This little detail is one of those things that keeps my ardor for cars piping hot. It’s a trivial thing, but it defies all logical explanation, which is why I find it so engaging. It’s just a side marker lamp on the Fiat X1/9, or maybe more accurately an indicator repeater. As you can see, it’s a peculiar ribbed bit of plastic with a round amber lamp inset in the middle. In US markets, it was a more conventional sort of reflector-with-a-bulb behind it. I don’t understand why it was changed for Euro markets! The US-spec one would have done the same job, just as well, or even better!
Look, there’s the American market X1/9 now. You can see that it’s sporting the federally-mandated side marker lamps, front and rear, which includes a lens/reflector and a light bulb behind it. They’re effective! Let’s look again at what the Euro-spec versions replaced these with:
At the rear, a simple black plastic blanking plate replaces the red side marker. Okay, that I get – it’s cheaper, no need for a bulb or lens, and I suppose they just couldn’t bear the idea of a reflector there for, oh, let’s say moral reasons.
Up front, though, we have that ribbed plastic panel with that amber round lens, complete with a little chrome trim ring. Let’s look at it closely again:
The black ribbed part almost looks like some sort oh heat sink, but I’m pretty sure that little light isn’t generating that much heat. It’s decorative. And that little amber lamp, I’m pretty sure it’s a turn signal repeater. But why couldn’t they have just used the existing US-spec amber lamp? Why go through all this trouble? The US-type marker light has a lens, a bulb, wire, a bulb holder inside. This thing has all that, plus an extra trim ring, and it’s more complex to assemble, requiring getting that lens inset into the black plastic bit. It has to cost more!
I can’t figure out why this exists. Why make such a change? Was any sort of reflector illegal? Even if that was the case, the rectangluar lens could have just been made without the reflector, and just be an amber rectangular lens, which would have been simpler than this setup.
I’m so confused. Maybe someone really just preferred the look?
I mean, it’s possible – the X1/9 was a stylish and clever little car – just look at the wonderful packaging of it:
You have a tiny little mid-engined car with usable trunks at both ends and a crisp, handsome look. What’s not to like?
Someone designed those marker lamps. Someone made a very deliberate decision. Someone designed the alternate ones and someone figured out how to build them and someone ordered all the parts and more someones put them together and installed them on cars.
But why?
Ah, the beautiful unknowability of car details. Will they ever not delight?
