Future is bright for new halogen replacement bulbs
Katherine Hutchison
Drivers who want their headlights to have the clarity and high-end style of those on luxury vehicles like Mercedes and Lexus now have more choices available to them. Lighting manufacturers such as Osram Sylvania, General Electric, Philips Electronics and American Auto Accessories currently produce coated halogen bulbs that mimic the quality found in state-of-the-art, xenon-gas filled high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps, which come factory-installed on many luxury vehicles. These products, which retail between $9.99 and $34.99 and use names such as “Cool Blue” and “Hyper White,” are flying off the racks of parts stores such as Pep Boys faster than the stores can restock them. These bulbs use an interference coating that gives off a whiter, crisper light than standard halogen bulbs.
Long used to light sports arenas and stadiums, HID lights, which first emerged on European vehicles in the early 1990s and made their U.S. debut on Lincoln models in 1995, burn at a higher color temperature than halogen lights, giving them a crisp, white appearance. Much like vapor-filled street lamps, HID relies on an electrical charge that excites xenon gas in a sealed bulb, creating intense white light by igniting an arc between two small electrodes. It provides three times the light output and lasts up to 10 times longer, plus it has no filaments to break down or degrade.
Juxtaposed against the yellowish halogen headlights, oncoming HID headlights give the impression of being blue. “But if you take that HID light by itself on a dark road, it is really crystal white,” explained Sylvania afermarket product manager Ted Hardenbergh.
The technology arrives just in time for an aging U.S. population. “A 50-year-old needs twice as much light on the road as a 20-year-old does, Hardenbergh said. But HID-type lights also have the styling and high-end look that kids souping up their Honda Civics want. They have even resorted to illegally coated halogen products on the Internet to get the effect.
Federal vehicle safety standards set minimum and maximum requirements for how much light a vehicle can emit.
These types of lights, which have been on the market about two years, have become a significant portion of aftermarket sales, according to GE North American automotive lighting product and sales manager Patrick McElhaney. “To look at the turns on the shelf, it has justified its space in even the most critical environment. As consumer interest grows, there are more available on the retail shelf and it feeds on itself. It’s a growing segment.”
“Blue” bulbs, no matter what the maker and brand, also carry more value for the retailer, he pointed out, because instead of just replacing the one headlight that has burned out, car owners are compelled to buy both when choosing to upgrade the look. However, because of their demand-driven nature, keeping the products stocked is critical, he said.
General Electric’s automotive lighting division puts out coated halogens under the brand name “Super Blue” and is expanding its “High Output” line of capsule lights, which give off greater luminescence than standard halogens. GE is also expanding its “Long Life” line of mini-lamps for taillights, parking, turning and stopping lights. “Last year we doubled our presence in the category,” McElhaney added.
Sylvania’s “Cool Blue,” American Auto’s “Crystal Blue” and “Hyper White,” and Philips’ “BlueVision” lights all use technology certified to pass federal safety requirements.
Philips’ BlueVision line of low-beam headlamp replacements are a multilayered bulb filled with halogen and xenon gas and thin filaments that reproduce daylight-bright light to reflect road markings and signs better. It is available through Kmart and other retailers.
American Auto Accessories, based in Corona, N.Y., puts out various sizes of halogen and xenon bulbs–with the names Hyper White, Platinum Series and Crystal Blue–for use as headlights or fog lights.
Now Sylvania is rolling its Xenarc line of HID auxiliary low-beam and sealed-beam replacements for entire headlamp assemblies. Already available on the company’s Web site, the Xenarc products will be available at most major parts retailers by the end of August. They are already in CSK Auto’s chain of stores on the West Coast, including Checker and Kragen.
“With HID, you have three times as much light to work with as halogen and more spread light to improve peripheral vision. You can play around with it more, get a strong beam pattern in front of the car with enough left over to put light out to the side as well,” Hardenbergh said.
Because these HID upgrades require complicated and expensive reassembly to the entire headlight system, Sylvania is careful in targeting specific vehicle owners who provide a market for the technology.
“We’ve got to look at who is most likely to spend the money to put this type of upgrade on their vehicle, what they drive and what has the largest production runs. If you’ve got to make tooling and design for headlamps, you can’t take one thing and use it across 10 vehicles. You can’t put three times more light into an existing optical and lens assembly, you’ll throw light all over the road,” he added.
The company’s first replacement kits fit the Chevrolet Silverado truck series, covering 1999 models and newer, and Tahoe and Suburban, model years 2000 and up.
In November, Sylvania will release replacements for the Ford F-150 and Expedition trucks, model years 1997 and up, and it is working on replacements for a variety of other vehicles, including Jeep Cherokee and Wranglers.
For owners of compact vehicles such as Honda Civics, Accords and Toyota Camrys, auxiliary low-beams are the best bet. For those willing to install them, these low-beams offer the advantage of improving the headlights on virtually any vehicle, Hardenbergh said. “You can put them on a Camry with standard halogen lights and basically have an HID system.”
The Xenarc low-beams will retail for about $500; the headlight replacement kit is about $800, in line with or below dealers’ option prices for factory-installed HID lights, Hardenbergh said. “We offer a legal system for less cost than what some Internet sites are offering [for illegal upgrade kits].”
GE is launching HID lights for auto makers, but has no immediate plans to offer them in the aftermarket. McElhaney said even though HID technology will become more common, he doesn’t expect HID to take off in the aftermarket until there is an installed base for replacement purposes.
“We believe in the benefits of it, but as an aftermarket play, the economics are difficult to justify for the retailer and the end-user,” he said, due to costly retrofits. “I see the trend to super blue and high-output.”
“The average person spends about $1,000 a year on their cars,” said Jon Johnston, GE aftermarket product manager. “Price points [of HID] are quite an obstacle.”
For now, drivers who want to make a fashion statement but can’t afford retrofits continue to have more choices from a number of manufacturers. “People want more from their headlights, at a reasonable price,” McElhaney said.
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