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Amerigon Climate Control Seat(R) System Selected as Option for Rear Seats of 2010 KIA Opirus

Posted on: Tuesday, 5 May 2009, 05:00 CDT

First KIA Vehicle to Offer Heated and Cooled Seat System

NORTHVILLE, Mich., May 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Amerigon Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, today announced that its proprietary Climate Control Seat(R) (CCS(R)) system will be offered as an option for the rear seats only in the new 2010 KIA Opirus full-size sedan. The KIA Opirus, the first KIA vehicle to offer CCS, is expected to be in showrooms this summer.

The new KIA Opirus has a more modern look, an enhanced interior with new high-tech features like CCS, and a larger, more powerful and more fuel-efficient V6 gasoline engine.

CCS, the premier actively heated and cooled seat system in the global automotive seat market, delivers year-round comfort to automotive seat occupants by providing both active heating and cooling. The system is completely independent of the automobile's heating and air conditioning system and does not reduce power available to the engine. It also emits no CFCs or other gases and is completely friendly to the environment.

Amerigon President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel R. Coker commented, "We are extremely pleased to enter into this partnership with KIA, a brand known and respected all over the world. It is a strong endorsement of our technology for KIA to offer the CCS system in this vehicle. With our climate control seat systems, vehicle occupants will be introduced to an enhanced riding experience in the heat of summer or the cold of winter. We look forward to building a strong relationship with KIA for years to come."

About CCS

In the CCS system, which is built around Amerigon's highly-efficient, solid-state thermoelectric device, air is forced through the heat pump and thermally conditioned in response to electronic switch input from the seat occupant. The conditioned air circulates by a specially designed fan through ducts in the seat cushion and seat back, so that the surface can be heated or cooled. Each seat has individual electronic controls to adjust the level of heating or cooling. CCS substantially improves comfort compared with conventional air conditioners by focusing the cooling directly on the passenger through the seat, rather than waiting until ambient air cools the seat surface behind the passenger.

Amerigon is the largest supplier of TE systems for cars, with more than 4.5 million thermoelectric-based seat systems sold.

About Amerigon

Amerigon (NASDAQ: ARGN) develops products based on its advanced, proprietary, efficient thermoelectric (TE) technologies for a wide range of global markets and heating and cooling applications. The Company's current principal product is its proprietary Climate Control Seat(R) (CCS(R)) system, a solid-state, TE-based system that permits drivers and passengers of vehicles to individually and actively control the heating and cooling of their respective seats to ensure maximum year-round comfort. CCS, which is the only system of its type on the market today, uses no CFCs or other environmentally sensitive coolants. Amerigon maintains sales and technical support centers in Southern California, Detroit, Japan, Germany, England and Korea.

Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be different. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from its expectations in this release are risks that sales may not significantly increase, additional financing, if necessary, may not be available, new competitors may arise and adverse conditions in the automotive industry may negatively affect its results. The liquidity and trading price of its common stock may be negatively affected by these and other factors. Please also refer to Amerigon's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, its Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2009, and its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008.

Contact: Allen & Caron Inc Jill Bertotti (investors) jill@allencaron.com Len Hall (media) len@allencaron.com (949) 474-4300

SOURCE Amerigon Incorporated

Source: PR Newswire

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