ECONOMICS

MSC.Software Corp. (NYSE:MNS), the leading global provider of virtual product development (VPD) products including simulation software and services, today announced that Kinetic Suspension Technology, a division of Tenneco Automotive, utilized MSC.ADAMS/Car in the design and test of the Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (KDSS) which will be included in Toyota and Lexus vehicles including the new Lexus GX470. ADAMS/Car is a template-based modeling and simulation tool that helps engineers speed-up and simplify the vehicle modeling process for automotive subsystems and assemblies. "Automotive suppliers are taking on a much larger role in the development of new components and systems and this has required them to utilize VPD technologies more than ever before," said Frank Perna, chairman and CEO of MSC.Software. "Kinetic's use of ADAMS/Car is an excellent example of the ways in which automotive suppliers around the world can meet strict performance requirements, tight development schedules and budgets with MSC.Software's VPD products and services." "We already use ADAMS as an integral part of our design process and are already capable of incorporating dynamic analysis into those designs. In a matter of a few months, our plan will see us being able to drive a virtual car, supplied to us by the vehicle manufacturer in MSC.ADAMS format, install our virtual Kinetic suspension developed by using MSC.ADAMS and drive that car on a virtual road, taking virtual data acquisition from the virtual xyz accelerometers on the drivers seat -- just to make sure that he is nice and comfortable," said Andy van Kann the Managing Director of Kinetic Suspension Technology. "In 1994 a prototype took 26 weeks to build, with major tuning iterations taking 6 weeks. By mid 2004, we will build prototypes in a matter of hours, tuning iterations in matter of minutes." The ADAMS/Car portfolio of products helps customers create complete virtual vehicle systems and assemblies, change key parameters to explore "what-if" studies and quickly animate the vehicle's behavior and plot the dynamic results. ADAMS/Car's template-based modeling and simulation tools allow engineers to greatly speed-up and simplify the vehicle modeling process.