Ask the average motorist what they think of when they think of Audi, the word “headlights” will come up mighty quickly. And not coincidentally either: Volkswagen’s premium brand even spearheaded last year’s holiday marketing campaign by inviting consumers to “have the best lights in your neighborhood.” But one of the biggest challenges of the multiple-brand strategy is the constant pressure to take whatever works for one brand and apply it to the others, which is apparently just what Volkswagen has done.
Audi-style LED lights are now available as a €1,310 option in the German market, and we’d be shocked if they don’t arrive stateside in the near future. The upmarket look might well help VW snag some belt-tightening Audi intenders, but it will also help erode the unique benefits Audi has earned by pioneering LED headlights. Progress is a double edged sword…
I think it looks silly and cheap. That not going to be a lasting trend, just like illuminated windshield washer and undercar black light but i guess a certain kind of people will like it…
These LEDs are for daylight running lights , which will become compulsory in Europe in a year or two. If it stops people from driving round in daylight with their headlights on , then it will be a good thing. DRLs will have greater intensity than side/parking lights , but much lower intensity than dipped beams. Motorcyclists all ride around on dipped beams these days , to make sure folk see them, for safety reasons. If cars all drive around with dipped beams on then motorcycles become invisible again.
Once the new Opels and Fords started offering LED set ups, VW didn’t really have a choice.
I love led’s, just not in ‘strip’ form. I have swapped the brake light bulbs and all parking light bulbs for led’s in my Ram and Integra.
It was a brilliant move (excuse the lighthearted pun) by Audi to introduce the LED lights, as it instantly differentiated their “new” vehicles from the previous model years (which may have looked virtually identical otherwise). I especially like the feature which turns off the LED DRL on one side while the amber front turn signal is active on the same side (on some models).
But now that this is spreading (not surprising, as LEDs make excellent DRLs), it won’t be so special any longer. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, as they say.
Trivia question: Which vehicle (under $50K US) uses amber LED front turn signals as standard equipment?
Kia Amanti. I always thought that was a nice touch…humorous, but nice.
2001 Cadillac Catera had LED rear turn signals.
This kind of thing will only encourage douchebags who drive with their parking lights on at dusk because they think it looks cool.
I have a 2009 A4, without the LED lights, thank goodness. If there ever was a cheaper looking stunt played on a premium line of cars, this has to be it. Whenever I see them, I have a bad reaction. But just watch everyone copy them for a while (though this too shall pass).
Cheap lighting? I have not been a fan of the clear tailights with the chrome surrounding the small red lenses. I’m sure there is a name but I don’t know what it is. Glad that style is fading. Not a big thing worth worrying about to be sure.
€1,310?
Crimmeny!
I don’t know alot about LED lights. Are the lamps themselves LED. or only the decorative bit around the lamps?
There are how-tos and even a pretty professional looking product for ‘upgrading’ gen 1 Porsche Caymans and Boxsters to LED lights. Even the professional product (short run injection mold?, an RP printed part?) is only a fraction the price of the VW option. Meh, who cares? LED replacements to existing lamps is more interesting and should reduce electric power draw, leaving capacity for the all important megawatt subwoofer.
Are they actually headlights, or DRLs?
LEDs have practical applications and benefits but styling-wise they don’t make my heart sing. LED-festooned Audis look tacky. It’s like the boss said do something with these at the last minute.
“Ask the average motorist what they think of when they think of Audi, the word “headlights” will come up mighty quickly.”
Uh, not so much. I’m not sure you guys realize how little the ‘average motorist’ knows (or cares to know) about cars. I wasn’t terribly interested in cars before I looked for mine, and I’m a huge motorsport fan. I didn’t know about beltlines, a-pillars, b-segments, the market segmentation by size, or any real styling cues. I wouldn’t have known the difference between HID and non-HID lights. The only observation I’d bothered to make about design was that better-looking cars tended to have tires that fitted fender lines closely and worse-looking ones didn’t – and that better looking cars were almost all foreign and expensive, even though making the sheet metal match the tires wouldn’t be any more expensive than leaving a hole the size of the entire Little People, Big World cast.
If you ask the average motorist about Audi, I can tell you right now what the first thing they think about is.
The Olympics.
I wasn’t terribly interested in cars before I looked for mine, and I’m a huge motorsport fan.
What on earth drew you to motorsports if you weren’t interested in cars? That sounds like buying NFL season tickets because you enjoy paying $12 for a watery beer.
More cars with guyliner!?
I have rope lighting on my back porch. Does that qualify for anything?
Seriously, though, it’s stuff like this that substitutes for real design. It’s fairy cheap to add on doohickies and gimmicks like this to try to differentiate one car make from another, but I feel as if they’re just grabbing at straws, offering mere eye-candy to entice buyers as their product claims to be “hi-tech”! Sorry, LED accent lighting just doesn’t move me. Make cars that are more prcatical – you know, easy to get in and out of, window openings that you can see out of, a rear window that you can tell where the trunk edge is – stuff like that. Oh, yes, you can then make it pretty, too!
Perhaps as the next advancement they can start installing LED illumination along the rocker panels. In blue color. And maybe an array of LEDs around the rear license plate.
Blue lights are illegal in the U.S., they’re reserved for law enforcement only.
As far as the license plate surround goes, I’m all for it as long as the surround is made to look like barbed wire. I want everyone to know I’m hard core. I assume that the lights will flash or circle around the plate? How about we just replace the license plate itself with an RGB LED panel so you can display your license plate, but also cool animations or “For Sale” when you’re at a stop light? A picture of your kids/dogs? Baby on board? Classy!
