I have a question for anyone interested in thinking about it. I've been looking at my base 07 TL (as I often find myself doing) and wondered about something. I don't quite understand the design decision on the side marker lights. Why are the front yellow side markers smoked, and the back ones left red? Is it because maybe there is enough yellow on the front from the wrap around park lights up there and not on the back with the tails? I understand them being smoked on the Type-S for sporty effect, but this tosses out my idea for some type of minimum red/yellow color since the S tails don't really change that much.

To me, it seems the base would have yellow and red side markers and the S would have all smoked. So I just don't know what they were going for, design wise. I know the third gen was around awhile before the Type-S idea was brought back, but it still just confuses me why they bothered to smoke those front base side markers. Sorry if this has been asked before, I searched around and couldn't find anything close to it.

 

i always figured the red ones were to match the tail lights.

 

Probably because someone cool designed the front ones and someone lame designed the back ones. Actually, I don't uderstand why we have amber on the front headlights. It's the only yellow on the entire car. I can't stand it.

*this is an otherwise useless post so I can gain full membership.

 

I must be strange, because I kinda like that hit of amber. But then, I have a black car, and it contrasts nicely with it.


That's a good way to get mods to smile at you

 

Well, I think there is some DOT law that says you have to have something yellow up there. If you look, every car has it somewhere on or near the front. On the S they got rid of most of it, but had to leave some on there. I just don't get why they left the back one red if they smoked the front one. To me, they should either both be smoked (like the Type S) or both should be colored. Doesn't make sense to me.

 

I think the reasoning for the smoked one is because..well an amber colored sidemarker up there would be a bit bright and not nearly as subtle. The red one in the rear matches the side of the rear taillight. On the Type-S, the taillights are mostly gray, so a gray sidemarker was necessary. IMO, a smoked rear taillight looks odd without the Type-S taillights.

You'd have been better off if you left that last part off. G'luck.

 

This is true. If you look at every car, if they dont have those sidemarkers like we do, the headlights and backlight go all the way to the side. The reason is because they are suppost to have yellow markers in fron and red markers in the back. So when some one sees the car, you'll know the yellow is the front and red is the back.