AUBURN HILLS, MI – Limited and Chrysler 300C are now offering tier-one automotive supplier Hella’s Light Detection and Ranging-based (LIDAR) adaptive cruise control (ACC) technology as optional equipment late in the 2007-model year. About half the cost of standard, radar-based ACC systems, Hella’s unit is a key component of its driver assistance systems (DAS) technologies that are designed to assist drivers so that they may concentrate on the task of driving. Drivers remain in control of their vehicles at all times and can switch the ACC on and off as required. Hella’s ACC system allows drivers to be more comfortable, instead of manually re-adjusting their vehicle’s speed as is often required with conventional cruise control systems. Hella’s ACC also offers significant safety advantages by helping to make sure vehicles stay at a specified distance and provides drivers a warning by automatically triggering the brakes. Using modern, opto-electronic measuring technology, Hella’s ACC employs a LIDAR sensor that has a range of nearly one-and-a-half football fields (up to 500 feet) in clear-weather conditions. The unit also takes inputs from the vehicle’s speed, steering, and yaw-rate (which are used for stability systems) sensors. With high, lateral resolution that not only detects the distance to an object, Hella’s ACC system also detects the object’s side-to-side position and dimensions. Hella’s DAS strategy combines a number of applications; including an ultrasonic-based parallel parking system, rear-end collision warning, lane- departure warning (LDW), rearview cameras, and sensors with advanced image-processing software. Vehicles equipped with these features could detect potential accident situations, provide warnings or, like the ACC system, automatically engage a vehicle’s brakes to maintain a pre-set distance between vehicles.