It wasn't until the 1980s that car designers first had the freedom and the tools to really push head and tail light design. But sometimes less is more, says Stevens -
No lighting of any type was ever fitted to a simple horse-drawn farm wagon. It was only with the growing use of carriages in towns and cities after dark that it became wise to fit ‘carriage lamps’ to warn pedestrians of oncoming traffic, though regardless of whether they were oil or candle-powered, these early lamps gave a hopelessly dim light.
A standardised 7in round sealed-beam headlamp, one per side, was required for all vehicles sold in the United States from 1940, which left designers with little freedom, though from 1957 the law changed to allow smaller 5.75in round sealed beams, two per side of the vehicle. TheDS was ruined in its US form, both from an aesthetic and illumination point of view, by these absurd rules.
Almost every new car now has LEDs for front and rear lighting. The most recent LED lights, where the conventional bulb is replaced by an array of tiny light-emitting diodes are remarkably and dramatically bright.