Hella Lights Around-The-World Tour

PEACHTREE CITY, Ga., July 1 -- Hella Inc. recently sponsored an educational tour of Detroit area schools with a specially equipped Land Rover Discovery to promote awareness for Parkinson's disease and research.

The Detroit visit included stops at Rose Pioneer Elementary School in Holly, Mich.; Barber and Courtland Elementary Schools in Highland Park, Mich.; Clara Rutherford Academy, Detroit Academy of Arts and Sciences and Cass Technical High School in Detroit, and the Cranbrook Science Museum in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

The tour vehicle was similar to four pre-owned Land Rovers taking part in a nine-month, 32,000-mile drive-a-thon through 34 countries to raise awareness and funding for Parkinson's disease research.

Hella, a sponsor of the international tour, has equipped the Land Rovers with high-performance Hella auxiliary lights and work lamps. The LONGITUDE Expedition has traveled through Central America, South America and Australia and will complete a northbound leg through Asia and Siberia before returning to San Francisco through Alaska later this year.

Yvonne Pratt, marketing coordinator for Hella Inc., noted that LONGITUDE's educational program offers free geography, natural history and social sciences curriculum for use in schools worldwide. Students also are provided with links that offer opportunities to interact with adventurers from around the world. The LONGITUDE expedition has set a goal to achieve 10,000 questions to the web site worldwide; expedition participants answer the questions each day.

One of the specially-equipped Land Rover Discoveries will be auctioned off at the end of the world tour. A $10 donation per chance will benefit Parkinson's disease research. Donations are being accepted at the expedition's web site http://www.drivearoundtheworld.com/ .

"When I visited schools in and around Detroit, my hometown," said Pratt, "the students were very curious about the geography, cultures and traditions of other nations. I know they will continue to visit the web site throughout the summer to check the progress of the tour and ask questions of the people traveling around the world."

Interactive online educational resources, including lesson plans for teachers and further information about the global Land Rover expedition, are available on the Internet at http://www.drivearoundtheworld.com/ .

The global tour is being undertaken by a not-for-profit exploration group -- Drive Around the World. In addition to raising funds for Parkinson's disease research, the expedition aims to promote interest in the study of geography and scientific research projects among school children.

During the expedition, sponsors and pre-selected pairs of teachers in the United States also will use similar Land Rover Discoveries to visit schools and community events.

With its North American headquarters in suburban Atlanta, Ga., Hella Inc. is the aftermarket sales unit of Hella North America -- a leading supplier to the world's automotive, truck, marine, agricultural and construction original equipment manufacturers.

Lighting, electronics, complete vehicle modules, air conditioning systems, vehicle wiring systems and signal processing for the automobile industry, as well as automotive aftermarket components, are the core fields of competency for automotive supplier Hella KGaA Hueck & Co.