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Sigh. They'll gladly welcome anything self-driving it seems, but refuse to budge on headlight laws. https://www.wired.com/2017/01/bad-audis-swanky-new-headligh

Sigh. They'll gladly welcome anything self-driving it seems, but refuse to budge on headlight laws. https://www.wired.com/2017/01/bad-audis-swanky-new-headlights-arent-allowed-us/ https://www.wired.com/2017/01/bad-audis-swanky-new-headlight...

mpnordland 8y ago
Forgive me if I'm missing something here, but could they not just... add another light? Put this _and_ another LED system for the low beams?
- zepearl 8y ago
  It would change their mainline design (the new "country-specific" look most probably not looking as good as the original one) + having a different design (only for the US market, especially involving the front part which is extremely important in the general look) might probably have to be marketed under a different name (e.g not "A4" but "A4us") with all kind of repercussions on in/direct costs of all kinds (storage space for replacement parts, marketing, research on future evolution, ...). Additionally, accepting a request from a specific country might trigger a chain-reaction from other countries, multiplying what stated above by the nbr of countries (and I personally don't think that it would be a linear curve as at the same time the costs for coordination between the multiple lines would rise).
rcdmd 8y ago
From the article, "Because the manufacturers haven’t yet proven there is significant enough life-safety benefit to a laser-based matrix system, regulatory reworking is a tough sell." Because of the regulations, the burden is on the manufacturer to show the matrix light technology is actually safer than the traditional one.
nightski 8y ago
Is there any evidence whatsoever this increases safety? In my experience driving at night, traffic with led lights are so obnoxious it's almost worse than high beams with traditional headlights.
- ndnxhs 8y ago
  Article even says it puts a spotlight on pedestrians so they can't see anything.

mpnordland 8y ago

Forgive me if I'm missing something here, but could they not just... add another light? Put this _and_ another LED system for the low beams?

zepearl 8y ago
It would change their mainline design (the new "country-specific" look most probably not looking as good as the original one) + having a different design (only for the US market, especially involving the front part which is extremely important in the general look) might probably have to be marketed under a different name (e.g not "A4" but "A4us") with all kind of repercussions on in/direct costs of all kinds (storage space for replacement parts, marketing, research on future evolution, ...). Additionally, accepting a request from a specific country might trigger a chain-reaction from other countries, multiplying what stated above by the nbr of countries (and I personally don't think that it would be a linear curve as at the same time the costs for coordination between the multiple lines would rise).

rcdmd 8y ago

From the article, "Because the manufacturers haven’t yet proven there is significant enough life-safety benefit to a laser-based matrix system, regulatory reworking is a tough sell." Because of the regulations, the burden is on the manufacturer to show the matrix light technology is actually safer than the traditional one.

nightski 8y ago

Is there any evidence whatsoever this increases safety? In my experience driving at night, traffic with led lights are so obnoxious it's almost worse than high beams with traditional headlights.

ndnxhs 8y ago
Article even says it puts a spotlight on pedestrians so they can't see anything.