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Wheels: Headlights Get New Attention as More Than a Car Design Flourish

posted onFebruary 21, 2017

Article snippet: Over the last 30 years, as automotive lighting has graduated from incandescent bulbs to halogen, xenon and now LED, headlamps have definitely gotten brighter. But they haven’t necessarily gotten better. In a study last year by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the headlights for only one of 31 vehicles tested — a Toyota Prius v — earned a “good” rating. Ten models had “poor” headlamps. The worst performer of the lot: one version of BMW’s luxury 3 Series sedan. Making good headlamps is not a mystery or even a technical challenge. Often, though, as much focus is put on how they look as part of the car design as on how well and where they throw light. “Aesthetic design, not road performance, has been controlling headlamps,” said Adrian Lund, the president of the insurance institute. But that could be changing. This year, for the first time, the institute will give its coveted highest safety rating, known as Top Safety Pick Plus, only to vehicles whose headlights receive a minimum “adequate” score. The new focus on lights will most likely push automakers to ensure that their lamps not only shine brightly, but also do so far enough down the road. Already, BMW stopped offering the poorly rated halogen lamps on its 3 Series sedans; as a result, the car was designated a Top Safety Pick Plus. “Headlamps have not been viewed as the safety component that they should be,” said Jennifer Stockburger, the director of operations for the auto test center for Consumer Re... Link to the full article to read more

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