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Unlike spring-and-shock absorber systems,
Bose's suspension uses high-voltage electrical coils and magnets to counter bumps in the road and prevent roll around corners.
Will people pay for it?
The approach is drawing praise as a revolutionary way to ensure a smooth ride, but doubts center on its cost as rivals push their own suspension improvements that are less radical, but more affordable.
Bose's system could add $5,000 or so to a car's cost, along with a few hundred pounds.
"Technically, on paper, I think it's brilliant," said Aly Badawy, a vice president at Livonia, Mich.-based auto parts maker TRW Automotive Holdings Corp., which is developing its own high-end suspension system expected to be ready years before Bose's. "The problem is, is it going to be affordable?"
Bose says his suspension's technical advantages will win over high-end car buyers.
"If you ride over those roll bumps," he said, pointing to obstacles set up for the demonstration, "after just 50 feet you know you've been in a vehicle that has comfort like nothing else."
By year's end, Bose hopes to select a single automaker from a handful of companies interested in making the suspension commercially available in five to six years. He wouldn't identify the companies.
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