On Tuesday we wrapped up our last day at the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) Management Briefing Seminar. For anyone who hasn’t attended the conference, it’s a marathon of learning and networking with senior management professionals in the automotive business. Held in Traverse City, Michigan, the event draws in 900 people from across the globe to listen to invigorating panel discussions on where the industry current stands and what direction it needs to focus on.

The topics ranged from high level discussions on mixed material lightweighting, powertrain, fuel economy, retaining talent, automotive strategy, and cybersecurity and much more. The papers CAR will publish following the conference will be well worth the time to read.

For the 4^th year in a row, we have had the opportunity to present the Altair Enlighten Award, which recognizes innovative lightweighting tactics used within the automotive industry. Due to an increased demand in the award, we decided to separate the award into two categories: Full-Vehicle and Module, to incorporate an even playing field for OEMs and suppliers.

After lengthy discussions from our panel of judges, the winner of the OEM focused Full-Vehicle category was GM for the 2016 Cadillac CT6, a vehicle 218 pounds (99 kg) lighter than a comparable vehicle using predominantly high-strength steel.

2016 Enlighten Award Full Vehicle Category Winner, Fernando Krambeck, CT6 Program Engineering Manager Cadillac accepts the award for the 2016 Cadillac CT6 from Dr. Jay Baron, President & CEO of CAR (left) and Richard Yen, Senior VP of Global Automotive Altair (right)

For the Module category, which focuses on the achievements from within the automotive supplier base, the winner was ContiTech for its unique polyamide rear cross beam for the 2016 Mercedes S-Class.

2016 Enlighten Award Module Category Winner, Andrew Little, Development Engineer, ContiTech accepts the award for the Polyamide Cross Beam from Dr. Jay Baron, President & CEO of CAR (left) and Richard Yen, Senior VP of Global Automotive Altair (right)

If you’re interested in learning more about submitting an entry to the 2017 Altair Enlighten Award, nominations forms are available at: http://altairenlighten.com/award/