Originally Posted by
Burton
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.
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.
If you want people to understand what you meant, you need to post what you meant and not claim you mean something else later. I always click on 'Reply with Quote' so that there's no ambiguity about what was in the original post. So that you can see
your words again here's the important part of what you wrote (but you can scroll up to make sure I didn't quote you out of context):
It took about 50 years after automotive headlights were invented for them to be adopted by industry...
Nothing in there about standardization. Nothing in there about halogen. Nothing in there about any of the stuff you listed above (again with the quote so that I don't misquote you). I can't read
your meaning into something you
didn't say. It
did not take 50 years for the US automotive industry to adopt lights for automobiles. It may have taken 42 years (still short of 50 years) to adopt a standard headlamp size...which may have been a bad thing because 'standards' can (sometimes) stand in the way of innovation . Lights weren't 'optional' except at the very beginning of their introduction and became standard equipment very shortly after their introduction. Ford made them standard equipment by 1917...far short of the 50 year period you stated. And I doubt, highly, that you can find an example of any other manufacturer that was offering a car without headlamps much later than that.
On the rest of your above post, you are deflecting the issue so that you don't look the fool. I never said anything about US standards vs European standards or about the US automotive industry being a leader. I only addressed your error on it taking 50 years for lights to be accepted by US automobile manufacturers.
In terms of bicycle lighting, you seem to feel that the US method is the way to go. You have lights that are made by a US company without the highly shaped beams, cut-offs and reduced intensity that the Europeans require. The European style lights are available and could easily be adapted to run on batteries...if that's the way you want to go...but you choose (and complain about) the ones that blind other road users (according to you). There's a word for people who say one thing and do the opposite. I wonder what it is?