There’s more than meets the eye when it comes to the development of a new vehicle and its individual components, and like all automakers, GM pays particular attention to the design of the seats – let’s not forget, that’s where the driver and passengers will spend their time in the car.

Understandably, the design process becomes more complicated in the event that the car is a global model like the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu, which will be offered in nearly 100 countries on six continents, including the U.S. where it will arrive in showrooms next year.

GM says that the 2013 Malibu seats were created with input from engineers and designers around the world. However, the initial design was made by the Detroit firm’s European team, with engineers from North America and Asia making the necessary changes to meet consumer requirements in their respective regions.

Among those tasked with the role of enhancing the seats for the North American market 2013 Malibu are seat performance engineers Daniel Cohen and Cheryl Hajciar.

Cohen, who works at General Motors’ testing facility in Milford, says that the company utilizes a special digital pressure-mapping technology to scan the rear-end impressions of people of all shapes and sizes, with a rear-end machine simulating the tests on the seats.

“This test allows us to understand how far a customer will compress into the seat to ensure the selected seat foam and other materials can support the pressure,” said Cohen. “We want to find the sweet spot of seat comfort: a seat that is neither too firm nor too soft, but just right.”

Hajciar handles the real life tests evaluating the seats on the road. She said that up until now, her team has spent more than 1,400 hours logging several thousands of miles to test the seats.

“Our seat evaluators often ride long distances to achieve our mission of creating the most-comfortable seat possible,” said Hajciar. “We are being meticulous about the details so that when customers get behind the wheel of a 2013 Malibu, they’ll immediately feel the difference.”

VIDEO

PHOTO GALLERY