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Originally Posted by squeeeb
other than the reduced gas mileage they may cause, any reason why all cars just don''t come with automatic lights as a standard package?
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The two main reasons are the (minimal) power drain and driver perception. A lot of people see DRL's as having dubious benefits and not being worth the additional cost. Personally, I figure if you're that concerned about the 50-80 watts (at the
very most) that daytime running lights draw, you ought to be chucking your stereo; aftermarket stereos can draw multiple times that much power and even stock ones in some vehicles are about double the draw.
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Originally Posted by THGL
We'll have to agree to disagree. Maybe on SOME cars the DRLs are half-wattage high beams, but I know from experience that a number of DRLs I've seen at dawn/dusk are a hell of a lot brighter than another car at the same time with regular headlights on.
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Colour me as one who disagrees with you as well. American cars that have daytime running lights are usually designed with the Canadian market in mind, since it's mandatory on all new vehicles up here. Federal regulations specify that daytime running lights cannot have a luminosity greater than 7000 candela, which is significantly lower than the 75 000 candela limit placed on high beams or the 65 000 candela of low beams. As noted, this is most commonly achieved by wiring the high beams in series and thus effectively halving the wattage (the regulations were specifically amended to allow this design; originally they called for a much lower intensity, but that was to avoid requiring automotive manufacturers having to include a seperate system specifically for the daytime running lights).