Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Gunther Heim

Dirk Rainer Lungershausen

Nancy L Johnson

Alan L Browne

Lothar Teske

Stanislaw Klimek

Dino Demma

Juergen Hulbert

Dirk Ehrlich

Juergen W Siebeneick

Oleg Mazur

Michael Harder

Martin Schwarz

Claus Steller

Jürgen Hulbert

Viet-Hung Nguyen

Andreas Stern

Matthias Stahl-Offergeld

Joerg Fritzinger

Gerhard Mathes

Hamid Yazdandoost

Claus Westenberger

Sven Ohligschlaeger

Waldemar Solnica

Stephan Rosenplaenter

Frank Schmidlin

A vehicle includes a rearward structure and a load carrier having a stowed position and a transport position. The load carrier includes a longitudinal carrier, an extendable rail connected within the longitudinal carrier, a base segment assembled on the extendable rail for mounting at least one bicycle, and a swiveling axis mounted between the longitudinal carrier and the extendable rail to pivot the extendable rail and the base segment away from the rearward structure of the vehicle to be able to open a tailgate or a deck lid. The base segment, the extendable rail, and the longitudinal carrier are located substantially entirely below the rearward structure of the vehicle in the stowed position. The extendable rail extends in a horizontal direction and is located behind the rearward structure of the vehicle in the transport position for transporting at least one bicycle.

Load carrier for a motor vehicle

A load carrier is provided for retraction from a rearward structure of a vehicle, in which the supporting frame on at least one longitudinally shifting oblong element equipped with a swiveling axis (S) is guided through the bumper of a motor vehicle, or guided under the bumper of the motor vehicle.

A side structure of a vehicle is provided with a side part outer frame. The side part outer frame includes, but is not limited to a front pillar and a center pillar with mounting connections for door hinges. The side part outer frame includes, but is not limited to the outer structure starting from a windshield to including a rear fender region and is a one-piece and stable construction and has a greater material thickness than a side part outer skin of a conventional side structure. One of the two pillars or both pillars comprise a reinforcement structure that is fixed within the side part outer frame.

Side structure of a vehicle

A rear floor structure for a motor vehicle includes, but is not limited to two longitudinal girders extending between rear wheel houses. A downwardly open pocket for receiving a shock absorber is formed in each of the longitudinal girders.

Rear floor structure for a motor vehicle

A motor vehicle body is provided with a side airbag system that has a gas generator of the side airbag system and a handle mounted adjacently to a side window. The gas generator is inserted in a mounting frame between the handle and the roof frame, which connects the handle to a roof frame of the body.

Motor vehicle body with side airbag system

A vehicle is provided with transparent roof area having at least one roof window tailored to fit into the roof structure. An adjustable darkening against exposure to incident light is provided toward the passenger compartment. The roof area has a first optically structured, immovably fixed surface and a second optically structured, movable surface. The first and second surfaces are arranged one over the other. The second surface here abuts the first surface so that it can slide over it. While the first surface takes up the entire roof window, the second surface is arranged at least in partial areas of the roof window. The second surface is arranged so that it can move relative to the first surface in such a way that the optical structures lying one over the other alter the incident light as a function of position.

Vehicle with transparent roof area

A front part of a motor vehicle body is provided that includes, but is not limited to a radiator and a bumper support transversely extending in front of the radiator and an air passage aligned with the radiator and formed in the bumper support.

Front part for a motor vehicle body

A tunable steering wheel release/stroking system adapted for use with a steering column, and to selectively absorb energy during a crash event, includes a steering column and an energy-absorbing element configured to receive a force from the column during the event, wherein the element is formed at least in part of an active material changeable between first and second phases when exposed to an activation signal, and configured so as to be caused to deform by and therefore absorb energy from the force at a first energy-absorbing magnitude in the first phase and at a second energy-absorbing magnitude in the second phase.

Steering wheel release/stroking using active material actuation

Growing community of inventors

Lampertheim, Germany

Gunther Heim