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Revolutionary Automobile Emission-Reduction Product Wins Award

7 October 1999

Revolutionary Automobile Emission-Reduction Product Wins Excellence Award at Global Powertrain Congress Event

    STUTTGART, Germany, Oct. 6 -- The 1999 Global Powertrain
Congress (GPC) Technical Program Committee and Advisory Board awarded Litex,
Inc., today with the Powertrain Excellence First-Place Award during the 1999
conference in Stuttgart, Germany.  Litex, an advanced electronics company
headquartered in Los Angeles, Calif., was awarded the distinction for its new
automobile emission-reduction product, the Corona Discharge Device (CDD).
    "Litex is pleased to be recognized by experts from the automotive industry
with the Powertrain Excellence Award.  We have a lot of confidence in the
capabilities of the CDD to significantly decrease harmful vehicle exhaust
emissions and we're looking forward to making it available to automotive
manufacturers in 2000," said Dr. Leon Ekchian, president and CEO of Litex.
"Litex is ready to work in partnership with the automotive industry to meet
the increasingly stringent emissions standards in Europe and the United
States."
    The award was presented for the best powertrain innovation.  A total of
13 corporations submitted new technologies for consideration.  Entries were
judged on four criteria:  concept, uniqueness, feasibility and benefit to the
user.  The winner was selected by a panel of 17 senior engineering executives
of automotive companies worldwide.
    As the first-place winner, Litex received a cash award of $2,000.  Litex
will present the cash award to a yet-undisclosed university for a scholarship
fund.

    CDD Benefits
    The CDD, which is inserted into an automobile's exhaust system upstream
from the catalytic converter, is capable of reducing carbon monoxide (CO)
emissions more than 80 percent, and hydrocarbon (HC) and oxides of nitrogen
(NOx) emissions by more than 50 percent, depending upon the sulfur contents of
the fuels involved, which may range from 0 to more than 300 ppm (parts per
million).
    The CDD's "self-cleaning" environment reduces sulfur poisoning while
prolonging the life span of the catalytic converter.
    The CDD's capabilities for improving catalytic converter efficiency and
reducing potential sulfur poisoning eliminates the need to produce
"over-sized" catalytic converters, thus reducing the amount of precious metals
required in catalytic converters.  This will allow a reduction in the total
production cost of each new automobile equipped with a CDD.
    Testing results also indicate catalytic converters that have been poisoned
during thousands of miles of driving with high-sulfur gasoline can be
significantly regenerated after running with a CDD in the exhaust stream.

    CDD Testing
    During the past two years, Litex has performed extensive CDD testing at
the laboratories of the research and development firm Arthur D. Little, Inc.,
of Cambridge, Mass.  The CDD has operated on V-6 and V-8 automobile engines
running under loads that simulated a wide range of driving conditions.  Fuels
with varying sulfur content levels have been tested.

    Available in 2000
    The CDD will be manufactured by Saturn Electronics & Engineering, an
Auburn, Mich., supplier to the automotive industry.  It is currently available
to auto manufacturers for testing.  The production version will be available
to automotive manufacturers in the year 2000.  According to estimates made by
Litex, the volume price of the CDD to automotive manufacturers will be less
than $100 (DM 190).

    About Litex
    Litex is an advanced electronics company established in August 1996 to
develop and commercialize high value products that demonstrate strong market
potential and offer cost-effective solutions to complex industrial and
consumer needs.  Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., Litex has
satellite offices in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. and Cambridge, Mass.