Chemistry is ... Boy Toy

General Motors (GM) has been named the winner in the Performance & Customization (Aftermarket) category of the Society of Plastics Engineers’ (SPE) 2012 Automotive Innovation Awards Competition. GM’s winning application is the carbon composite air extractor located on the hood of the 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 sports car.

The air extractor makes extensive use of adhesive bonding to join two components to the one-piece design. Those two components are a polyamide vent screen and the water deflector molded from SABIC’s high-performance Valox resin, a thermoplastic polyester which delivered the high mechanical and thermal performance needed in this demanding under-hood environment.