(first posted 2/20/2017) Last week’s Citroen C6 article by William Stopford reminded me of how much I loved that model’s rear lights. My very positive response was not unanimously shared, which has led to today’s QOTD: what are the best taillights ever? You can choose from any form of transportation, or even static display cars. Factory or aftermarket, old or new. Your choice may be based purely on aesthetics, or on how well they did their job.
Now my favourite taillights ever in the history of the world are the 1967/68 Glamorbird’s, and there are others that come to mind as well. But rather than bore you with more of my own opinion (no, I insist), I’m going to turn this question over to you – our very learned CCommentariat.
…
1954 Kaiser Manhattan, Second runner up, those 50’s Cadillacs that flipped up to reveal the gas cap. Sorry, not savy enough to post pics. Anyone out there that can?
Here you go. And yes, definitely one of the top ten tail lights ever.
Safety-Glo! +1
Seems like this is the inspiration for the tail light style renaissance, which is cool.
Lokki, I was going to mention the `55-`56 Imperial bomb-sights! But the `62’s were just as cool!
This is exactly what I thought of when I read the article title. 1962 Imperial!
Alfa Romeo Brera. And it needs to be red Don, it just has to be red…
Sequential Mercury Cougar tail lights!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4bUNpuHmVr4
+1. Those early sequential blink taillights caused my 5 year old heart to flutter whenever I saw them, whether on a Cougar (my favorite) or on a T-bird. And to think that they were done with relays and switches, and changed the configurations so often as to cause severe consternation for those trying to repair them.
I do like how the LED revolution is causing a drastic change in how tail lights are being rendered, and Chrysler/Dodge is doing the most cohesive family design. From the Dart to the Charger (helpful in telling the cop cars in front of you at night) to Durangos, the Dodges all look similar, yet different, in a good way.
+1
You sound like me at that age. I was so mad growing up in a country where the legislation did all it could to ruin cool tail lights after 1965.
Well up untill 2008, when it was finally allowed to keep the tail (and head) lights orignal on cars over 35 years old (very soon being changed to 30 years).
Too bad they could not find a better place for the backup light during the last years of the full-size Thunderbirds. Photo from 1981-82.
Yeah, until the small laptop size control module in the trunk craps out. Had a 67 in 1971 that quit working. Replace price in 1971 $ was $175. More than an average week’s pay back then. Just did what most did, and wired them to blink like all the others. And let’s not even get into when the vacuum operated hidden headlight doors mess up! But…Would love to have another 67 or 68!
I was lucky enough to have a 69 cougar for 11 years, and the tail lights were one thing that didn’t give me much trouble. The power steering setup was another story….and yes I never got the hideaway headlights to work properly either. Have some regrets when it comes to that car, mostly what I’d do different with it now.
I think both the design and operation of those tail lamps would rank those in the top 5 for me.
One of my favorites for sure.
These.
I really like those
Phil
I love the “bar” tail lights. They always resemble the back of a space ship.
Great choice, and my favorite picture in this thread to illustrate a choice. The glowing lights, soft exhaust cloud and the stance of the car from the angle of the shot. Just very cool.
Find the 1965 taillights very refined.
I used to have one like that, a hardtop coupe.
Here you go, Phil
The Skylark was not bad either
In 1981 Buick Electra tryed to keep the style, whilst our legislation tried to fight it, with either yellow tape or black paint – or both.
I always follow these.
And I’d give the 94-97 Cougar taillights runner up status if the center sections weren’t just reflectors! Grrr!!!!
XR7Matt
It’s amazing how L.E.D. lights revolutionized the car industry to becomes 10X more creative. Who would have thought that Dodge/Chrysler brands would do it better than other makers.
Agreed. As curmudgeonly as I get about a great many aspects of modern cars, I’m truly enjoying some of these LED treatments. Thank god too, because I thought taillight design hit it’s creative nadir about 10 years ago with anonymous triangles.
The Charger treatment ironically reminds me of modern interpretation of the Glamour birds Don picked.
XR7Matt
It’s also amazing how we all thought with the L.E.D. revolution within modern cars that the big names would be out in front with steller L.E.D. designs by M-Benz, BMW, Audi, Jaguar etc for the premium price they charge.
However, we really get to see who has the best L.E.D. light design. And it’s coming from affordable brands like Dodge/Chrysler, Kia, Hundai, GM trucks and SUV’s-Especially with Cadillac vertical rear and front blades (Escalade is awesome). Even Honda’s & certain Toyota models carry the L.E.D design better than much more expensive brands.
Too risky to try passing them. The center section should’ve been deleted from the police package.
Love these on a Charger. For whatever reason, other Mopar versions like the Dart, Durango & Pacifica just didn’t come off as well.
I’ve always had a thing for the rear end of the 1985 Buick LeSabre. Not sure why, but I love those taillights!
