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I've come from a long line of German auto ownership. In fact, I still have two Benzes in the stable. Starting with my first one, a 1959 190B Ponton to my current 1989 300CE coupé, fog lights were always amber in color and driving lights were white in color.
It was either one or the other. One couldn't have both on a car at the same time, (if you stick with OEM, that is). Both threw a low, wide beam in front of the car. The amber color would cut through the fog better than a white light which would refract more light back to a driver. In fact, on some models, you could just switch lenses and have either fog lights or running lights. It is also possible to run with the fog/running lights without using the headlights, either normal beam or high beam.
With this in mind, why does Toyota, (and everybody else), call what is on the RAV4 a "fog light" when they are not amber in color and cannot be used independent of the regular headlights? Should not they more accurately be called "driving lights"?
Just curious, (because in my mind, they really aren't "fog lights").
It was either one or the other. One couldn't have both on a car at the same time, (if you stick with OEM, that is). Both threw a low, wide beam in front of the car. The amber color would cut through the fog better than a white light which would refract more light back to a driver. In fact, on some models, you could just switch lenses and have either fog lights or running lights. It is also possible to run with the fog/running lights without using the headlights, either normal beam or high beam.
With this in mind, why does Toyota, (and everybody else), call what is on the RAV4 a "fog light" when they are not amber in color and cannot be used independent of the regular headlights? Should not they more accurately be called "driving lights"?
Just curious, (because in my mind, they really aren't "fog lights").