Presidential Limo Features Advanced Hella Rear Lighting

PLYMOUTH, Mich., June 27 -- Among the technology innovations on the White House's newest Presidential limousine is an advanced rear lighting system designed and built by Hella. The advanced LED-based (light- emitting diode) system is one of several state-of-the-art technologies featured on the new Presidential limo.

The brand-new Cadillac DTS limousine ran its first public miles at President Bush's second inaugural parade in Washington, D.C., on January 24, 2005.

The limousine's rear lamps are an LED-based system developed by a global team in three countries: Germany, Mexico and the U.S., and was manufactured by a Hella subsidiary in Mexico, according to Joe Borruso, president and CEO of Hella North America.

Hella, one of the world's leaders in LED technology, developed the system with lamp units on each side that combine 31 red LEDs for the functions of tail, brake, turn indicator and side-marking lights and two white LEDs for reverse lights. The LEDs are not bullet-proof, but the system includes on- board diagnostics to register possible outages.

The Presidential limousine is similar to the new Cadillac DTS, but longer, wider and taller. Its bold styling incorporates Cadillac's contemporary design cues in the front and rear and Cadillac's signature egg-crate grille. It is handcrafted with a jet-black finish and incorporates state-of-the-art security, protection and communication systems.

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. Sales for the Hella Group are approximately $3.9 billion, placing Hella among Germany's top 100 industrial companies.

With its corporate headquarters in Lippstadt, Germany, the company employs nearly 24,000 people at 65 manufacturing facilities, production subsidiaries and joint-venture companies in 18 countries. More than 2,000 engineers and technicians work in research and development. Hella supplies all of the world's leading automobile and systems manufacturers as well as the automotive components aftermarket.