ZEELAND, MI--(Marketwire - Apr 10, 2012) - [ Gentex Corporation ] (NASDAQ: [ GNTX ]), the Zeeland, Michigan-based manufacturer of automatic-dimming rearview mirrors and camera-based lighting-assist systems for the automotive industry, commercial fire protection products and dimmable aircraft windows, has announced that the Company's [ SmartBeam® ] high-beam lighting assist system will be available on the 2013 Ford Taurus. The vehicle will go on sale in North America starting in the spring of 2012.

The Taurus, Ford's flagship sedan, will offer SmartBeam on the Limited and SHO models.

"More and more automakers are adopting technology that improves forward lighting, and we are excited to be working with Ford on bringing SmartBeam to more of their products," stated Mark Newton, Gentex senior vice president.

SmartBeam optimizes forward visibility by automating high-beam usage, which allows drivers to better identify and react to potential hazards in the road ahead.

"With SmartBeam, the repetitive task of manually turning the high beams on and off is eliminated, allowing the driver to better concentrate on the road and prevent blinding oncoming traffic," said Newton.

SmartBeam is integrated into Gentex [ auto-dimming rearview mirrors ] that automatically sense glare from the headlamps of rearward approaching vehicles, and dim in proportion to the amount of glare detected, preserving the driver's forward vision.

Founded in 1974, [ Gentex Corporation ] is the leading supplier of automatic-dimming rearview mirrors and camera-based lighting-assist and driver-assist systems to the global automotive industry. The Company also provides [ commercial smoke alarms and signaling devices ] to the North American fire protection market, as well as [ dimmable aircraft windows ] for the commercial, business and general aviation markets. Based in Zeeland, Michigan, the international 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. More than half of the Company's interior mirrors are sold with advanced electronic features, and more than 98 percent of the Company's net sales are derived from the sale of auto-dimming mirrors to every major automaker in the world.