A classic car connaisseur is going to shine a light on the history of the car headlights! Remember to like, subscribe and share if you want more of this! Enjoy!
The fact that this comment by someone is legitimately true in just about every one of Ed's videos is seriously underrated too. I can't understand how more people haven't fallen sway to his comedic charm.
As you mentioned: the early lamps were prone to the effects of wind and rain, so when electric lights came along they too could be affected by atmospheric changes. (They would fog up which obscured the light beam pattern.) This is why the U.S. government demanded the car companies use sealed beam headlights that weren't bothered by changes in humidity since it was the best technology at the time. European headlights were allowed to use the 'bulb and reflector' style but their answer to moisture problems was to seal the entire reflector housing. In the late 50's the U.S. car manufacturers were able to convince the government that they could make 'quad headlights' that were separate high and low beams, while still being vacuum sealed from the elements. Europe also developed tight standards on how their lights were aimed. (They had a tighter 'cut off' of the beam above the car's hood to reduce on coming glare.) So in the late 70's the U.S. government allowed rectangular headlights (which allowed U.S. car companies to closer resemble the European style headlights) because lamp technology had improved to the point that they could make rectangular headlights that were sealed. By the 80's the U.S. carmakers convinced the government that they could manufacture 'bulb and reflector' (or 'composite') style headlights that could be sealed the same way the Europeans did and meet U.S. light beam standards. Even today, you can’t just sell American cars in Europe (and vice versa) because of each country’s light beam pattern standards. How do I know this? Back in the mid 80’s I worked for a company in Detroit that converted Cadillac Seville and Eldorados to meet European standards. I modeled a bezel that could take a European standard Audi headlight and fit it into the front of the Seville. We used techniques like this to convert Eldorados, De Villes, and even the Chevrolet Malibu for European export. (Today I work for GM in the Chevrolet studio. I’m contractually obligated to say that for legal reasons.)
Has anyone come up with a solution to the non-heat generating lights from ice-ing up? Sure is getting tough to see other vehicles in a storm. Tractor trailer vehicles have gone l.e.d. in tail lights for a couple years and are extremely hard to see in white out conditions.
You know what, I have never thought about that! Great suggestion, I have currently some other video topics in the works, but I'll definitely make a video about grilles in the future!
~1900 to 2019 : Functional, decorative yet proportionately sized. 2019 to →?: Absurdly huge, mostly fake, gaping maw, large-mouth bass abominations. (Looking at you, Lexus & BMW..) Even some EV's cant get away from the grille what with using textured front fascias that resemble a grille. (Chevy Bolt) Or crap that looks like a teething toddler's mouth. (Kia)
Very good! As an automotive restorationist, I can tell you ALL of my American repair books from 1931 thru early 1980s use the grill and headlights to denote the year of the car you are working on, if you dont know the actual model; because it was such a design feature, it helps you identify the marque's model of car. Nice video for those newbies to automotive history!
One key point is that all U.S. headlights had to be sealed beam (reflector, lens, and filament in a single, sealed unit that functioned as a big bulb) from 1940 to 1983, and not just of a particular dimension. One rationale behind this was that reflectors in sealed beams deteriorated less over time because they were sealed from the elements. Sealed beam lights came in standard sizes and shapes that evolved over the years as noted in the video. But the basic requirement was to have sealed beam headlights, not headlights of a particular size or shape. For example, Volvos were equipped with round lamps of essentially the same size in North America and Europe in the '60s and '70s, but the European spec. vehicles had separate bulbs and reflectors while the North American spec. vehicles had sealed beams. U.S. and Canadian lighting standards are essentially the same, except Canada requires daytime running lights (optional in the U.S.) and Canada also permits ECE standard lights.
Great video. The 1986 Ford Taurus would've been worth mentioning, as it was the first US made car for the masses to have angular, sealed beam, 'architecturally styled' headlights. It's contemporaries look very dated in comparison to it. Could even be worth doing a whole video on it, sort of a revolutionary car that nobody really talks about how big of a deal it was at the time.
