The 2014 North American International Auto Show, held as always at Detroit’s Cobo Center, continued the trend of banishing memories of the dark days of 2008-2009, when most of the industrial world—and the auto industry along with it, especially in North America—was being battered by the global financial crisis. Certainly the advances in lighting design and technology from Europe and Japan have been getting steady attention (not least in context of Audi’s campaign for regulatory reform to permit fully adaptive headlighting in North America).
But judging by the vehicles on display at the show, for the first time in a long time, across virtually the whole of the industry, lighting has been lifted out of the necessary-expenditure basement where it was relegated for so many years (alongside lugnuts and other low-bid commodity items) in the North American market. Now American automakers, like their counterparts in Europe and Asia, are relishing the lighting renaissance taking place here. And they’re not just following or imitating, they’re innovating. General Motors, for example, had some real stop-and-stare lighting; they showed off their new Cadillac Escalade SUV with front and rear lights of exceptional engineering content and achievement, design and style; fascinated showgoers crowded constantly around the lights.
Another happy trend we noticed last year that has greatly increased this year: better lighting for trucks. GM and Ford showed high-specification lighting on their new pickup trucks and SUVs, as did Chrysler on their new Dodge Durango and their astonishing new Ram cargo van.
The retro phenomenon continues to pick up steam; it’s Year 50 for the iconic Ford Mustang, and the new car’s rear lights, in particular, capture the essence of the 1964 original. Chevrolet’s Camaro has rear lamps sized and shaped very much like those on the original from 1967. And one of Nissan’s fantastic concepts hearkens back to much-loved Datsuns of yesteryear.