In case you found yourself watching this video and wondering, “why exactly did we get rid of these again?”—let me enlighten you. A little code that all U.S.-bound vehicles live by is the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, which originally had provisions that specifically called for sealed beam headlights. The FMVSS was eventually rewritten to allow for composite headlights with replaceable bulbs. In 1984, the Lincoln Mark VII made its debut as the first car with these space-age housings. By this time, many upcoming cars were already planned for release with pop-ups, and some continued that way to stay true to styling. Eventually, amid a slurry of safety studies and reliability concerns, pop-ups went the way of the dodo.
Some of the notable cars in the video include an Acura NSX, Mazda FD RX-7, a Ferrari Testarossa, and (of course) a Mazda Miata. A full list of the cars flexing their headlight motors can be found below:
- 1988 Acura Integra
- 1995 Acura NSX
- 1995 Chevrolet Corvette
- 1996 Chevrolet Corvette
- 2000 Chevrolet Corvette
- 1990 Ferrari Testarossa
- 1986 Honda Prelude
- 1989 Honda Prelude SI
- 1995 Mazda Miata
- 1994 Mazda RX-7 Touring
- 1984 Nissan 300ZX
- 1984 Nissan 300ZX Turbo
- 1987 Nissan Pulsar NX
- 1986 Pontiac Fiero GT
- 1986 Porsche 944 Turbo
- 1987 Porsche 942S
- 1986 Subaru XT
- 1990 Toyota Celica All-Trac
Now that you’ve had one of your last tastes of motoring nostalgia for the year, it’s time to put on some Christmas music (along with your favorite Holiday Drive-wear) and loop that video until all of your guests are properly cultured.
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