Around the industry

Dana Corp. will design and produce front and rear differentials for a future U.S. vehicle platform from BMW Group. Dana's Traction Technologies Group will produce the drive units.

American Axle & Mfg. Inc. wins a contract to supply Ford Motor Co. with differential gears for automatic transmissions in certain front-wheel-drive vehicles. The gears will be forged at AAM's Tonawanda Forge in western New York. The gear will be net shaped, incorporating forged gear teeth rather than the traditional machined gear teeth, for greater strength.

Beginning in the '02 model year, Johnson Controls Inc. will supply its Pressure Sensing Information (PSI) tire pressure monitoring system to the Chrysler Group for Jeep Grand Cherokee, Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country minivans and Chrysler 300M. PSI uses radio-frequency technology and sensors in each tire to deliver tire pressure information to a receiver in the vehicle's overhead console.

Eagle-Picher Automotive's Hillsdale Div. will produce rear steering knuckles for the 2004 Mitsubishi Montero Sport, slated for release in early '03. Manufacturing in Traverse City, MI, involves complex machining of ductile iron castings.