A Brief History of the Automobile Headlight

It’s difficult today to imagine a car without headlights. Whether driving through rain, fog, or the dark of night, we often take our headlamps for granted — that is, until something goes wrong. A simple headlight lens restoration kit today could offer your old beams some serious headlight renewal, but have you ever wondered how the modern headlight came to be? Here’s a quick rundown of the history behind this simple but essential component of every car on the market today.

• 1880s: The first headlamps are introduced, fueled by acetylene or oil. Acetylene lamps were much more resistant to wind and rain, but they were far from infallible out in the elements. Delivering a steady supply of fuel to the lamps was also difficult.
• 1898: The Electric Vehicle Company of Hartford, Connecticut, introduces the first electric headlights on its Columbia model as an optional accessory. More electric headlights followed, but were limited by the short lifespan of the filaments inside the bulbs.
• 1917: Cadillac engineers a lever inside the car that can control the transition between high and low beams. Before then, you had to get out of the car and “dip” the lights manually.
• 1940: U.S. law requires all cars to come equipped with two 7-inch round sealed beam headlamps, which stymied further innovation in the technology for some time.
• 1962: The first halogen bulbs are used in Europe for cars, but prevented from entering U.S. manufacturing until 1979 because of the standardized regulations.
• 1991: The BMW 7 series introduces the first high-intensity discharge (HID) headlamps, which provide even stronger beams than halogen.
• 2004: Light-emitting diode (LED) headlights first hit the market with the Audi A8 W12, followed by the 2007 Lexus LS 600h.

Although the technology continues to evolve, halogen bulbs remain the most prominent type of light source for automotive headlamps today. Some long-life bulbs are said to last anywhere from 2,000 to 4,000 hours of use, up to four times that of a standard halogen bulb. But no matter what make or model car you have, be sure that your headlights are working as effectively as they should. For a headlight lens restoration that will help make your beams shine their brightest, order one of our professional headlight restoration kits today.