Popular or Not, HID Xenon and Hidden Headlamps Are My Favorites

As friends of mine turning their car headlight kits from halogen ones to HID xenon headlights, I wanna try them too. In order to make a deep understanding of car headlight kits, I search the long history of headlamps in Wikipedia where I found other favorite car headlights except HID headlamps- hidden headlamps.



Here I would like to share with you the histories of HID xenon headlamps (http://www.nearbyexpress.com/catalog-products-1/car-electronics/led-lights.html ) and hidden one, which can give you some hints if you’re still wondering whether update your headlights or not.



HID is the acronym of high intensity discharge, and HID xenon headlight is the most fashion headlight nowadays because of its brighter, cooler, more durable, time-saving and money-saving features compared with other headlights. However few of drivers know hidden headlamps unless buying car before 2004, but these hidden headlamps are one of my favorite because of its special design and creative appearance.



Here I’d like to share with you the development and history of HID xenon headlights and hidden ones respectively.





HID xenon headlights first, which are the present car headlights mounted in my driving car now!



HID stands for high-intensity discharge, a term referring to the electric arc that produces the light. The high intensity of the arc comes from metallic salts that are vaporized within the arc chamber. These lamps are formally known as gas-discharge burners, and produce more light for a given level of power consumption than ordinary tungsten and tungsten-halogen bulbs.



Xenon headlamps were introduced as an option on the BMW 7-series in 1991 for Europe, and in 1993 for US models. This first system used an unshielded, non-replaceable burner designated D1 – a designation that would be recycled years later for a wholly different type of burner. The AC ballast was about the size of a building brick. The first American-made effort at HID headlamps was on the 1996-1998 Lincoln Mark VIII, which used reflector headlamps with an unmasked, integral-igniter burner, made by Sylvania and designated Type 9500. This was the only system to operate on DC; reliability proved inferior to the AC systems. The Type 9500 system was not used on any other models, and was discontinued after Osram's takeover of Sylvania. All HID headlamps worldwide presently use the standardized AC-operated bulbs and ballasts.



Referring to the history of hidden headlamps, we should know what it is. Hidden headlamps, also commonly known as pop-up headlamps or headlights, are an automotive styling feature that conceals an automobile's headlamps when they are not in use.



The history of hidden headlamps can be divided into three periods.



Firstly, 1936-1938, the debut of hidden headlamps

Hidden headlamps first appeared on the Cord 810 in 1936. Each unit had a crank on its side of the dashboard, which was turned by hand when the headlamps were needed.



Secondly, 1938-1990s, the development and popularity of hidden headlamps



Powered hidden headlamps were pioneered in GM's Buick Y-Job concept car of 1938 and were used briefly on Chrysler Corporation's 1942 production DeSoto. The feature's popularity has waxed and waned over time. Hidden headlamps regained popularity in the late 1960s, particularly in the US market where aerodynamic headlamps were not permitted. A relatively large variety of cars incorporated hidden headlamps in the 1970s, '80s, and early 1990s.



The last period, 1990s-2004, the disappearance of hidden headlamps



The last time pop-up headlamps appeared on a volume-production car was in 2004 when both the Lotus Esprit and C5 Corvette ended production.



Though hidden headlamps are not as popular as HID xenon headlights now, but both of them are my favorites. As the old saying goes "One Man's Gravy Is another Man's Poison", I love them because of nothing!