The 2012 GMC Terrain was tested recently at GM's Climatic Wind Tunnel in Warren, Mich. The environmental chambers reach temperatures of minus 40 to 140 degrees. Inside the Terrain, available from Gary Lang Buick GMC in McHenry, IL, sat Monika, a dummy made from sensor and wire girds. 'She' was bombarded with intense hot and cold from all angles, providing detailed feedback to engineers.

Whose idea was this? Jeff Bozeman: The Iceman. He's "a high-tech top gun whose team created a way to make vehicle passengers feel much warmer or cooler than the cabin temperature in which they are seated."¹

Bozeman utilized 'virtual dummies' to focus exactly where air streams would provide maximum comfort for passengers and driver. Virtual testing helps speed up development of the final product, getting it to dealer lots quicker.

"We can better understand things like skin temperature and perspiration and can get a read on a wide range of shapes and sizes of GMC customers," The Iceman added.²

Source: ^1,2http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gmc-creates-virtual-hot-and-cold-comfort-2012-01-06