Same here. I owned a 1984 LeSabre. The attraction also was prevalent to the very similarly designed rear end on the late 80’s Mercury Grand Marquis.
As a former ’87 MGM owner, I was always a little shocked at the blatant rip of the ’85 LeSabre Mercury used on its final box Panthers.
The R Body Dodge St. Regis also shared a similar design
What kills the St. Regis for me is the license plate area awkwardly towering above the line dictated by the taillights, along with the high up trunk lid cut line.
I quite like the R-body New Yorker taillights!
I was waiting for this one to come, as my picture of Grandpa’s new New Yorker in 1980 is only from the front. 🙂
This is not Grandpa’s in Nebraska, but a New Yorker in Copenhagen in 1981, serving as a taxi.
Have to agree with you jerseyfred. I owned an ’85 for about a year and thought this was the best looking of the B bodies from this era.
Unfortunately, as good as mine looked when I bought it, mechanically it was past it’s best before date and that 307 left me on the side of the road one evening. A lot of other cars saw my tailights that night as I waited for the tow truck.
In terms of contemporary cars, for me it would be a toss up:
or
I love the new Prius tail lights, and honestly the entire design. I thought I was the only one!
I like the Leaf’s tails as well, Passin. The tails are the only thing on the new Prius I like. Ballsy to go vertical when everything is horizontal.
Have to give em credit. And to the new Civic as well. Sort of out facing 58 Edsel wagon lights
Like these !
The new Prius must be seen from the rear at night – only.
It will hurt your eyes less.
Makes even the first model look eatable.
Nope, you are not the only one – officially 32 people worldwide like these, if you include those working at Toyota in the design dept.
I abhor the rest of the design but those tails are definitely neat.
Packard – gotta love ’em
+1
My fave too. Dick Teague’s “Cathedral” taillamp from the ’55 or ’56 Caribbean. A beautiful design with great detail work, like how the arch extends behind the lens at the top or the near-perfect cylindricy of it.
We need a straight-on-view too:
…and one from the simpler 400, without the kick-up in the third paint color:
That bumper end must’ve been a bear to press without getting wonky reflections in the chrome.
+2 And I think honorable mention should go to any of the big round ford lights in the 62 to 64 range.
+1
Absolutely ++++
And while we’re at it, Clipper too!
These were popular on custom cars in the late ’50s.
“Cathedral” tail lights! Even the nickname is great!
Aesthetics: the fabulous ’65.
+1 1965 was a great design year.
Tell ’em Groucho sent you.
1956 Desotos had the three tail lights in the Chrysler fender as did the 1957 for less successfully. But a 1957-58 Chrysler has a typical bumper while the Desoto’s is designed to appear to curve up making the tail light base with the exhaust cutting across it. Brilliant.
The 1957 Chrysler tail lights aren’t bad either.
As far as modern cars go, I find the V90’s quite seductive
Good call !
For such a cheap and basic means of transportation I quite like the Toyota Aygo’s taillights, as far as modern cars go.
Very similar with the Kia Soul. Basic transportation can have a little flair, no?
Absolutely ! Although in Kia’s case their A-segment model (like the Aygo), and thus the most basic transportation, is the Picanto.
The Soul is in the B-segment, like the Toyota Yaris.
Yes!
Yes, I like the Souls LED rear lights too! At night, these remind me of floating parentheses…(the blank space between could be used to light up the Soul name or something similar)….but these are not basic transportation cars…these are expensive to buy, little cars designed on a car platform, to mimic an SUV. Capable little terrors when matted to 2.0, 6 speed. The front frowning LED bars are reminiscent of a mad cat!…or kitten.lol.
I was immediately going to say V90 but was afraid of being the only one. Glad we’re two, Brendan! The S90 headlights are also lovely at night. Have you ever been in an S/V90? I’ve been in a D5 Inscription when they came out and that car was stunning…
I actually hadn’t seen these until a few weeks ago when I spotted them while on the expressway. I had to speed up just to see what they were attached to.
The S90 looks so much nicer in person, doesn’t it????
Absolutely!
Not necessarily these particular ones, but the 3 bar Mustangs in general. Perhaps the most recognizable and longest lived taillights of all time.
Some of my most favorite taillights are on Mustangs, and some of my least favorites are on… Mustangs.
The 2010 candy canes… YUCK http://st.automobilemag.com/uploads/sites/10/2015/11/2010-ford-mustang-v6-premium-coupe-rear-view.png
I think the Corvette has had the most consistant long run with the quad rounds – late C1 to C6, whereas the Mustang effectively ditched the three vertical lines between 1979 and 1995. Plus 67-70 Shelbys
Forgot about the Corvette…though Ferrari and others have used the quad rounds too, so more consistent but perhaps not as unique.
I agree on the ’10 Mustang. When I first saw the rear end on one of these I thought that whoever did those lights must have been a big fan of the Dodge Neon. I have an ’09 Mustang and I find the square ones on it much more appealing.
