Motor Vehicle Lighting Council Launches Redesigned Website to Inform Public About Advanced Automotive Lighting Technologies

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Oct. 7, 2004 -- As part of its commitment to improve driver and pedestrian safety, the Motor Vehicle Lighting Council (MVLC) recently launched its redesigned website to better inform the motoring public about the benefits and proper use of advanced lighting technologies.

The website, http://www.mvlc.info/ , is a resource for the public and news media to learn about advanced automotive lighting technologies -- such as Xenon (also known as HID -- High Intensity Discharge), Adaptive Forward Lighting System (AFS) and Light Emitting Diode (LED) -- as they become available features on new vehicles.

"With continued advancements being made in automotive lighting, it's critical for the MVLC to provide the motoring public with the facts regarding new lighting technologies," said Joe Borruso, chairman of MVLC and president and CEO of Hella North America, Inc. "Our redesigned website enables the public to obtain current information that will aid them in distinguishing between the realities and perceptions of these technologies."

To increase public knowledge, the website provides an overview of various automotive lighting systems and includes answers to commonly asked questions, a glossary of lighting terms and links to industry resources. In addition, video simulations offer side-by-side driver viewpoints comparing the visibility benefits provided by vehicles equipped with advanced lighting technologies to vehicles with standard halogen lights.

MVLC recently updated its website to include information on AFS -- the headlight technology that modifies the beam pattern of the headlamp in response to vehicle speed, weather conditions and road situations.

As part of its campaign to educate drivers, the MVLC also created an informational brochure about Xenon headlamps, which addresses features and benefits, frequently asked questions and misconceptions about the technology. The brochure can be downloaded in PDF format from the website.

The Motor Vehicle Lighting Council (MVLC) is a coalition of the leading global automotive lighting and component manufacturers and related education and research institutions committed to bringing new lighting advancements to market in order to increase vehicle performance and vehicle and pedestrian safety.

MVLC's members represent a market segment valued at approximately $2.2 billion and produce nearly 100 percent of the headlamps used for vehicles manufactured and sold in North America.

The Council -- a product line group of the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) -- supports ongoing research initiatives to improve the understanding of headlight glare and to inform the motoring public on lighting issues and emerging technologies. For more information, visit http://www.mvlc.info/ .