And by the way, the LEDs cost 3590 EUR extra. In Germany, the liter of gasoline costs 1 EUR currently. You have to drive 500km to save a liter. After 1,795,000km, you have your money back.”

Sorry but thats a load of BS. If your gonna have a go at a company, try and get your facts right. in 2008 audi had 7 models with the led running lights. A3 & S3, A4, A5 & S5 & Q5, A6 (S6 & RS6), A8, S8 & R8. total easily more than 400k and given the lower models do a lot more miles that R8’s will. besides the led headlights are not bought for their eco friendly side. its a style thing that happens to reduce fuel consumption, and the day running lights will be a euro legal requirement may 2011 so your all going to have to put up with it eventually and to be truthfull if they blind you then you seriously need to get yourself checked out. Here in the uk i see 10+ cars a day with led running lights and none of them are that bright.

http://www.webwombat.com.au/motoring/news_reports/lexus-ls-600h-l.htm

Of course alignment bumps would interfere with headlight wipers but US regulators did not have the imagination to think of such things.

The $2 for a replacement bulb is trivial next to the clerical overhead of a fix it ticket, $80 service call to change it and the downtime on the equipment.

The only downside is that LEDs don’t generate heat and melt off accumulated snow and ice.

AFAIK no class 8 tractor offers LED headlights.

Lexus was the first to use LED’s on rear licence plate – GS 2005. And first to use low beam LED’s – 2007 summer LS600h.

But what is impressive about this Audi is its redline – 8700rpm. For a series production 5.2L V10 engine its a crazy number, closing in on Honda S2000’s 9000rpm redline.

Go on, cite it. Or I’ll save you the trouble: there’s one from 1998, a NHTSA study that says that, for DRLs that leverage the high-beam bulb and are set to high and are shining in the face of drivers with light sensitivity, the there’s a mild possibility of distraction.

Otherwise, I’ll continue to take the word of the IIHS (who have a huge, vested interest in keeping accident claims down) over the other, more rant-ish works I’ve found written by armchair experts

Common sense tells me that shining a bright light in my eyes is counterproductive to road safety.

Then you must have real trouble driving at night, because low-beam headlights are brighter than DRLs. So are store signs, traffic lights, street lamps, Christmas lights, etc, etc.

You don’t want to even think about the lux level the sun puts out, even through an overcast sky.

And if you think DRLs are dimmer than low beam headlamps my friend… two things: you haven’t looked at the ones on the Chrysler Sebring shinning at you

Then that’s a problem with the Sebring, not DRLs in general. There are very strict codes about the amount of light a headlamp can produce at or above horizontal. I’ve tried staring at the DRLs on both my Saab and my Fit and I’ve found:
a) At ten or more feet, they’re less bright than the overcast sky
b) They’re definitely less bright than their low-beam equivalents.

and if you need lights on to see a car you’re the one that needs ophthalmic help.

The point of DRLs is to make a car more noticeable, especially when ambient light levels are high enough to make it difficult to pick them out as moving objects at a distance. It’s an issue with how people perceive their surroundings, not the quality of their vision.

The IIHS, as well as the Scandinavians, have actual accident frequency studies that back this up. Every counterpoint I’ve ever read eventually comes down to subjectivity and/or aesthetics.

I can cite studies too but won’t bother. Common sense tells me that shining a bright light in my eyes is counterproductive to road safety.

If I look hard enough I’m sure I can find a study that says Elvis and Hitler are alive and well and co-owners of a bridal shop on Connecticut.

And if you think DRLs are dimmer than low beam headlamps my friend… two things: you haven’t looked at the ones on the Chrysler Sebring shinning at you and if you need lights on to see a car you’re the one that needs ophthalmic help.

Tacky? Maybe. Dangerous? The stats don’t back you up.

I have little doubt sooner or later I will be involved in an accident because I was blinded by the DRLs

If DRLs (which are on in daytime, and are dimmer than low-beam headlamps) blind you, you need your eyes checked. Seriously.

If Audi wants to save the planet from the boogeyman of global warming they should 1. stop making cars with 500+bhp and B. turn off the damned lights during the day.

Same goes for some HID front and rear lights. I have little doubt sooner or later I will be involved in an accident because I was blinded by the DRLs on a Lexus RX or by the HIDs on an Escalade. Will I have any legal recourse against the manufacturers?

And, as it couldn’t be any other way, an awful idea is made into a continent-wide law in the EU. Not long before they’re mandatory in America too.

I rue the day…

Well, if you’re telling the truth, then calculate it like most people would.

The option goes into the finance package, and probably gets considered on the exit trade-in or private sale for the new model, so you’re certainly not out-of-pocket cash up front while you’re “saving”.

Same goes for hybrids, diesels etc, and any other car that people say “but it costs more up front!!”. Fractionally if you finance it, and hopefully you get some kick on resale.

Otherwise, the whole market would be more bland than Japanese whale meat.

Of course, that all changes if I buy a car equipped with them.

Anyway, I’d fire the PR agency simply for the translation botch job. Sgt. Schultz would have done a better job.

It’s 2,382 EUR on the UK site, replacing the 1,800 EUR Bi-Xenon option.

Come on Bertel, do you expect an ROI on the optional sunroof as well???

Not every option on every vehicle has to make economic sense otherwise reductio ad absurdum to …… a Chevy Aveo.

Is the fresh air in Japan messing with ‘ya??

And by the way, the LEDs cost 3590 EUR extra. In Germany, the liter of gasoline costs 1 EUR currently. You have to drive 500km to save a liter. After 1,795,000km, you have your money back. As the PR-text says: “Common, you guys can do better than that!” – Ingolstadt, fire that PR agency.

As long as potential buyers aren’t checking or don’t care, their jobs are OK!

Huh? As reported in November, the R8 was the one and only Audi sold with those miracle LEDs in 2008. The average yearly kilometers driven in Germany are 12000. So according to my math (pls correct me if I’m wrong, I had a long day) they sold 400K LED-equipped R8s in November and December of 2008?

And by the way, the LEDs cost 3590 EUR extra. In Germany, the liter of gasoline costs 1 EUR currently. You have to drive 500km to save a liter. After 1,795,000km, you have your money back. As the PR-text says: “Common, you guys can do better than that!” – Ingolstadt, fire that PR agency.

The R8’s lamps need to be MANUFACTURED in a FACTORY. Because of that alone, they derive energy from an OIL BASED ENERGY SOURCE. Therefore, whatever emmissions they save fromt he car, they make up at production.

Oh please…. You’re talking in absolutes when what we really need to know is the CO2 difference in manufacturing one type of lighting system as compared to another. My guess would be next-to nothing.

In that sense, a proper accounting of the CO2 should be required, but people can’t even grasp that something had to be manufactured for the headlights, so how are they going to deal with more complex CO2 accounting.

The R8’s lamps need to be MANUFACTURED in a FACTORY. Because of that alone, they derive energy from an OIL BASED ENERGY SOURCE. Therefore, whatever emmissions they save fromt he car, they make up at production.

Furthermore, this thing is an inneficient sports car…you’re not helping mother earth at all. Not with those SPECIAL TIRES and SPECIAL PARTS that differentiate it from other cars.

This is why I have no faith in the “green” movement. Its all a bunch of BS.

Some aren’t bad; maybe it depends on the model. The Murano and the Passat are eye scorching.

I couldn’t agree more. This obsession with AWD is nutty.

Good point.