LED DRL strips = vajazzling. That is all.
Sweet! So I should get my wife an Audi?
ED…not sure, but I THOUGHT I saw a Kia or Hyundai CUV with thse today while driving!
These are for DRL purposes. Since so many people are convinced DRL’s are such a great idea, the LED ones are the best incarnation. I still don’t buy that vision masking glare is what I need to see a vehicle by broad day light. At least an LED is not a high beam headlight aimed directly into my eyes, and LED’s use far less electricity and thus fuel.
High beam DRLs cause vision masking glare? In the daytime? This is not something I have ever witnessed. But what’s up with the GM vehicles that turn on the reverse lights when the driver simply unlocks the doors? It’s like crying wolf. I’ve started to ignore reverse lights on GM products when I’m driving through parking lots. I might yield to other vehicle makes, but the GMs are almost never actually backing up.
Give me a break! Too much glare from from DRLs? What do you do when the sun shines?
We’ve had DRLs here for 20+? years, and I’ve never, not once, heard anyone complain about headlight glare in daylight.
@Chris
+100
Nothing irked me more when I worked at Walmart and had to push carts in than seeing the back-up lights on a GM vehicle light up. I would wait until the person pulled out of their spot so I could avoid being run over just to have them sit in their car for minutes at a time. They annoy me so much that I shut that option off in my car so the only signal it gives that I’ve unlocked it is a flash of the lights and then my memory is sufficient to remember I’ve hit the button. I also shut off the option to have a delayed shut down of the exterior lights when I lock it.
I agree about never having had a problem with glare from DRLs during the daytime. I think they’re just a gimmick, but maybe they do have a point. Can’t be sure though.
Quit harshin’ on the trippy lights dude! Not cool…
PeriSoft: Very witty “Olympics” line. Much appreciated!
Just wait until these stupid eyelinermobiles for woman get banged up and need new headlight capsules to the tune of thousands a piece. Can you say big increases in car insurance to cover the cost of this technology gone out of control!
I wish Audi limited these to just the S or RS line to add some extra visual distinction between the base and performance models. This has gotten out of hand
They came installed on my ’10 Kia Soul. I like them.
ps Since when did DRL’s cause anyone to go blind? We’ve had them in Canada for over a decade with no ill effects. And for God’s sake, give up on the theory that DRL’s cause a huge spike in fuel consumption. Only Dick Cheney ever believed that.
Most of the US has different daytime visibility distances than Canada, yet DRL’s were mandated for every state for awhile. Luckily, they are _not_ mandatory anymore, so you can request your new car to have them permanently deactivated.
I always disliked them because it was another maintenance cost. Count how many times you see GM/Chevy trucks and minivans driving around with one of the two DRL’s burned out.
My Kia Sportage has LED DRLs. I like ’em.
The EU has mandated that all cars from 2011 on have at least some form of DRLs.
http://www.motorauthority.com/blog/1025245_eu-announces-plan-for-mandatory-daytime-running-lights-by-2011
Thats why you see LEDs popping up on everything from across the pond.
http://i726.photobucket.com/albums/ww262/MARR09/3.jpg
What’s wrong is not so much on the front… is the rear!
For instance, 2011 Touareg tail lights are nearly damn undistinguishable from Audi rear lights.
The first “look at me” DRLs in my opinion were the BMW angel eyes; it seemed like every BMW (and some non-Bimmers) were sprouting aftermarket versions. Now we’ve moved from angel eyes to the LED thing. All that stuff rates a “meh” from me.
I doubt Audi were fools enough to think they’d ever keep the market on LED lights to themselves. Such tech always trickles down.
I’m with Hank on the trickle-down aspect.
I guess I’ll be the lone fool that admits that he enjoys this particular ‘gimmick’. Sure, it will work better in some applications, but I think it’s just fine to embellish the headlight housing a little. I was smitten with the BMW angel eyes look when it came about and I find the Audi rendition similarly pleasing.
Kia is offering a similar look on their upscale Sportage (perhaps the Audi-Kia connection is too easy there) and likely on other models like the Optima, too. I think this is fine. What makes me shudder is thinking about headlights from the 80s and 90s that were barely-translucent plastic rectangles. The ‘jewel’ headlight designs that became popular in the mid to late 90s were a breath of fresh air and frankly there’s nothing wrong with this design, especially as a more efficient DRL.
LEDs + Audis = Glitter + Pudgy Stripper
I think LEDs are a great idea in general – particularly suited for low intensity applications like DRLs. Making them a twee decorative element is just tacky, IMO.
Isn’t the article talking about an ACTUAL LED headlight…not just the LED DRL’s also in the same housing? The A8 and R8 are some of the few cars…or maybe only cars, in the world to use LED’s for the actual light. This VW appears to have a projector lens on one side and an LED headlight on the other. This would be very unique in this price segment.
i think you can get the prius with full led headlights but its an expensive option.
also as a 2010 a4 owner, with the led package i love it. the cars without it just look cheap (well all the cars that don’t have it also are missing a lot of other things)
As long as we’re raining on parades, anyone care to attempt to calculate the fuel savings from using LED DLR’s compared to ‘old fashioned’ DLR’s?
Hint: Get a calculator with at least 10 digits and be prepared to look far to your right beyond all those zeros.