Date: 14 February 2007
The new window, called HPS™ G-1.0 (High Performance Slider), captured the Most Innovative Use of Plastics award in the performance and customization category at the Society of Plastics Engineers Automotive Division Innovation Awards in November 2006.
Unlike other rear-sliding windows on the market, the HPS is manufactured from a single piece of glass with a hole cut in the center, rather than multiple pieces of glass that come together to close in the center. The sliding window sits flush to the opening in the glass and has a stylish exposed edge, which eliminates the need for mouldings. It also performs better than the standard slider because a leak-resistant seal has been developed to prevent water from seeping into the vehicle.
“The sleek flush-mount design of the HPS represents a major functional and styling advancement over other sliding truck windows,” said Phil Taylor, Guardian’s product manager for the HPS. “Other designs use metal rails, which cause an overlap when the window is closed. We use a specialized product that allows our window to be flush, or seamless, when closed.”
Production of the HPS offers a look at the collaboration that takes place inside multiple Guardian facilities. The PrivaGuard® tinted glass used in the slider is produced at Guardian’s Floreffe, Pa., float glass plant and is then shipped to the glass fabrication plant in Tillsonburg, Ontario, where it is cut and ground. The rails allowing the center window to slide from side to side are injection molded at Guardian’s trim plant in Warren, Mich. In the final step, the glass is bent to shape and completely assembled at the company’s automotive glass plant in Auburn, Ind.
The HPS can replace a fixed glass backlite or an OEM sliding window system for GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado pickups and will be sold through Guardian’s network of aftermarket retail shops and a select group of installers. Versions for Ford F-150 and Dodge Ram trucks are due out in early 2007.
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