That was why I quoted the word "could" since that is what is open for debate. Like you, I lkie the looks of them and if.. BIG IF, just one person sees me and doesn not pull out in front of me, then the DRL's have done their part but.. how is that recordable? I certainly notice cars with their lights on during the daytime, even in the hot, bright HOuston summers.

I don't mean to deride anyone for not liking them but I also don't understand what there isn't to like or not like about them since you don't see them while driving.. do their friends tell them how the car would be so much cooler looking without them on?

I guess this will remain just another mystery of the universe to me.

 

My take on this whole DRL thing, at least here in the US and especially in places like SoCal where car "enthusiasts" are looking to mimic the latest and greatest thing of the moment like oversized humongous wheels, carbon fiber hoods, matte black paint jobs, etc. is that DRL are just another of those latest and greatest things. Particularly the cutesy pixie lights that Audi has used for their vehicles. Because here in SoCal Audi's are such "cool" cars so "enthusiasts" rushed to rip off the pixie light look (hey, look at me, ain't I cool).

Be that as it may, while I do not believe in the effectiveness of DRL in places like SoCal (EXCEPT in foggy, dusky conditions) I would have less of a problem if the ones on my new TL were less obtrusive. A small line of LED's rather than burning the high beam at some reduced voltage would look better in my opinion.

 

I thought the DRL's came from the European cars (scandanavian countries especially) and not as a cutesy thing but a safely thing only. I have never thought of them as being cute or necessarily cool like the add-ons like you mentioned. I am not a fan of the oversized wheels.. like you, I grew up with N50-15's and such. 16" and higher were for pickup trucks and none were ever lowered... only the low riders of the valley (I grew in San Berdoo) drive the low riders.

My pet peeve for lighting is the SUPER bright blue headlights. They may look cool from the drver's seat but I hate being blinded by them coming head on or coming from the and side...

I do hear ya about copy cats.. since Audi did the LED "eye brow" everyone wants to copy it.. even Chrysler 300 has a similar thing... to each thier own but I prefer innovation to copy cat!

 

^^^that is true...
actually never dawned on me that some places where it's foggy a good majority of the year, you could add some visibility with the DRL's. Then again, you could just go old school and just turn your lights on if you live in those conditions.

 

Moreover, cars have always had parking lights (at least since I was a kid and that goes back a ways) and, more recently, fog lights. I recall as a kid when I was driving my parent's 1963 Pontiac and it was dusky or foggy out, I always had the sense to at least turn the parking lights on. I understand that there are some dopes out there who would not have the sense to do so which is why I would have no problem with DRL turning on automatically under those conditions. I just don't like or see the need for these lights to be on during normal daytime driving and I don't like being forced to have them on.

 

If the system was smart enough to "know" bright sunshine vs foggy, lower light conditions...

How about certain ethnic types that think emergency flashers on at highway speeds during rainy days?

 

thought it was a luxury feature..

 

OP, you're my Dad's age...he shares similar feelings about feeling FORCED to do anything new age. He refuses to get a cell phone...


...

but he is rockin that IPOD!

 

Yeah--I fought getting a cell phone for quite a while and my ex-business partner to this day still refuses to get one. However last year I begrudgingly got a "smart phone" and am sort of hooked with certain of the features (email, navigation, occasional web surfing) but still do not text and I refuse to be one of those people walking around every minute of the day fiddling with or staring at their phone.

 

I thought it was just as stupid when, back in 1986, some brilliant bureaucrat (no doubt) came to the conclusion that 2 large red brake lights just weren't enough. We also need one in high up in the center of the car at the rear. Belongs in the same trash heap of "well it could make it safer" as the DRL.

 

While I totally understand not liking a feature and therefore not using it as a differentiating factor if you are comparing cars, I fail to understand so much grudge for a feature that

a) does not cost any more incrementally
b) does you no harm
c) you can't ever see it
d) can only help (even though this is debatable - i understand that)

Going through the pains to disable this makes me curious - what do you hope to achieve by doing that? Not having to replace the bulbs sooner - wonder if there are any reliable studies to say how much it increases their life? And how much would it cost anyways over the life of the car? My 09 Odyessey has the DRL and it has been about 3 yrs since I got it and I have not had to replace the bulbs so far. So maybe a couple pairs over car life? Cost? Any other material benefits?

 

As I think I stated previously, the purely practical reasons for not wanting the lights is first the extra drain on the battery/alternator and second probably less life for the bulbs. I am particularly sensitive to the battery issue which is why I have always tried not to have anything on when starting the car. In the old days you would have ample warning as to when a battery is getting weak but these days the car just suddenly will not start. In a case where there might be just enough power to crank the car over having the radio and/or lights on could be the just enough to prevent that (I am not making this up since this happened with my wife's 2000 TL--when the battery was about to die it had just enough left to crank the engine once or twice and I am sure that having the lights come on would have prevented that).

On the purely emotional side of things, it disturbs me that personal responsibility has gotten to be a thing of the past with everyone now relying on the nanny-state to make their decisions for them so they do what is deemed right. Whether it comes down to where and when you can smoke (no I am not a smoker), what kinds of foods you should eat, how many lights you need to have on your car, etc. just goes against my grain. The very first time I came across a car with DRL was several years ago when I was up in Vancouver on business and rented a car. I thought something was broken since the headlights were needlessly (in my opinion) on all the time. Then while driving I noticed other cars with headlights on during the day and the first thought that popped into my head was "how dumb". To me if the first thought that pops into your head is that something is dumb, then it probably is.

 

A simple way to fix the problem for those who do not need\use their High Beams, fit LED 9006's and load resistors then your DRL's will be on but look a whole hell of a lot cooler and will not be party to the slow death of a pair of perfectly good, but rarely used halogens.

Just an idea