Originally Posted by
cyccommute
50 years? The first electric light bulb for automotive use was introduced in 1898 in the US...not even 50 years after the invention of the light bulb (1879 in the US) I didn't know that cars didn't have headlamps until 1948. All those round things on the front of cars from the 1908 Peerless to the 1948 Ford were just for show? Maybe they were just a place marker for when lights would be introduced. And those switches you pulled on the dash didn't turn on lights? And the illumination coming from the front of the cars was some kind of magic?
Peerless, an American company by the way, made the electric headlamp standard equipment in 1908. Ford put them on their Model T in 1915. Maybe the American's were 25 years behind Europe but that would mean that Europeans would have introduced the electric automotive light about 10 years before it was invented. Now that is forward thinking.
You're very good at reading only what you want to see and ignoring everything else. I'm guessing you must really like to listen to yourself talk - probably because so few other people are.
As per the Wikipedia, which you probably sourced for the rest of that info: "The standardised 7-inch (178 mm) round
sealed beam headlamp was introduced in 1940, and was soon required for all vehicles sold in the
United States." Up to that point any electrical lights had been non-standard items produced by individual manufacturers and at times - were ...... optional. Gee - sounds a lot like the current situation in the bicycle industry.
Also as per that same article: "The first
halogen headlamp for vehicle use was introduced in 1962 by a consortium of European bulb and headlamp makers. Halogen technology increases the
efficacy (light output for given power consumption) of an
incandescent light bulb and eliminates blackening of the bulb glass with usage. These were prohibited in the U.S., where non-halogen
sealed beam lamps were required until 1978."
Actually the entire article paints a very unflattering picture of the US automobile industry as being anything but a leader in lighting technology but you can continue to live in your own little dreamworld if you want to.