PPG enhanced performance glazing launched as standard on Lincoln Aviator

Designed and produced by PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG), the laminated front door windows offer enhanced security from the outside and a quieter ride inside.

The use of Safe and Sound windows by PPG on the 2003 Lincoln Aviator sport-utility vehicle is the first time enhanced performance glazing will be standard on a North American vehicle.

According to Ernest Hahn, PPG vice president, automotive glass, the PPG windows take up to 20 times longer to penetrate than standard tempered windows, and they can attenuate sound by up to 6 decibels.

"We worked with Lincoln to achieve a laminated window thin enough to fit into the standard door channel while affording the enhanced security and sound benefits," Hahn said. "The windows represent a technological breakthrough because they are the thinnest automotive laminated side windows in commercial production - less than 4 mm - allowing them to be a drop-in replacement for standard tempered parts. As a result, Lincoln is able to provide its customers with a highly desirable product without having to change door construction."

PPG produces the laminated windows at its Tipton, Pa., glass fabricating plant. The windows are made with two pieces of heat-strengthened glass laminated with a vinyl inner ply. "It takes only about a second to break conventional tempered glass, while these Safe and Sound windows provide enhanced security because they take longer to penetrate," Hahn said. "They also reduce wind and road noises for a quieter ride."
Laminated windows enhance comfort for occupants in a vehicle by improving thermal insulation against winter cold and summer heat, and block much of the harmful ultraviolet rays from being transmitted into the passenger compartment.

Hahn noted that enhanced side window security glass is one of the top technologies in which consumers are interested. "In a study commissioned with J.D. Power and Associates, consumers who purchased or leased a new car in the last decade were asked their interest in emerging technologies. Side window security glass tied for second place with solar-reflective glass, with 86 percent expressing definite/probable interest. These are two technologies in which PPG is a global leader."

In addition to its automotive glass technology leadership, PPG is a global supplier of flat glass, fiber glass, coatings and chemicals. The Pittsburgh-based company had sales in 2001 of $8.2 billion