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Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

caranddriver.com

101–110 of 493 posts

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#101

I wish we had the lights they turned with the steering wheel as a standard option. Is there any reasonably priced car with this feature, or is it only in Europe?

That exists now with a number of models here in the U.S., and is sometimes called "cornering lights." The original article refers to what this Motor Trend article [0] calls, "Adaptive Driving Beams."

[0]: https://www.motortrend.com/news/get-lit-adaptive-headlights-...

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#102
post #48
post #28

Even more importantly: Why is America still stuck with cars that honk when they're locked and that have indicator lights flashing in the same color as the tail-lights? One is a nuisance, the other one a straight-up safety issue.

When I lived in Canada we had to turn on the honk mode because there were too many people using devices that block remote vehicle locking. The honk is an obvious indicator that the car did, indeed, lock.

Aren't the flashing indicator lights also an obvious indicator that the car did indeed lock? Or even just the sound of the locks locking. It gives an audible click in all cars I know.

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not if they are halogens. I've only seen manual adjustment on HID-equipped cars, and only older ones. Most anything modern is auto-leveling.

I have only seen manual adjust on halogen and only auto adjust (because it's a requirement in Europe at least) on Xenon.

My last Japanese car with HIDs had manual adjust. Everything I've owned since was auto leveling. I've never owned a manual adjust (unless you count the screw on the headlight itself...) on a halogen headlight equipped vehicle. And I've owned a lot of vehicles over the years.

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#104
post #14

groups like Audi/Porsche/BMW have trouble bringing their fancy LED setups to America due to laws pertaining to high / low beams -- meanwhile every Jack and Jill on the road has glaringly illegal aftermarket Xenon bulb setups in refractor headlight housings rather than proper projectors, blinding the hell out of everyone on the road, and the police seem to do nothing about it. I mean, hey -- i'm usually happy about au…

Even the came-with-the-car headlights are often dangerously bright, no need to assume they're aftermarket.

I assume they're aftermarket when they're on an early 90s economy cars, they're two different colors, and the refractor is scattering the light up past street signs -- not when they're just bright.

brightness isn't the issue, precision is.

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#105
post #28

Even more importantly: Why is America still stuck with cars that honk when they're locked and that have indicator lights flashing in the same color as the tail-lights? One is a nuisance, the other one a straight-up safety issue.

The dealer will disable that for you. I couldn’t stand it, yes let’s tell everyone I just unlocked my car.

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maximum permissible wattage in USA headlights used to be 55 watts each (and probably still is). I don’t think there was ever a limit defined in lumens, so now we get LED lights with crazy brightness since they still use under 55 watts.

If the regulation isn't "55 Watts or equivalent brightness to 55W incandescent" then the regulation is pretty dumb. I mean it has to have a minimum brightness (regardless of power use), so why not a maximum brightness rather than a maximum power too?

I’m not sure if it even has a minimum brightness.

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#107
post #7

Even more idiotic is my truck. I put a camper on it. I can't drive it at night because the weight of the camper tilts the entire truck back just a bit so that the head lights are aimed right at driver's eyes even on the lowbeams. Everyone flashes me and gets pissed off. Hopefully Adaptive headlights account for things like this.

Does your truck not have self-leveling headlights? Or is the change outside their ability to handle?

If it's outside the adjustment range, there's too much weight on the trailer hitch. There are limits (usually documented in the manual) and both the rear suspension and headlights are the reason for them.

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#108

I wish we had the lights they turned with the steering wheel as a standard option. Is there any reasonably priced car with this feature, or is it only in Europe?

That exists now with a number of models here in the U.S., and is sometimes called "cornering lights." The original article refers to what this Motor Trend article [0] calls, "Adaptive Driving Beams." [0]: https://www.motortrend.com/news/get-lit-adaptive-headlights-...

Have a look at this advertisement for the Citroen from the 60s. Why did it take so long to get "adaptive" headlights?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=rRHogyYXFiQ&...

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#109
post #14

groups like Audi/Porsche/BMW have trouble bringing their fancy LED setups to America due to laws pertaining to high / low beams -- meanwhile every Jack and Jill on the road has glaringly illegal aftermarket Xenon bulb setups in refractor headlight housings rather than proper projectors, blinding the hell out of everyone on the road, and the police seem to do nothing about it. I mean, hey -- i'm usually happy about au…

Even the came-with-the-car headlights are often dangerously bright, no need to assume they're aftermarket.

I've noticed newer Toyota headlights's are really bright and angled too high up. That or Toyota drivers leave their brights on more.

Re: Why is America stuck with bad headlights?

#110
post #10

I installed the (OEM) European headlights on my car. It's, well, a night and day difference. It's been 8 years and no one has noticed.

I didn't know this was possible! Something to keep in mind if I ever buy a nice car.

It depends on the car model, but if it's a European make, then you may be able to get the ECE spec assemblies and just install them as is.
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