Fender Artist

New Fender Premium Auto System to be featured in select 2012 Volkswagen models

Industry-leading mobile audio supplier Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America has partnered withFender Musical Instruments Corp, manufacturer of guitars, basses, amplifiers and related equipment, to develop the all-new Fender Premium Audio System that will be featured in select 2012 Volkswagen (VW) models.  The 2012 Volkswagen Jetta GTI will be the first VW model featuring the Fender Premium Audio System and will be available in dealerships this spring.

 

The Fender Premium Audio System encompasses three years of research and was developed hand-in-hand with the Volkswagen vehicle design team, resulting in a nine-speaker system that delivers uncompromised clarity regardless of volume, with a unique Fender sound.

 

"When Panasonic Automotive first partnered with Fender in 2007, our charge was to bring a ‘platform for creativity' to the automotive market," said Allen Kudla, Sales and Marketing Senior Vice President, for Panasonic Automotive Systems.

 

Kulda believes that successful brands need a personality as well an identity.  The Fender Premium Audio System includes both Fender's iconic name and a legendary passion for music.

 

Along with the nine-speaker system, the Fender Premium Audio System features 400 watts of system power.  The speakers have been uniquely designed to feature proprietary Panasonic technology.

 

"The Fender Premium Audio System is the result of creative and technical expertise of the teams at Fender and Panasonic," said Mark Van Vleet, Fender's senior vice president for business affairs.

 

The Fender Premium Audio System includes:

 

• Fender Deluxe™ Tweeter

- 2-ohm, soft dome with neodymium magnet

- Wide frequency range and extension

- Incredibly low distortion

- Excellent off-axis performance

- Reveals the harmonic richness of voices and instruments

 

• Fender Twin™ Speaker

- 16cm with dual voice coils

- Ribbed polypropylene honeycomb cone

- Wide frequency range and extension

- High power-handling capability

- Lightweight and low distortion

- Enjoyable, even when loud

 

• Fender Bassman™ Subwoofer

- 20cm with dual voice coils

- Lightweight and high-efficiency neodymium magnet

- Glass-fiber reinforced foamed paper

- Super-low distortion

- High power-handling capability

- Powerful and precise bass response

 

Panasonic and Fender engineers collaborated to tune the system for each individual vehicle's interior, thus customizing the sound and allowing VW's customers to experience the raw emotion of a live performance each time they drive their vehicle.

"The best seat in the house is now behind the wheel of a Volkswagen," said Jonathan Browning, President and CEO, Volkswagen Group of America.

Fender® is the number one U.S. guitar and amplifier brand and a name that is synonymous with rock ‘n' roll. With an illustrious history dating back to 1946, Fender has touched and transformed music worldwide and in nearly every genre: rock ‘n'roll, country and western, jazz, rhythm and blues, and many more. Everyone from enthusiasts and beginners to the world¹s most acclaimed artists and performers have used Fender instruments and amplifiers, in the process making the company not only a revered music industry name, but also a cultural icon. For more information, visit www.fender.com.

Based in Peachtree City, Georgia, and with Detroit-area operations located in Southfield, MI, Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America is a division company of Secaucus, New Jersey-based Panasonic Corporation of North America, the principal North American subsidiary of Panasonic Corporation. (NYSE: PC) of Osaka, Japan, one of the world's leading developers and producers of innovative digital and other electronic products for consumer, business and industrial use. Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America also acts as the North American operating company of Panasonic¹s Automotive Systems Company, which coordinates global automotive industry systems and components operations. For more information on Panasonic, visit www.panasonic.com/automotive.

 

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