Car lighting system is one thing which seems to have evolved very slowly in the automotive world.
Early cars had carbide brass lanterns and incandescent lamps used on carriages. The first truly innovative development, in the early 1920s, was the dual filament or
"Duplo" lamp. The early 1950s saw the introduction of the first asymmetrical lamp, the
"Duplo-D", with
a low beam and a high beam in a single sealed housing.
The next big development, the
single-filament halogen bulb, became available in Europe in the mid-1960s. These new, longer-lasting lamps took less energy than incandescent and provided 50 per cent more light.
Dual- filament halogen lamps developed in the 1970s are used today in most of the cars.
Headlights remain one of the most highly regulated systems on any vehicle. Then what is that about headlights of some cars which make people excited about them? This is so because headlights are not what they were at one time. They are now an item that imparts style to a car. They herald the arrival of a car from a long distance. So they have become an object of experimentation by the designers of cars and
car accessories. Several plans are conceived to make them look more and more attractive. Beautifying headlights is not an end in itself. The ultimate aim is to make the whole car look more attractive. That is what the owners of the car want.
However, amongst all this experimentation about the looks of a car, the main purpose of headlights should not be lost sight of. Their contribution to safety on the road has to be kept in view. There have been a number of innovations in this regard as well. There are brighter headlights whose beam is well directed. There are
Halogen headlights, LED headlights and
Xenon headlights etc, which are brighter. There are better reflectors and better lenses which direct the beam in a better way. Moreover, there are
projector headlights and
halo-headlights. All this helps the driver in having a clear view of the road.
Besides the different types of light sources the housings of the headlights have also received designer's attention. They are now available in different designs and colors. So, there are different types of housings to choose from like
chrome housings and
black housings. It is also the housings that give a distinctive looks to the headlights.