1. Which is the first production car to use convex lenses infront of their bulbs?

2. Which is the first production car to use projector style lights?

3. Which is the first production car to use xenon bulbs?

4. Which is the first production car to use projector style with xenon lights?


E30 seem to have convex lenses for the outer lights, Supra is one of the older cars that used projector style lights but there could be older cars. I have no clue who used first HID lights but in 1999, cars from Acura and Lexus seemed to have advertise hard about their HID lights. S2000 seems like the first car to sport projector style HID lights as a standard equipment (debuting in 1999) but any older cars? Any that came even as an option?

 

The first HID's I saw were on BMW's, Porsche's, and Lincoln MarkVIII's around 1997.

 

The first time I saw projector style headlights were on a 300zx.

 

HID made its North American debut in 1995 on the Lincoln Mark VIII.

 

I thought the SL500 was the first to use HID lights in 95/96?

 

I believe you are correct sir.

 

Yeah, that statement came from the Sylvania website.

 

Yeah.. i was gonna say... it was either the Lincoln or the 94ish 745s that had them first.

I know the BMW was one of THE at least...

First projectors? Hmm.. thats a good question... BMW used projectors inside their 3 series lights on the E30... at least in Europe I think.

First Projector HID? The 7-Series mentioned above.

 

I believe you are right, the Z32 300ZX had projectors and it arrived in 1989.

 

Acetylene gas was an early power source for car headlights, which were also called headlamps beginning in 1885. The first electric headlamps appeared in 1905 and eventually became the norm.

Sealed beam headlights were standard fare well into the 1970s. They were replaced by brighter halogen headlamps by the 1980s and '90s, but the new technology wasn't without debate as some consumers complained about the higher price for the halogens and claimed their brighter light was distracting.

Near the end of the century, the same complaints were being heard as high-intensity discharge (HID) lights appeared on many high-priced vehicles as standard equipment or an option and were being offered in the aftermarket for a variety of other vehicles. As the name implies, HID provides a high-intensity light produced from an electric arc inside a capsule filled with xenon gas. The arc produces significantly more light than a glowing filament found in halogen lighting.

In fact, the HID projector headlamps on the 2005 Chevrolet Corvette deliver about double the light output of the average halogen headlamp, according to the headlight maker, Visteon.

HIDs, also known as xenon headlamps, have another advantage. They draw less power from a vehicle's electrical system. Thus, the 2005 Corvette's HIDs use a power-saving 42 watts for the low beam as opposed to a halogen's 55 watts. Not only does this mean less energy drain on the Vette's battery, there's also potential for enhanced performance in the car's other systems.