Contact Information: FINANCIAL MEDIA AND INVESTOR CONTACT: Connie Hamblin 616/772-1800 GENERAL MEDIA CONTACT: Craig Piersma 616/772-1800 WEBSITE: www.gentex.com
Gentex Mirror-Based Backup Camera Display Offered on Ford Van
| Source: Gentex
ZEELAND, MI--(Marketwire - December 18, 2008) - Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ : GNTX ) has announced
that it is shipping its Rear Camera Display (RCD) Mirror for the 2009 Ford
E-series Passenger Van. The full-size van has been a standard offering from
Ford since 1961. The redesigned 2009 E-series went on sale in North America
this past summer. Gentex is the leading supplier of automatic-dimming
rearview mirrors to the worldwide automotive industry.
The Gentex auto-dimming interior mirror with RCD is available as a
stand-alone option on the Cargo, XL, and XLT trim levels. The RCD Mirror
contains a liquid crystal display (LCD) that works with a video camera
mounted at the rear of the vehicle to provide a view directly behind the
vehicle while backing up. When the vehicle is shifted into "reverse," a
2.4" diagonal LCD display appears automatically through the auto-dimming
mirror's reflective surface. The display disappears when the vehicle is
shifted into any other gear. The capability for the display to appear
through the mirror's surface is made possible by Gentex's "transflective"
coating and lighting techniques, which result in a bright, high-resolution
color image.
"The E-series program is the fifth vehicle at Ford to offer our RCD mirror
as original equipment and the first full-size van using the Gentex
mirror-based backup camera display technology," said Enoch Jen, Gentex
Senior Vice President. "The Ford E-Series has been a top selling full-size
van for 29 years and Gentex is pleased that its RCD Mirror technology has
been added to the updated model."
Founded in 1974, Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ : GNTX ) is an international
company that provides high-quality products to the worldwide automotive
industry and North American fire protection market. Based in Zeeland,
Michigan, the Company develops, manufactures and markets interior and
exterior automatic-dimming automotive rearview mirrors that utilize
proprietary electrochromic technology to dim in proportion to the amount of
headlight glare from trailing vehicle headlamps. Many of the mirrors are
sold with advanced electronic features, and more than 97 percent of the
Company's revenues are derived from the sale of auto-dimming mirrors to
nearly every major automaker in the world.