Autoblog

Vehicular lighting is a crapshoot. Some vehicles offer a great swath of even coverage from their headlamps, while others make you feel like you're squinting through welding goggles at night. I went through the trouble to retrofit one of my cars with Cibié lamps running overwattage H4 bulbs. That effort required a couple hundred dollars of parts, a good amount of labor to wire up relays and triggers, and not everyone is willing to expend such time and money, even if it means you won't overdrive your lights so easily. Sweden's Visualeyes has trotted out the Rayzer, an auxiliary lighting system that mounts from the inside and projects a beam through the windshield. We're taking the product's SEMA appearance as an indication of legality in the US. From the amount of end-user modifications we see on a daily basis, nobody's enforcing the rules on lights, anyway. The system has been patented and was developed by former race car driver Lars Svelander after a close call with a deer.

The line-of-sight position is purported to be more effective and has the benefit of leaving the outward appearance unmarred. We'd be worried about throwing light spill onto the hood, or too close to the front of the car, for that matter. Too much light in the wrong place is a detriment to night vision, but putting more lumens down the road could improve your chances of not overdoing it. The Rayzer uses a pair of HID bulbs and is wired into the car's lighting system to illuminate when the high beams are in use. There's also a fail-safe circuit that will shut the Rayzer off if oncoming vehicles are detected – a good thing when you're blasting light through your windshield. No price has been announced, but trading the hours of cutting, crimping, and snaking wires for the ease of a 15-minute installation by a non professional sounds good to us, especially if it works as well as the pictures make it appear.

Thanks for the tip, Andreas!

[Source: Visualeyes]

When compared to some of the other developments in automotive technology, many believe that advances in lighting haven't kept up. "Smart" lights seek to fill that void.

The technology, currently under development by Hella, employs the use of a sensor and a camera to detect vehicles in the distance. If the system identifies another car, up to 2,600 feet away, it can position the headlamp lower to cut the length of the beam and thus preventing the glare through the windshield or reflected in the mirror.

The system can detect vehicles traveling in any direction, and is even intelligent enough to identify when either vehicle is on an incline or hill. Supposedly, the system doesn't reduce the effectiveness or visibility provided by traditional headlights.

If this spells the end of misaligned lights blinding us at night, we're interested in seeing this technology come to market. But don't expect it anytime soon, as Hella maintains it won't be ready for primetime for another couple of years.

[Source: AutoExpress]

Looks like the 2007 Chrysler Pacifica will also be sporting the company's corporate headlights for model year 2007. This pair of eyes will appear on the next Chrysler Sebring sedan and convertible if recent spy shots are to be believed. Allpar.com is reporting the Pacifica will also get some new powerplant options in a 4.0L dual-exhaust coupled with a six-speed automatic transmission and a 3.8L engine to replace the current 3.5L. Follow the link to learn a few more minor deets about the next Pacifica.

[Source: Allpar.com]