|
If you look at the diagrams on the IIHS site, you can see something is very wrong with the 3 series lights, It looks like they were aimed incorrectly from the factory. Unlike Consumer Reports testing, where they aim the lights correctly before testing.. IIHS tests them as arrived the factory (which is good because that’s how most drivers are going to experience them).
This really is bad though. bad bad bad.
People crash and die from this stuff..
Worth considering however, that consumers buy based on how headlights (and taillights) LOOK, not on how they perform, which is harder to determine. Like everything else in engineering, what leads to nice looking lights, might be counter to what leads to good performing lights.. (as in giant wheels)
Manufacturers have to yield to market forces though even they’re ignorant of the tradeoffs-
i.e. CUV’s with giant rims, bad visibility, and bad headlights
The Accord , Mazda6, and Subarus seem to be able to do much better with much less is you look at the diagrams (or if you’ve ever driven one!).
One thought, is that these cars were originally designed for the US market first, while the European cars are designed originally to european headlight standards, then adapted to meet US regulations… perhaps leading to a compromised process from the onset. (taking away light to conform to different regulations, rather than re-engineering the housings and reflectors from the ground up?)
That’s why the popular switching an audi/bmw/benz to the Euro model lights (in the old days) was such always a huge boost in performance.
|