Amerigon’s Stock Soars on News of Ford Deal

Amerigon Inc.’s stock price more than doubled after the Irwindale-based company announced an agreement in principle with Ford Motor Co. under which the world’s No. 2 auto maker will use Amerigon’s proprietary climate-control seat system for five years. The system, used in a $495 seat package on the 2000 Navigator sport-utility vehicle from Ford’s Lincoln luxury division, provides individually controlled heating and cooling of the driver’s and front-passenger seats. Shares of Amerigon, whose other products include a radar-sensing backup warning system, soared on the news, gaining $4.19 to close at $7.69 on Nasdaq Small-Cap Market on volume of more than 1 million shares, compared with a daily average of 16,000 shares. Ford fell $2.13 to close at $48 on the New York Stock Exchange.