[alfa] Sealed beams and turn signals

[C M Smith <cmsmith@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Sealed beam rules originate in the 30's, I thought. The reason for the rule 
was the requirement for lugs on the headlight lenses to allow for automatic 
aiming equipment to be used. The sealed beam was required ostensibly 
because of variations in bulb position allowed by old headlight designs. 
The Europeans solved that by keying the headlight bulb so it had to be 
aligned to fit. The aiming requirement was actually more important in 
Europe after the introduction of quartz halogen lighting.

The primary result of the US headlight regulation, as is common with 
regulation, is the freezing in time of headlight "technology" in North 
America (Canada just follows the US because we build a lot of your 
vehicles) leaving it far in the dust. Modern DOT headlights are atrociously 
bad, dangerously weak in fact. Now we have relaxed the regs we get 
expensive crappy headlights you cannot upgrade instead of cheap crappy 
headlights easy to upgrade. Such is progress when left to the regulators 
subjected to lobbyists (you want boondoggle, check out the effect on your 
consumer prices of the steel tariffs or the softwood duties, holy moly guys 
what are you doing to yourselves?)

The rear turn light issue really is just production economics. For some 
reason it is found to be cheaper for US designers to reduce the wiring to 
the rear of the car and make the turn signals do double duty as brake 
lights. Saves a few cents per car, and that's good enough reason to do it. 
Very dangerous actually, but pretty common. There is a regulation requiring 
that the tail lights be of a certain area, one paid lip service to on the 
cadillac eldorado, to name one example, but that has nothing to do with 
this strange aberration. Mind you, the bean counters at GM were cost 
conscious enough to saw off the last few inches of tailpipe on every Chevy 
Nova and have the stub bent around to exit behind the rear wheel. Another 
potentially dangerous "innovation" driven purely by a cents per vehicle 
cost control mentality.

Bottom line (pardon the pun) if you want cheap then ask an American to 
design it for you. Nothing wrong with that unless you want quality, the two 
don't go together. Nothing wrong with the designer either in case you'all 
think I'm anti american which I ain't. The market determines what is 
necessary or desireable, not the designers. The regulators decide what is 
minimally required. Of course when the regulators won't act and the 
consumer is ignorant of the true facts you get the potential for disaster, 
which will happen in the US with the SUV craze, it's just a matter of time.

Trouble is for us fine car aficionados that the average customer for North 
American automobiles likes the product just fine. Hard to believe, but true.

Cheers


Michael Smith
White 1991 164L
Original owner
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