PHOTO CAPTION: Stephen Scuderi and Lutz Deyerling explain the valve train model on display at FISITA 08 in Munich. (Photo/Bill Wrinn)

Now that the summer season is unofficially over, conference and trade shows are now popping up at a rapid rate. This week the Scuderi Group, led by its European team of Lutz Deyerling and Michael Eisenbeis, is participating in the FISITA 2008 World Automotive Congress in Munich, Germany.

Hosted by the Association of German Engineers, FISITA is celebrating its 60th anniversary and is held every two years in different locations. Held two years ago in Japan, it will take place in Hungary in 2010. The World Congress is an event that caters to a smaller number of automotive executives compared to the year’s bigger trade shows, but it is attended by the top engineers from the world’s largest OEMS. As expected, this made for very high level meetings with automakers from France, Germany, U.S., and Japan, which are also extending to further talks in the next few weeks.

The conference carries a large academic component and conducts dozens of sessions covering 12 topics that demonstrate “the vital role of engineers worldwide in solving current and future transportation challenges. This year’s congress focuses specifically on solutions for sustainable mobility for people and goods in all areas of passenger cars, truck and bus transportation as well as placing emphasis on the development of the future powertrain systems, conservation of the environment and energy resources - Discussions that have made the Scuderi Air-Hybrid Engine design a very popular topic among conference attendees this week.

Later in the week after the event’s conclusion, the Scuderi Group will also be holding its Marketing Summit, where members of the global marketing team will gather to finalize plans for the official unveiling of the engine’s first prototype in the spring.

Following FISITA ‘08, the Scuderi Group gets ready to attend and/or participate in the Paris Auto Show in October and the Nagoya (Japan) Eco-Clean Car Show in November.

- Bill Wrinn