As the best results are always delivered by a team effort, the European team designed the seat and engineers from North America and Asia enhanced them to match consumer comfort requirements in their respective regions.
Cohen, for instance, used digital pressure-mapping technology to scan the rear-end impressions of people of all shapes and sizes. It also uses a rear-end test machine that simulates the effects of seat force and deflection through various sized buttock-shaped plates. They are made of aluminum and can weigh up to 250 pounds.
“This test allows us to understand how far a customer will compress into the seat to ensure the selected seat foam and other materials can support the pressure,” said Cohen. “We want to find the sweet spot of seat comfort: a seat that is neither too firm nor too soft, but just right.”
On the other hand, Hajciar coordinates Malibu seat ride evaluations with several volunteers, spending hundreds of hours logging thousands of miles to ensure she gets sufficient feedback on seat prototypes.
“Our seat evaluators often ride long distances to achieve our mission of creating the most-comfortable seat possible,” said Hajciar. “We are being meticulous about the details so that when customers get behind the wheel of a 2013 Malibu, they’ll immediately feel the difference.”
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