The Law Of Unintended Consequences

Plus, because of the Magnuson-moss Act, parts can be made by the aftermarket, as long as they meet the same standards the original manufacturers do. I had to replace the RF turn signal unit in my Exploder after someone running from the cops smucked it, and I was able to get a new unit through O'Really's; it fit very well.

 

They used to charge me 5 % of my insurance policy for damage covered by an uninsured motorist clause for instances like that. I can't believe you had to pay for damage caused through public-oriented events

Ford Exploder?

 

I have had similar experiences, both with the day time running lights and the new car illuminated dashes. I think that most folks you see running around without lights on (specifically tailights) are doing it unintentionally.
I know that it's been a requirement in Canada for vehicles to have their lights on all of the time for a while, but I don't know when it became a law. So, I believe, all Canadian built vehicles have had some sort of lights on/DRL for quite a while.
My first experience with this was about 20 years ago. A friend and I were traveling home from Seattle and we were driving his wife's car, a Canadian built Ford Escort. We stopped at the summit of Snoqualmie pass and I took a turn driving. We simply stopped in a parking lot and switched places. As dusk turned to darkness I couldn't believe how dim the headlights were. I also found it odd that I couldn't turn the brights on, they only flashed when I pulled the lever. Finally my friend said "Oh, it's because the headlights aren't on!" I had been driving into the evening with the DRL's thinking that the headlights were on.

 

Here in Europe, taillights automatically illuminate, simultaneously with the headlights. The Audi I drive is the first car I've ever had with either full-time or photo-electric sensor energized instrument lighting. I simply pay attention to the warning light governing headlamp illumination

 

That's handy.
Most everything I drive is pre DRL. So if the lights are on, it's because I turned them on.

 

^^^THIS. I don't know where this oft-repeated ten year myth came from, but there is no federal law that requires this.

 

I should have stated that this is European Union law. There might have been similar american legislation, in the past. I don't remember such details from way back when. I can't imagine automakers conducting planned obsolescence on a massive scale, through minimal replacement part stocks

 

But I have run into dealerships that clear out part stocks after a time, like the old Mallon Ford in Tacoma; their deal was seven years. I needed a Thermactor air injection manifold for an '83 T-bird back in '99, and the parts dunce told me they wouldn't have had one in stock for about nine years (this, after the State of Washington instituted emission testing in '96). Go figure.

 

I believe the required time to maintain a parts inventory is 7 years. Most will keep whatever parts they have after that, until they are depleted.

The new assist modes for cars are going to produce drivers lacking in responsibility for doing the safety checks necessary to drive without the assist modes. When they get in a car that does not have them, it will be a recipe for an accident.

My car has twilight sentinel, and the lights turn on when it is dark enough for the sensor to detect. One of my cars will turn the lights on when I am parked in the shade. I do not have, nor want DRLs. Here in Florida, you are required to turn your headlights on in the rain by law. Almost no one does it. If it is dark enough when raining, my TS will turn the lights on.

The only way the manufacturers will make the headlight lenses of glass is if a law is passed to require it, and the automobile lobby will never allow that.