Automotive HID Lighting...

[DemonTSi at aol.com]

Here's a thought...have any of you guys noticed those new HID lights on the
new Porches, BMWs, and Lincolns? They emit an almost pure white light and
they have this cool bluish glow around the bulb. 
I've checked with the dealers and Lincoln wants like 300 per headlight
assembly, whereas Porsche and BMW want like close to 300 per bulb!!! 
The thing is, HID lights are commonly used in the agricultural industry and
those HID bulbs are pretty dang cheap (like 30 bucks for a bulb of around
70W). My question is, does anyone know if it's possible to get one of those
bulbs (that are meant for a 120V system), get a ballast (I guess this is
necessary to fire the bulb up), and then a power converter (?) to allow the
light assembly to work on a car's 12V system...?

Van