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Bosch Platinum+4 Tapped for Popular Mechanics 2000 Design & Engineering Award

2 November 1999

Bosch Platinum+4 Tapped for Popular Mechanics 2000 Design & Engineering Award

    BROADVIEW, Ill., Nov. 2 -- The editors of Popular Mechanics
have chosen Bosch's Platinum+4 four ground electrode spark plug as a winner of
its 2000 Design & Engineering Awards.
    "After a two-year hiatus, we've brought back our Popular Mechanics Design
& Engineering Awards ... one of the most prestigious forms of recognition for
achievement in design innovation," Joe Oldham, editor-in-chief of Popular
Mechanics wrote in that magazine's March 1999 issue.  "We honor innovations,
invention and just plain good ideas in each of the areas we cover
editorially."
    "We're honored that the Platinum+4, was chosen for this award," Robert
Burnham, vice president, marketing for Bosch said.  "We believe that the
innovative design of the Platinum+4 is a technology breakthrough.  The editors
of Popular Mechanics validate that belief by presenting the Platinum+4 with
the Design & Engineering Award."
    The Platinum+4's four ground electrodes and pure platinum center electrode
combine to deliver improved engine performance over the life of the spark
plug.  Bosch is the only manufacturer that heat fuses a pure platinum center
electrode into a ceramic insulator.  This eliminates air gaps, which exist in
standard platinum alloy-tipped plugs.  This superior design allows Bosch
Platinum+4 to reach its self-cleaning temperature faster, delivering smoother
acceleration, peak fuel efficiency, maximum engine power and a longer
performance life.  Plus, Bosch Platinum+4 adds 75% more pure platinum to its
center electrode than the Bosch Platinum spark plug for longer spark plug life
and optimal engine performance.
    Key to the revolutionary firing technology of the Platinum+4 is the
multiple radial spark paths via four uniquely designed ground electrodes.  The
spark seeks the most efficient path to one of the electrodes, releasing a
spark that is longer, more efficient and more powerful than that from a
conventional single ground electrode.  This design provides optimal access to
the air/fuel mixture to deliver the most efficient combustion and longer spark
plug life.  In addition, the Platinum+4's electrode gaps are pre-set at the
factory, and never need to be adjusted.
    Robert Bosch Corporation, a subsidiary of Robert Bosch GmbH, headquartered
in Stuttgart, Germany, has for more than 111 years been committed to
developing innovative products for the automotive industry.  A global company
with more than 189,000 employees and annual sales in 1998 reaching
$28 billion, Bosch has earned a reputation as a quality supplier to both the
automotive original equipment and the aftermarket.