28.10.2002
Innovative Lighting Technology for Vectra and Signum

Opel/Vauxhall will introduce a pioneering headlight technology called Adaptive Forward Lighting (AFL) which provides a clear advantage in terms of active safety and comfort. AFL combines swiveling Bi-Xenon headlights that turn at a 90 degree angle for intersections and narrow corners. AFL will be offered next year for the Vectra and Signum.

Opel/Vauxhall are the first car manufacturers to make AFL technology available for a wide spectrum of customers by offering it in midsize cars. The AFL system will soon be available in other models.

The aim of the lighting specialists at Opel/Vauxhall was to make driving in the dark and in bad weather conditions easier and above all safer. Scientific studies have shown that visual perception, with which we absorb 90% of all traffic relevant information, is reduced to as little as four percent when visibility is poor at night. AFL provides an added measure of safety in autumn and winter especially, when fewer daylight hours, late sunrise, early dusk and frequent rain and fog, create poor visibility.

Compared to standard headlights, the AFL system offers the following additional functions:

Curve-light: The swiveling front headlights shine at an angle of up to +/- 15 degrees, depending on the steering angle and car speed. Curves are better illuminated by up to 90%. This not only contributes to increased safety and car control, but also enhances the dynamic driving characteristics of the car and ensures additional safety and comfort.

Turning-light: Junctions and narrow bends receive additional wide-angle lighting. The illumination is nearly 90 degrees to the direction of travel over a distance of approximately 30 meters from the car. The turning-light is designed to function only at speeds up to 50 km/h, so that it does not activate in situations like lane changes on the motorway.

Main-beam headlight: Bi-Xeon lights provide extremely powerful lighting on main-beam. With the Opel/Vauxhall sophisticated Bi-Xenon system, dipped-headlights and main-beam can be projected on the road through one single Xenon bulb per headlight. A movable aperture in the beam path allows the switching of dipped-headlights to main-beam. The advantages are an especially intensive and bright beam of light, which has the same color as dipped-headlights.

"AFL offers a significant improvement in road safety and driving comfort. It is further proof of our ability to innovate, because our goal is to make attractive technology affordable in all types of cars", said Opel's executive director of engineering, Hans H. Demant.