatically remove ice from the windshield, eliminating the need for scraping.

HotShot currently is offered in a variety of General Motors Corp. vehicles, including the Cadillac DTS and Escalade; Buick Lucerne and Enclave; GMC Acadia, Sierra and Yukon; Chevrolet Silverado, Tahoe, Suburban and Avalanche; and Saturn Outlook.

HotShot costs about $85 as a standalone option.

Gary Pilibosian, president and CEO of Microheat, anticipates more ’08 models will carry the feature, although he declines to name specific vehicles. An aftermarket version of HotShot will be available by the end of this year, he says.