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Just saw a Volkswagen ad boasting about its "10-color ambient lighting." I mean, I have light bulbs in my house that boast millions of colors and they cost less than $50. Why on Earth would any car manufacturer advertise fewer colors in their ambient lighting than another manufacturer? I actually was surprised Mercedes only has 64, given the relatively low cost of LED ambient lighting available.
Millions of colors are available in LED lighting right now, yet automakers are limiting themselves to less than a hundred. Seems like a case of "planned obsolescence." These automakers will move up to 128 colors for 2021, then 256 for 2022 before finally someone goes ahead and offers a million. Silliness.
Just saw a Volkswagen ad boasting about its "10-color ambient lighting." I mean, I have light bulbs in my house that boast millions of colors and they cost less than $50. Why on Earth would any car manufacturer advertise fewer colors in their ambient lighting than another manufacturer? I actually was surprised Mercedes only has 64, given the relatively low cost of LED ambient lighting available.
Millions of colors are available in LED lighting right now, yet automakers are limiting themselves to less than a hundred. Seems like a case of "planned obsolescence." These automakers will move up to 128 colors for 2021, then 256 for 2022 before finally someone goes ahead and offers a million. Silliness.
The ambient lighting in the GLE is brilliant compared to other cars I have owned, I had a Land rover where you could only see it at midnight when there was no moon, more than enough colours for me.
Just saw a Volkswagen ad boasting about its "10-color ambient lighting." I mean, I have light bulbs in my house that boast millions of colors and they cost less than $50. Why on Earth would any car manufacturer advertise fewer colors in their ambient lighting than another manufacturer? I actually was surprised Mercedes only has 64, given the relatively low cost of LED ambient lighting available.
Millions of colors are available in LED lighting right now, yet automakers are limiting themselves to less than a hundred. Seems like a case of "planned obsolescence." These automakers will move up to 128 colors for 2021, then 256 for 2022 before finally someone goes ahead and offers a million. Silliness.
The bulbs in your house don't have to be subject to extreme environmental conditions such as extreme cold, heat and vibration. Things in cars have to be designed and built to withstand a lot more severe conditions then for home. That can make the cost jump significantly.
Also very few vehicles have ambient lighting that can change colors at this time. So even though it is 10 colors, it's something that makes them stand out from other mfgs.
The bulbs in your house don't have to be subject to extreme environmental conditions such as extreme cold, heat and vibration. Things in cars have to be designed and built to withstand a lot more severe conditions then for home. That can make the cost jump significantly.
Also very few vehicles have ambient lighting that can change colors at this time. So even though it is 10 colors, it's something that makes them stand out from other mfgs.
Lights that can withstand all that already exist. Sixteen million colors, 16 feet, works in all weather conditions and costs $150 at retail. I find it hard to believe auto manufacturers can't engineer this technology, or even license it, in a cost-effective manner. It won't be long before this is in all automobiles. Like I said, planned obsolescence.
Lights that can withstand all that already exist. Sixteen million colors, 16 feet, works in all weather conditions and costs $150 at retail. I find it hard to believe auto manufacturers can't engineer this technology, or even license it, in a cost-effective manner. It won't be long before this is in all automobiles. Like I said, planned obsolescence.
The bulb you linked can only work from -20 C to 45C which is much less than what the environment in a car will experience. It's also not rated for vibration or shock which is constant in a car.
Are there bulbs that can withstand the environment in a car and have millions of colors? probably, does it cost $150, not likely.
Yes eventually there will be more cars that will have this. How many years... who knows. If you're willing to wait, there's always something better down the road.
The bulb you linked can only work from -20 C to 45C which is much less than what the environment in a car will experience. It's also not rated for vibration or shock which is constant in a car.
Are there bulbs that can withstand the environment in a car and have millions of colors? probably, does it cost $150, not likely.
Yes eventually there will be more cars that will have this. How many years... who knows. If you're willing to wait, there's always something better down the road.
LOL. Imagine how insulted MB or VW engineers would be at the thought that they can't get 16 million colors out of their ambient lighting almost immediately if they were tasked to do so. They're just leaving meat on the bone so that when there's a mid-cycle refresh they can boast about adding more colors.
Knowing has business casing and P&L goes, I can almost guarantee you that if the pricing option between what we currently have and a full-spectrum strip was even just $1, a typical commercial decision would be to get the cheaper option.
A consumer is looking for a fancy led interior lighting, they will not go into the dealership asking how many colors it can do. It is also the same line of thinking that ended up putting cheap plastic on the door panels and many other things you will never see.
A dollar here, a dollar there.. adds up over several hundred thousand vehicles
Just saw a Volkswagen ad boasting about its "10-color ambient lighting." I mean, I have light bulbs in my house that boast millions of colors and they cost less than $50. Why on Earth would any car manufacturer advertise fewer colors in their ambient lighting than another manufacturer? I actually was surprised Mercedes only has 64, given the relatively low cost of LED ambient lighting available.
Millions of colors are available in LED lighting right now, yet automakers are limiting themselves to less than a hundred. Seems like a case of "planned obsolescence." These automakers will move up to 128 colors for 2021, then 256 for 2022 before finally someone goes ahead and offers a million. Silliness.
Once you get to 64 colors, having more in an auto environment is moot. The eye cannot distinguish such small differences.
Devil’s Advocate view.... It looks like splitting hairs to me. I’m happy with what we have in the Mercedes....maybe double them at most. Unless it’s a bragging rights issue, it seems to be of little use to have a lot more color options. Personally I like a bright color that stands out during the day.
Devil’s Advocate view.... It looks like splitting hairs to me. I’m happy with what we have in the Mercedes....maybe double them at most. Unless it’s a bragging rights issue, it seems to be of little use to have a lot more color options. Personally I like a bright color that stands out during the day.
So that brings me back to my original point. I couldn't understand why VW was touting its 10-color ambient lighting when MB already has 64. There's a pretty significant gap there. It seems silly to me for VW to brag about 10 colors. It was just an observation.
As Greg noted, people aren't going to really distinguish 16 million colors, but there's no doubt car companies are going to use the number of available colors in their ambient lighting as part of their marketing efforts. And given the technology that currently exists, it seems obvious to me that they'll bump the number of available colors with new models so it seems like the lighting is being "upgraded." If they started at 16 million colors, there wouldn't really be anywhere to go from there.
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
