Johnson Controls, Oxford promise simpler door assembly.

Crain's Detroit Business, September, 2000 by Miel, Rhoda

Two auto suppliers are teaming up to design a new way to make vehicle doors. The move promises to change the way automakers assemble cars. The plan by plastics specialist Johnson Controls Inc. and metal components maker Oxford Automotive Inc. would combine the interior trim, the motors and hardware sandwiched in the middle of each door, and the exterior painted skin all in one package produced outside automakers' factory doors.

JCI and Oxford say they can make their packages cheaper and lighter than traditional systems. ``The door makes a perfect sub-assembly coming in complete,'' said David Phillips, JCI's director of material and process development for interiors, in an Aug. 22 interview. ``You've got a couple of bolts and one electrical connection, and your...