I suppose in reality I do have an automatic system. If I leave the lights in the ON position, they automatically shut off when I turn the key off and open the door, and they turn back on again when I again start the engine. And that includes the taillights.
I have grown to really appreciate the automatic lighting feature of my Trailblazer. Really well thought out. And I can choose to leave them in automatic mode or turn them completely off when I want them off (including DRLs). There are a few times I want all lights off while the engine is still running; when I come home with sleeping kids and I want to let them finish up a nap. If I turn off the engine, they wake up instantly. So I want to idle in the driveway without lights blaring into my, or the neighborsā, house. Another situation involves launching boats at the smaller ramps. Many will have your lights blasting right into the house across the street. I donāt want to aggravate the people living next to or across the boat launch such that they would want to close it down. Having headlamps blasting away into their house for prolonged periods would be inconsiderate of meā¦
I just keep the switch to the left and donāt worry about it. Great little feature IMO
Lights on is a safety item and for those like Mountain bike it would take a very large research grant to determine how much extra fuel he uses in a years time if any.
I may have to take responsibility for some people driving without their lights on at night. I was trying to convince students in a computer science class when learning to use a new piece of software to master the essential elements first and use them. After that, they can explore the other features. I compared it to driving a car. I quipped that I only know four things about driving a car: 1. You turn the steering wheel clockwise to go to the right; 2. You turn the wheel counterclockwise to go left; 3.The pedal on the right makes it go; 4. The pedal on the left makes it stop. Knowing these four things letās me drive the car anyplace I want to go. My wife is the only one who knows how the HVAC works and she roasts me in the winter and freezes me in the summer. My son is the only one who knows how to operate the radio, so I drive along with a rock station at 100 db. I have no idea how to operate the lights and wipers, but those things are only for wimps. The four things I do know get me anyplace I need to go. A couple days later my wife, who was an administrator in the graduate student office came home and said āI got the strangest question from a graduate student today. He saw your picture on my desk and said āDoes your husband really drive the car and never uses the lights or wipers?ā. Why would he ask a question like that?ā. All I could say is that my students master what I tell them and they donāt turn the headlights on at night because they donāt want to be wimps.
There is one little issue with automatic headlights. I e-mailed Subaru about this after I bought my Legacy in 2014. Many states require you to turn on your headlights when you use your windshield wipers, but even in the auto mode, the headlights will stay off on a rainy day.
I suggested that they incorporate the wiper switch position into the logic for the headlights when they are in the auto position. They replied that they had forwarded my suggestion to the engineering department. I donāt know if they have added that feature yet or not. It will probably be at least 15 years before I set foot on another car dealers lot, I keep my cars for a long time.
Keith, daytime driving lights, which Subaruās have, fills that legal requirement.
The one thing I wish my 2005 Accord EX V6 has is sentinel lighting, just like my GM cars.
I am driving a 2016 Dodge minivan while my 2011Toyota Sienna in the body shop having a parking lot dent removed. On the Sienna, you twist the end of the turning signal stalk to turn on the headlights. On the Dodge, turning the knob at the end of the stalk turns on the wipers. The headlight switch on the Dodge is a rotary switch on the left side of the dash board. I turn on the wipers when I want to turn on the headlights. I wish the auto manufacturers would make these important controls the same across different makes. If the auto transmission could be standardized in the P-R-N-D-L , surely this could be done for lights and wipers. My first six cars, a 1947 Pontiac, 1955 Pontiac, a 1954 Buick, a 1965 Rambler, a 1971 Ford Maverick and a,1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass had a push pull switch on the left side of the dashboard to operate the headlights. What was wrong with this set-up that it couldnāt be made standard?
Vehicles are now being made for world wide markets. Having left and right side drivers position makes it hard to have uniform control standards.
Vehicles are now being made for world wide markets. Having left and right side drivers position makes it hard to have uniform control standards.Companies have been doing that for decades. I think they have that figured out by now.
"Keith, daytime driving lights, which Subaruās have, fills that legal requirement. "
Bill, we have had this discussion here in the past. I am not fluent in every state law on this, but several members have said that DLRs do not meet that requirement in their state. One of the regulars even posted a link to their states law on the states web site and indeed, DLRs only met the requirement for wipers that were on intermittent. On continuous wipe, the headlights had to be on.
āMy first six carsā¦had a push pull switch on the left side of the dashboard to operate the headlights. What was wrong with this set-up that it couldnāt be made standard?ā
What is wrong with it is that it makes for protrusions on the dashboard that could be injurious to the driver in the event of a collision. Pull-out controls were done with away long ago for that reason, along with steering wheel hubs that had sharp edges or points on them.
The push/ pull mechanisms are more expensive than the electric switches that replaced them, and they are less reliable since there is a mechanism involved.
O.k. Iāll buy that. However, I donāt like the confusion with my Toyota Sienna having the headlight switch at the end of the turning signal stalk and the Dodge van having the wiper control at the end of the turn signal stalk. My Sienna is supposed to be ready Monday,so the rental van goes back. Iāll be back to something I am used to driving. Iām not knocking the Dodge vanāit does have comfortable seats.
VDCdriver: The first 4 vehicles that Triedaq listed had āchest crusherā steering wheel shafts that prevented being injured by the light switches.
Yeah, the push/pull switch in those old cars was probably the least likely thing to hurt you in case of an accident.
"The first 4 vehicles that Triedaq listed had "chest crusher" steering wheel shafts that prevented being injured by the light switches."
Thatās true, I guess.
Once your sternum is penetrated by that rigid steering columnātopped off with a pointy steering wheel hubāyou would probably be dead before you impacted the light switchā¦
This brings to mind an interview that was done with Buickās Chief Engineer, in the wake of Fordās 1956 safety enhancements. He told the interviewer that, when he drives with his grandchildren, seatbelts were ānot necessaryā because if he saw an impending accident, he would shout āBrace!ā, so that they could stiffen their arms against the dashboard, and that action would protect them from injury.
So, there you have it folks!
Seatbelts, padded dashboards, and recessed switches are superfluous, as all one has to do isā¦
ā¦develop a sixth sense so that you can foresee all possible front-end collisions and warn your passengers of sameā¦
and
ā¦develop upper body strength that is strong enough to withstand the incredible inertial forces that take place during a frontal impact.
Yes, Buickās Chief Engineer really did say this, as he justified GMās failure to implement the early safety features that Ford adopted (as either standard equipment or an option) for the '56 model year.
Ford added safety features in its 1956 models. These models had the recessed hub steering wheels and safer door latches. Padded dashboards and sunvisors and seatbelts were options. Ford heavily advertised its safety features, but unfortunately that advertising didnāt sell cars. Buyers went down the street to buy GM products which were advertised as having great performance. Apparently, buyers believed that GM cars didnāt get involved in accidents. The first car my dad bought that had front seatbelts as standard equipment was a 1963 Studebaker Lark. I believe it had a dual master cylinder and the switches for lights,wipers and panel lights were rocker switches. The dashboard was padded. The rear floor was already set up to easily install optional rear seat belts whixch my dad did.