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Patent Board: GM Remains Top Automotive Innovator

Fourth consecutive quarter ranked No. 1 in quarterly industry study

2012-02-13

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DETROIT – General Motors remains the No. 1 innovator for the fourth-consecutive quarter among 183 companies ranked by The Patent Board in its quarterly automotive and transportation industry scorecard.  

GM was granted 1,123 U.S. patents in 2011 applied to global product engineering, global powertrain engineering, global research and development and OnStar organizations.  

The Patent Board is the leading independent provider of best practices research tools and metrics for patent analysis and intellectual property investment.  It tracks and analyzes innovation and patents across 17 industries on a global basis.

Among recent technology patents:

Quiet Brakes – A friction-damped disc brake design that uses a thin metal ring embedded in the brake rotor to absorb vibrations and mute the squeal. The quieter brake is expected to be available on some cars and trucks within two to three years.

OnStar Voice Recognition – OnStar’s speech recognition method can identify the location of the speaker within the vehicle and adjusts its microphone pick-up pattern or magnitude to respond to location-specific commands.

eAssist Thermal Management – Vehicles with engine shut-off capability, such as Buick LaCrosse with eAssist, use an innovative thermal management system that maintains occupant comfort during engine-shut off, and prevents engine shut-off if comfort will be lost, such as during extremely cold or hot weather conditions.

“We are in the midst of redefining the automotive DNA, and these efforts are driving our people to reinvent every subsystem on the vehicle” said Alan Taub, GM vice president of Global Research and Development. “Being the recognized leader in innovation is important, because it tells our customers and shareholders that we are working on the leading edge of technology.”

About General Motors
General Motors Company (NYSE: GM, TSX: GMM), one of the world’s largest automakers, traces its roots back to 1908. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 209,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in more than 120 countries. GM and its strategic partners produce cars and trucks in 31 countries, and sell and service these vehicles through the following brands:  Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Daewoo, Holden, Isuzu, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall, and Wuling.  GM’s largest national market is China, followed by the United States, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, and Italy. General Motors acquired operations from General Motors Corporation on July 10, 2009, and references to prior periods in this and other press materials refer to operations of the old General Motors Corporation.  More information on the new General Motors can be found at www.gm.com.

In the Middle East since the 1920s, General Motor’s vehicle brands sold in the region are Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC supported by a unique set of customer-focused services. GM parts and accessories are sold under the GM Parts and ACDelco brands. The regional office in Dubai covers the company’s operations in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE and Yemen. For more media material about GM in the Middle East, please visit http://media.gmarabia.com.