STRICTLY BUSINESS: MIRROR NO LONGER JUST A MIRROR

Remember when a rear-view mirror was just a mirror?

You could glance in the mirror to tell if another car was in back of you, or in some cases, at night, you could adjust the mirror to downplay glaring headlights from the rear.

And, in 1982, Gentex developed an automatic, motorized mirror that moved from its "bright" to "dim" position when glare was present.

All that is history. Now rear-view mirrors can turn on your windshield wipers, detect fog, deliver E-mail, check the weather, and make telephone calls, all by talking to your mirror.

As the Information Age merges with the auto industry, automakers are increasingly looking to the rearview mirror to house the electronics necessary to link the vehicle to the digital world.

Why not?

Rearview mirrors are in an excellent location to house hands-free microphones, antennas, global positioning system (GPS) receivers, wireless modems, microprocessors, user interfaces and various displays.

Automakers are beginning to use the mirror as an "integral electronic module," says Ken La Grand, executive vice president of Gentex Corporation, a company that develops and manufactures advanced-feature automatic-dimming rearview mirrors.

Gentex is taking the mirror into the future.

Gentex was founded in 1974, as a manufacturer of high-quality fire protection products, producing the industry's first dual-sensor photoelectric smoke detector -- a device less prone to false alarms yet quick to detect slow, smoldering fires.

Today, millions of Gentex smoke detectors and signaling devices can be found in hospitals, hotels, office buildings and other commercial applications throughout North America.

But, to Gentex is best known as the pioneer of the electrochromic, automatic-dimming mirror industry. The Night Vision Safety Mirrors are offered as standard or optional equipment on more than 140 vehicle models around the world.

Gentex, a global company with annual revenues approaching $300 million, has two separate divisions -- the Automotive Products Group, which generates approximately 92 percent of the company's revenue, and the Fire Protection Products Group.

The company already has mirrors with GPS system interfaces, cell phones, microphones, emergency notification systems and the like on 14 vehicle models in North America.

There's more coming.

Advances in wireless technology and voice recognition systems will open even more doors for the telematics mirror.

LaGrand believes the mirror may soon act as the portal to the outside world. For instance, he says that in the near future you'll be able to potentially plug a laptop into a vehicle that will access the Internet via a wireless modem located in the rearview mirror.

Technology and new electronic devices will continue to infiltrate the automobile.

Gentex customers included Audi, Bentley, BMW, Daewoo, DaimlerChrysler, Fiat, Ford, General Motors, Hyundai, Infiniti, Kia Motors, Lexus, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Opel, Porsche, Rover, Rolls Royce and Toyota.

Gentex operates out of four facilities in Zeeland, Mich.; an automotive sales office in Livonia, Mich.; automotive sales and engineering subsidiaries in Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and France; and four regional U.S. sales offices for the Fire Protection Products Group.

Gentex is not without competition, but the company is in a class of its own right now.

Main Street' facelift

Want to give your "Main Street" business property a facelift?

Check with Old Town Cape, the city's downtown revitalization program.

Old Town Cape is looking for four property owners in the Main Street district who are interested in new facades for their business properties.

Elizabeth Freese will be in Cape Girardeau this month to do drawings, which will provide a new look for the property, while staying within its historical context, said Catherine Dunlap, executive director of the new Main Street program, which is being operated by Old Town Cape.

The Old Town Cape district extends from the Mississippi River to West End Boulevard, and from Shawnee Parkway north to North Street. The district includes the riverfront, Haarig, and Broadway areas.

The visit and four drawings are all part of Cape Girardeau's "in-kind" assistance from the Missouri Main Street Program. The drawings will be at no cost to the property owners.

"We're looking for people to apply who are willing to put Freese's drawings into reality and improve the facade of their buildings," said Dunlap.

Applications are available in the Old Town Cape office, 111 Independence in downtown Cape Girardeau. Additional information is available by calling 334-8085.

The Old Town Cape Board Retreat will be held Feb. 16 to discuss and prioritize work plans. An Old Town Cape and Main Street annual meeting will be held Feb. 18, at Port Cape Restaurant.

Additional information and tickets ($15 for dinner) are available by calling OTC, 334-8085.