Piston Slap: A Tail Light Two-Fer!
We have a two-fer for tail light design this time…well, except one is about signal lights.
But I stand by my alliteration as they both exist on a car’s tail.
Steve writes:
On the way home the other night, I passed some vehicle with a very interesting taillight configuration. It looked like two wide, stylized “E”s facing each other, all in LED strips (see below).
I think it was a large silver sedan, the effect was very cool..
Not a classic car, but something new and sort of jellybean-ish. You may know what the vehicle was…any guesses?
Sajeev answers:
You probably saw the Volvo S90 (photo on top), certainly a unique car worthy of a Vellum Venom design critique.
Volvo’s signature rear lighting treatment made its mark on many an eyeball. Kudos to its design team for cutting a unique profile while remaining aesthetically pleasing!
TTAC commentator Halftruth writes:
Is it me or are directional lights not as easy to see as they once were? With all of the stylized/angled/transformer styling out there now, a simple flat and easy to see side marker is no more.
I have found myself more than once having to double check other cars when at a four way stop.
Sajeev answers:
While I agree, I have yet to do a double take. My issue is the distraction level while performing their job, which is a twofold beef:
On the front: the sheer volume of vehicles with LED-infused DRLs that shut off when the signal light is activated. I should be concentrating on every participant of a four-way intersection, not thinking “WTF does that new car have a bad ground?” Distraction level, increased!
On the tail: Audi’s “ dynamic turn signal” system incorporates a solid flash with sequential indicator. Two indicators doing different things wash each other out, making for unnecessary distraction. More to the point, the solid flashing light seems unnecessary, but I reckon there’s a legal/regulatory reason it made production for the USA (North America?).
Maybe we’re on to something: DOT regulations! Are regulations screwing us over again, just like decades of old school four-eye DOT headlights vs. H4+H1 E-code units?
Because, compared to the U.S. model‘s conventional signal light, look at this very-much-not-American video for the 2016 Lexus RX: the slick rear signal setup has a very clear amber rear turn signal. Even better, the front indicator doesn’t kill the DRL.
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The Volkswagens with the round white LED taillights (Golf Plus, Jetta V, Passat V) can often be seen with non-working LEDs (or even flickering ones) in their taillights these days. Another reason to not want a new car for me. Sequential (or, as Audi calls them here, "animated") turn signals are the worst. Sure, they do stand out, but for me they do so in an obnoxious, "look-at-me!" way, much like loud exhausts or so. The whole idea of LED turn signals was to eliminate the fade-in, fade-out operation of incandescents, so that a couple tenths of a second can be shaved off reaction time -- and now they make the LEDs "fade". In my opinion they should be forbidden. DRLs or headlights switching off for front turn signals are sometimes necessary, but only because they're too close to each other. There should be a minimum distance requirement, like there is for fog taillights and brake lights (in Europe at least). Other peeves: dual fog taillights, and foglights that double as cornering headlights. One thing however is good about all this confusion: classic and/or foreign cars with red turn signals, yellow headlights, or other illegalities don't stand out to the police anymore -- you can get away with almost everything these days. :-)
GMs and Fords are the only brands where I regularly see a brand new vehicle with a taillight burned out. Maybe LEDs will diminish this phenomenon, but we aren't there yet. And the DRL turning off when the turn signal comes on looks totally idiotic. Turn the same LEDs amber and flash them.