: This paper shows how architecture description languages can be tailored to the design of embedded automotive control software. Furthermore, graphical modeling means are put in an object oriented programming context using classes, attributes and methods. After a survey of typical automotive requirements, an example from a vehicle's body electronics software shows the component based architecture. Introducing the concepts of component and connector refinement provide means to close the gap between system theoretical modeling and resource constraint embedded programming practice, leading to an object-oriented behavior description on the one hand and to a common middleware on the other.