Tough yet refined, rugged yet sophisticated, powerful yet quiet. These are some of the words used to describe Ford's all new 2004 F-150 full-size pickup truck. Along with an all-new frame, and an all-new V8, Ford chooses a first-in-class Quiet Steel™ dash panel for a much quieter interior. Quiet Steel™ is a patented multi-layer laminate from Material Sciences Corporation (NYSE: MSC - News) that provides a significant reduction in vehicle noise and vibration levels.

The F-150 also features a Quiet Steel™ oil pan on its all-new Triton™ V8 for additional NVH performance. Ford designers realize that truck buyers want interior comfort, lower noise levels, and outstanding performance. With that in mind, Quiet Steel™ becomes a fundamental component of vehicle design. In the article F-150: 'The best pickup truck ever', written on July 1, 2003, Mark Phelan of The Detroit Free Press wrote, "The F-150 is remarkably quiet and comfortable ... " and "The smooth and quiet ride is clearly best-in-class." A July 2, 2003 article in The Detroit News titled Ford F-150 gets major makeover for 2004 by columnist Paul Lienert stated, "One surprise was the quietness of the cabin, particularly at freeway speeds. Two adults can actually carry on a conversation in a normal tone of voice at 70 miles an hour, which is difficult in some competitors."

According to Christopher Kolarik, Ford NVH Development Supervisor, "The overall noise level in the cabin improved by 5 dB with the use of a Quiet Steel™ dash panel to damp vibration from the engine." Quiet Steel™ at Ford has proven to provide superior NVH performance and improved structural sensitivity over standard steel. Over one-third of Ford's North American vehicles produced this year will feature a Quiet Steel™ body panel. The F-150 Quiet Steel™ dash panel shows a 6% improvement in articulation index across a broad engine rpm spectrum. "Such a performance improvement within the interior of the vehicle has a direct positive correlation to customer satisfaction," says Jay Hatkow, Strategic Account Manager within MSC's Automotive Operations. It is widely accepted within the automotive industry that customer satisfaction is directly affected by vehicle noise level. In addition, the use of a Quiet Steel™ oil pan on the Triton™ V8 enables power-train engineers to tune the engine like an instrument, ultimately lowering the levels of sound and vibration resonating from the engine to the body structure.

Developed by MSC, Quiet Steel™ consists of an engineered viscoelastic layer sandwiched between two cold-rolled layers of steel. The viscoelastic layer is a "tunable" formulation, allowing vehicle designers to attenuate specific frequencies depending on where in the vehicle they use Quiet Steel™. The laminate may be further engineered with corrosion resistance or other value-added processing. OEMs may form, stamp, and weld Quiet Steel™ as they would standard steel. Unlike steel treated with other damping materials, Quiet Steel™ can be 100% recycled.

Material Sciences Corporation is a leading provider of material-based solutions that solve customer-specific noise and vibration problems, overcome technical barriers, and enhance performance. Headquartered outside Chicago, Illinois, the company's Automotive Noise and Vibration Technical Center is located in Farmington Hills, Michigan.

For more information contact Gregory N. Corda, Marketing Manager at 248-994-4440 or email greg.corda@matsci.com. You may also visit the company’s Quiet Steel™ website at www.quietsteel.com.

MSC – Material Sciences Corporation, 39303 Country Club Drive, Suite A-11, Farmington Hills, Michigan 48331, USA.