Just in Time for Summertime Travel: GE Introduces Nighthawk Headlamp Bulbs for Greater Night Driving Confidence

CLEVELAND--May 3, 2005--New ultra-bright Nighthawk(TM) replacement automotive headlamp bulbs from GE are now available at retailers throughout the U.S. and Canada. Nighthawk bulbs give consumers the brightest GE automotive lamps available and offer greater night driving confidence. Traffic death rates are three times greater at night than during the day, according to the National Safety Council.

Nighthawk sealed beams offer consumers, on average, up to 39 percent greater brightness when compared to GE's standard original-equipment halogen bulbs. Nighthawk capsules offer, on average, 33 percent additional brightness; and Nighthawk fog lights offer, on average, 17 percent additional brightness.

GE expects interest in its next-generation, high-output Nighthawk bulbs to be widespread but to be met with special interest from three distinct groups of consumers. Those groups are: Aging baby-boomers; "tuners" or automotive do-it-yourself performance enthusiasts; and parents of teenagers, who want to make sure their young drivers have the brightest light available.

"With this level of brightness improvement, consumers will gravitate toward Nighthawk bulbs when one of their original headlamp bulbs burn out," says Jeff Forstyk, automotive product manager, GE Consumer & Industrial. "Tuners want to upgrade to the latest lighting technology, while baby boomers and the parents of young teenage drivers want the brightest GE bulbs available. Nighthawk delivers for everyone and puts more of its light on the road where drivers need it most."

Because of the range of the new Nighthawk product line, 98 percent of cars and light trucks on the road can upgrade to this new technology. Motorcycle headlamp bulbs are also available.

"Although most drivers change headlamp bulbs when one burns out, we anticipate that many consumers will want to upgrade from working headlamps to Nighthawk," says Forstyk. "Drivers of cars equipped with Nighthawk will notice improved visibility and feel more confident driving at night."

GE Consumer & Industrial spans the globe as an industry leader in major appliance, lighting and integrated industrial equipment, systems and services. Providing solutions for commercial, industrial and residential use in more than 100 countries, GE Consumer & Industrial uses innovative technologies to deliver comfort, convenience and electrical protection and control. General Electric brings imagination to work, selling products under the Monogram(R), Profile(TM), GE(R), Hotpoint(R), SmartWater(TM), and Reveal(R) consumer brands, and Entellisys(TM) industrial brand. For more information about GE Consumer & Industrial.