I was surprised to learn that it was illegal in the US, during the 60s, to have headlights behind glass. I wonder how Chrysler was able to get away with it for the '65-'66 Imperials? 🤔
You are a true connaisseur - - car lighting has changed totally during my 64 years, and the changes you have spotlighted were very distinct , and reflected in car styling ...
This is incredibly cool, because it reveals sooo much about how people “see” themselves and their world. Headlights are one of the most expensive elements of any vehicle to design and produce and besides “emissions” one of most highly regulated. A huge portion of automotive/transportation design is headlights!
2 points: Mercedes Benz had a 'lozenge' style glass headlight cover on its sports car for 1957. And glass light covers in the U.S. were banned in 1968 supposedly for 'safety' reasons vis. impact. But that's debatable.
Also US brake and turn lights can be almost anywhere as long as there's at least one on each side so you'll some in the normal spots or they'll be super low or super high on the body
I fond it weird how so many European manufacturers spend the money to change their taillights to pure red. I personally like the amber. Europeans can make fun if us about it but their manufacturers love doing it.
Exactly that's so weird. Maybe they do it to show that they "respect" the US market and change their vehicle to suit the need of the market Even Ferrari does it!
I prefer amber behind a clear lens specifically, but I agree it’s odd. Not always consistent either. Toyota pickups used to have amber but they have changed to red more recently. I think it was the BMW X3 that used to have amber turns but the X5 from the same era had red. All this while some North American manufacturers are switching to amber. The new Ford and Ram pickups, some Jeeps and most of GM’s suvs have amber now. I probably pay to much attention to all of this.
Matrix headlights are great. Darken only the parts of the roads where there's oncoming traffic and I would not give them away. 'Murica still does not have adaptive headlights because NHTSA needs to keep things nice and obsolete.
Illuminating video. American designs that were modified for other countries did in fact have the modifications that you hinted at: Australian Chrysler Valiant VF and VH series had rectangular headlights while the XC Falcon update had HUGE square headlights with halogen bulbs. The Argentinian Dodge GTX looked like a Dart but also had rectangular headlights. The benefit of standardized lights is in resupply. The headlights on my 1967 Oldsmobile cost $17(AUD) whereas my 2005 Toyota requires replacement of the entire assembly at $220 used. Which has cheaper maintenance?
This is one of the best automotive channels on youtube ever. Been watching all your videos while counting subs since yesterday. It seems like you gained almost a thousand subs during that timeframe. Goodluck dude!
Never made the connection with regulations and the single- vs dual- headlight trend in the 1950's. The quad headlights were always a good giveaway for 1958 model years when combined with overall styling. Good video!
You could also build off the US post sealed beam era in which the dip beam had to be separate unit from the rest of the headlight unit and the W126 Mercedes S class is a prime example between Euro spec and US spec
So I scrolled back to admire that '36 Cord @ 2:53...duuhh..fog lamps? What a crying shame. The elegant design of this Classic does not need help! I'll bet this owner has a statue, back at the Estate, of Venus wearing cut-off jeans and a tank top. Who is going for a spin on a foggy night driving this priceless beauty?? Another Excellent Video from EAR.
Great content as usual. For a decent while after electric headlights were used regularly, they weren't bright enough for you to see at night. People didn't drive after dark. All headlights were for was to warn pedestrians that a car was coming. Fun fact
Lol..me too. I drive a Homda Fit. That puts me right in an oncoming pickup's 10000 lumens LED's. I don’t like that kind. It's effing dangerous. I wrote to our transportation feds and they sent me the approved heights and lums of all truck headlights. No help at all. Ok…what are my options..don't drive at night, avoid modern trucks…get LED's? Yes. I did and now I can blast away when I need to. Usually, the truck deiver will flash back high, but I don't care. I made my point.
You missed the point of both the 1968+ Citroen DS and 1970+ SM headlights: They turned with the steering and they were self-levelling. They corrected for body pitch and also dipped downwards slightly when cresting a hill so your lights weren't pointing up into the trees, plus the lifted slightly when the front suspension detected you were in a dip. The entire vid seemed not to be a history of headlights but, rather, a history of retrograde US auto regulation.