In this day and age with higher gas prices, looming CAFE standards and the threat of global warming, automakers are trying to improve fuel-mileage any way they can. Some companies are turning to hybrids, others to diesel and then you have some that are using different headlights.
Ok, so headlights and fuel-economy aren’t usually brought up in conversation together, but, according to Ford ’s senior staff technology specialist Mahendra Dassanayake, about 5% of fuel consumption goes directly toward powering a vehicle’s interior and exterior lights. Because of this, Ford has setup a garage-sized laboratory, including a 5,000 watt overhead light that can mimic any lighting condition on earth, where it can evaluate a vehicle’s interior and exterior lights.
Ford is largely experimenting with the difference between LEDs and regular bulbs, such as incandescent, halogen and fluorescent. LEDs have been proven to last twice as long as their counterparts but are about 10 times more expensive. However, LED equipped vehicles save about a gallon of gas a week over cars with conventional bulbs, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Several cars already use LED headlights, as well as a few upcoming models, such as the Audi A8 , Cadillac CTS , Chrysler ’s minivans, the new Ford Flex and Lexus LS, albeit not for increased economy, but rather for their clear, bright light as well as their upscale look.
