This is the new trend for rear lights whether you like it or not. Interlocking LED light strip created by designers who focus more on art than traffic.
The E-tron's rear lights are annoying
The new Audi e-tron was not the first car model to get an LED light strip at the rear, but it is perhaps the model with the most annoys over. Partly because of the spread of the model, partly because of the design of the light. The E-tron's rear light consists of 50 different OLED elements and can be programmed to emit light in specific patterns and sequences. It looks great in the exhibition hall, but feels annoying in the dark. It's hard to put your finger on what's wrong. The light strip could advantageously have been narrower and given less light. But that alone is not everything. The light system is placed on the outside of the bodywork - not recessed - so that the light is not reflected on the car's surface. Relatively high brightness, high position and shape make the light float in the air as a two-dimensional creation – like a projected light that visually does not appear to be associated with any car.
Destroys depth perception
Depth vision is particularly important in traffic, not least at night. In the dark, we are dependent on our own lights, road markings, road lighting and the lights/reflectors from other road users. Ordinary rear lights with license plate lights do not just transmit the light bakover. Some of the light also illuminates the car itself so that we can sense its contours. Together with the contours of the car, it is easier for other road users to judge speed and direction. The E-tron's rear lights block the ability to perceive the contours of the car. The lights form an independent, two-dimensional shape that jumps and dances in front of us. It certainly looks nice in a dark showroom, but it doesn't fit well in live traffic.
Porsche Taycan
Porsche has also started with LED light strips. The Taycan and new 911 (992) have it, and the new Macan gets it too. Porsche's rear light arrangement seems far less disturbing in the dark than the e-tron's rear lights. The difference is that Porsche's light strip is embedded in the rear of the car. This causes some of the light to illuminate the surface of the car. It helps to tell about the shape of the rear and sense the contours of the car. The light strip's design is also very elegant, no matter what time of day you are.
Polestar 2
Polestar's light strip curves around the extreme points to form imaginary rectangular taillights. A nice effect to create a recognition effect. The light strip is narrow and placed on the outside of a flat surface that does not catch so much of the light. The light strip is narrow and less dominant than on the e-tron. In addition, it does not destroy the ability to perceive the contours of the car in the dark.
Was the Saab 9-5 ahead of its time?
It was not the e-tron that came first with a light strip on ordinary cars. The Saab 9-5 had a similar arrangement in its last model, which was discontinued shortly after launch 10 years ago. I don't know if all models had the same solution, but I at least found one point that annoyed me: When the driver braked, the lighting system was transformed into 3 rear lights by the middle part of the light strip being extinguished. When the brake lights went off, the middle part of the light strip fell back into place. I learned that the unfamiliar light pattern was not picked up by my own spinal reflex. Had the model been allowed to live, I'm sure many 9-5 owners would experience being hit from behind. Another example of a nice lighting arrangement that didn't fit in with the traffic.
LED light Mercedes-Benz EQC
The Mercedes-Benz EQC has a similar arrangement to the e-tron. The high position and strong brightness prevent us from seeing the contours of the car. Nevertheless, the scheme is not experienced as annoying as the e-tron's rear lights. What saves the scheme is the end of the light strip's extreme points, which form imaginary rear lights. But the light arrangement does not harmonize well with the rest of the car. Although it is about taste and comfort, - not traffic safety. There is, however, the EQC's LED light strip between the headlights. It destroys the visual effect one associates with a car front.
LED light strip in front
Car manufacturers who have chosen to place LED light strips in front of the headlights probably defend it by saying that it provides better light, or something like that. The fact is that the light strip can spoil the visual impression that other road users experience. In the dark, our brain will associate the impression of two separate headlight clusters with a car. Heavier cars are recognized with marker lights on the roof. It's about spinal cord feeling. Horizontal light strips in the front change shape and form, which means that other road users do not perceive the vehicle - and the speed - as easily. Those of us who occasionally ride two-wheelers know that other drivers involuntarily break the right of way because they do not perceive the two-wheeled road user as a vehicle - or unable to perceive the speed. The problem also exists at sea. Correct lantern guidance requires the placement and color of lights so that other passengers can read the movement of the vessel. The new ID series from Volkswagen is decorated with a strip of light in the front – fortunately not completely continuous. The hydrogen model Hyundai Nexo has also had a light strip in the front both in the new and outgoing model.
The advantages of LED lights
LED lights generally win over conventional lights with low price, low energy consumption, space-saving, and the possibility of creating intelligent dynamics. The LED light elements can be programmed to cast the light where it is needed. If a camera detects dark areas, the car can throw more light there, - or provide a rich dipped beam without dazzling oncoming road users. It can also be used for animation, for example sequential flashing lights and emergency flashing lights. In the future, you can also imagine even stronger lighting effects to warn of danger - or perhaps party effects?
LED – not just an accessory
LED is making its way in – not only in premium models – but also in more common models. The new Seat Leon gets it – probably together with the LED package. The new Hyundai i20 gets it. Right now there is a danger that car manufacturers will outdo each other in supplying LED light strips. Bearing in mind that today you can buy LED light strips for retrofitting for a couple of hundred Swedish kroner, it can easily be "inflation" in creative lighting schemes. Currently, I don't think there are LED light strips that can be legally installed on older cars. But maybe it is possible to mount on trailers?
Pictures
See
