Rearview mirrors and lights in cars

[fan-of-fans]

Does anyone find the rearview mirrors and lights in cars interesting?

I do like some of them. I also really like auto dimming mirrors, and those that have indicator lights or map lights on them or temp/compass display. Especially early auto dimming mirrors like you saw in older Cadillacs and Lincolns, etc.

Also I find lighting in cars interesting. I like how the older cars had "opera" lights on the outside on the pillars.

Our 1988 Lincoln Town Car had the opera lights. And in the back seat there were map lights mounted in the C pillar trim. They were rectangular and had Lincoln symbols on them, and the switches to turn them on and off were mounted next to the window switch on the rear doors. That car also had automatic headlamps and automatic high beam dimming.

My previous car (Malibu) had automatic headlamps. The map lights were mounted on the bottom of the rearview mirror which I thought was neat.

My current car (Taurus) has automatic headlamps, automatic high beam dimming and an auto dimming mirror. The interior lights are interesting because it has color changing LEDs in the footwells and door handles and map pockets, as well as in the cup holders. Which you can change the colors or dim them too. My aunt's Lincoln Navigator has them too, and hers also has lights on the door sill trim that turn on when the doors are open.

 

[fan-of-fans]

Also has anyone noticed in movies or on TV sometimes the cars have the rear view mirrors removed, or turned upside down. I have seen this before, where in one scene there is no mirror and then in another angle there is a mirror. LOL

 

[human]

My daily driver, a 2013 Buick LaCrosse, has courtesy lights on the bottoms of the doors so you can see where you're stepping at night. It also has cool accent lighting on the inside door handles, center console and across the dash. It's also got a heads-up display that projects the speed, outside temperature and compass heading on the windshield. Oh, and the inside and driver's side rearview mirrors are self-dimming. I don't know why the passenger side mirror isn't self-dimming as well. I guess you've got to step up to a Cadillac for that.

 

[fan-of-fans]

Ah, nice a heads up display! My car doesn't have that, unless you count a row of red LEDs that flash onto the windshield from the dashboard if you're getting to close to another vehicle.

Yeah my driver's outside mirror dims too. I notice they turn a greenish color if there's a car behind you with its headlights on. The passenger side mirror on mine doesn't dim either.

 

[madman]

I love auto dimming rear view mirrors. Back when I used to frequent the junk yards, I would always pick one up. That was also back when junk yard prices were still reasonable - maybe $5 or 10 for a mirror. I still have a dozen or so left. I've installed one in each of my two cars, and some in other cars. They're the best for long haul highway driving at night.

 

[huskyvacs]

i like the mirrors that had the thermometer in them, for however accurate it was.

 

[human]

MadMan wrote:
I love auto dimming rear view mirrors. Back when I used to frequent the junk yards, I would always pick one up. That was also back when junk yard prices were still reasonable - maybe $5 or 10 for a mirror. I still have a dozen or so left. I've installed one in each of my two cars, and some in other cars. They're the best for long haul highway driving at night.

I reply:
I've done the same thing and still have one or two down in my barn. I think one them has the compass set into the upper right corner. I'd love to put that one in my '95 Cutlass convertible but the original mirror also houses what passes dome lights and the plug that connects to that mirror is a different shape from the one on the dimming mirror and has only two leads, where the dimming compass mirror has at least three.

 

[madman]

A little thing like wiring won't stop me, heh. Actually my friend has a Buick that has a mirror with a compass and map lights, but manual dimming. So for the longest time, we've been looking for an auto-dimming mirror with compass and lights. Just this Sunday, I went to the junkyard for other things, and I just so happened to look into a nicely equipped Chevy HHR that had just the mirror we wanted, except it also has OnStar. Which apparently, the mirror is only a button panel, and none of the OnStar system is in the mirror, thankfully. So I took that mirror, and just snipped the wiring out of the car. So I can just wire in this new mirror to his car.

Incidentally, I looked in a few other HHR's and noted that none of them seemed to have a mirror with map lights... even other ones with auto-dimming / OnStar mirrors. So I guess map lights were optional? Kinda lame.

 

[justjunque]

I had a 1994 Buick Roadmaster that had the auto dimming rear view mirror. I can't remember if it also had the map lights incorporated into the mirror. It seems like it did, but I'm not sure.
I thought it was a very cool feature! That was definitely the most luxurious car I've owned to date.

We currently have a 2001 VW Passat, and that has the lights that shine on the ground when you open the doors. I like that too!

Barry

 

[fan-of-fans]

A lot of convertibles had the map lights in the mirror. It was common on Chevrolet sedans too, my 01 Malibu had them and the 06+ Impalas did too. Also Toyota Corollas used to.

 

[madman]

Yeah, Chrysler Lebaron convertibles never got auto-dimming. Later Sebrings did, and yes they had map lights out of necessity. And those were really high tech for the time, because the map lights were LEDs. I know, now that sounds stupid, but that was 20 years ago, now, well before the LED revolution. It's interesting too, because they didn't have warm white LEDs at the time, so each lamp is a cluster of 4 cool white and 2 greenish. It works out well. I have modified a Sebring's mirror to fit my Lebaron, quite some time ago.

Anyway, the Sebring had a compass option in the dash board, so the mirrors never came with a compass.