One of my favorite taillights are the “sparrow strainer” ones on the ’55-’56 Imperial that are mounted on the top of the rear fenders.
Another is the “exclamation mark” vertical taillights and backup lights on the ’60 Edsel. I guess I just like oddball styling cues.
Ohmygod look at how they used those dead end 1960 Edsel tail lights to turn a Ford station wagon into an Edsel.
I think they are the ones they also used on the Comet since it was supposed to be a baby Edsel at first. I have a pair of these lenses at home but can’t decide from looking at them if they are the same. I’m not sure where or when I got them, but they make pretty good garage wall art.
Maybe not an all time favorite, but a design icon that should be brought back…
Amen to that. Even when Ford went crazy for ovals they missed an obvious opportunity.
Peak Ford below
Having owned a ’67, I’m partial. Great choice!
The full range of Ford afterburner taillamps get my vote. But the ’63 Ford probably is the best of them all.
Beauty!
Came here for this, left satisfied. Best taillights EVER!
The year before, 1961, featured the ultimate version of the 1957 Ford idea.
Yes!
Ford did bring them back, but unfortunately we won’t be seeing them often.
That’s easy.
The Aston Martin DB11’s are hard to top though.
My fav:
These from the 56 Chrysler really are among the best ever.
100% agree
Which were reshaped for the 1957….less regal, more awesome.
Inspiration for Jag:
These are one of my favorites. Had two of these cars over the years. The whole design looks like a custom car, but tastefully done.
I also had 2 of these, I still have one.
?!
Pure platinum, Dr
1969-70 Dodge Charger
My faves are older, such as the 66-67 Charger, early sixties T birds and a notable mention to 66 Olds 98, with the red lamp floating in the clear surround. New notables seems to be on the garish and crass side (Durango/Charger) and lacking in subtle character. One minor lament, is the concept of driving around at dusk with only parking lamps on, enjoying the beauty of the evening with out the “full on” headlamps as is the norm today….Sigh…. oh well, just another one of the things I miss from the days gone by….like authoritative and yet melodic horns ( IE: triple horns from late 60’s Buicks, and stainless steel door edge guards…( really miss those). But I digress…yup, the ’64 225 Buick lamps were damn nice…
Charger – yes.
And this:
’59 Ford all the way!
“You’re Ahead In A Ford All The Way”…..
68 Coronet
I really like the original Hillman Avenger/Plymouth Cricket ‘hockey’ stick lights. As well as joining the horizontal and vertical elements, including the slight kick-up fold on the back door/wing on their outer edges, they have an angled fold down the centre that then links up with the fold lines that enclose both the boot/trunk and rear window in a complete frame.
65 Lincoln, 65-68 Mercury full size, 60 Comet, 65 Valiant, 86 Cadillac Sedan and CDV, 85-86 Olds Calais, 67 AMC Ambassador, 67 Ford full size, 60 Edsel, 65 Impala, 51 Kaiser
Wonderful detailing on the 65 Valiant lights. Subtle differences from 64. Very 63 Imperial-like
+1 – I really liked these. The 63 Imperial taillights were a huge but very successful and tasteful change from the flamboyance of the 61-62 models.
Yes!!! Just right.
And of course I have a soft spot in my heads for these:
yes, I’m weird.
I always liked the design of these too, way more interesting and attractive than the same year Mustangs. But those 71-72s do beg the question – who wore it better?
I also saw this resemblance, Matt! Glad to know I’m not the only one.
I’ve always thought these were as taillight as you can get …
Oh yes !!!!
Nahh, their Chrysler Corp (Dodge Monaco 1966) predecessor is awesomer.
What about auxiliary lights introduced during the ’61 model year on full size Dodges ? A rare sight nowadays .
I love the way the dual exhausts on Chrysler’s back then were placed inward from the sides of the car, this picture shows it perfectly.
Woops, supposed to be talking about taillights.
67 Monterey: a crib from Pontiac in 64, yes, but better executed.
Makes up for Pontiac poaching tails from the 57 Continental in 63 and adding chrome strips.
I owned an ’85 LeSabre, and yeah those lights were nice…but these are my all-time favorite. The ultimate in simple elegance. 1965 Rambler Ambassador ~
Definitely. Spoiled in 66 by changing minor things. I like the front end better in 65 as well
+1. Adding the grille extensions around the front and rear fender caps spoiled it in 1966.
For me, even better. An all time favorite, very 56 Packard:
I will agree also on the ’65 Rambler Ambassador and they spoiled them in ’66.
I like the ’67s, too!
Always a big fan of the ’75/’76 Caprice tail lights, especially on this color choice.
Never get tired of the 1974 design.
I loved the sequential turn signals on our 65 Thunderbird and they remain my favorite. Never warmed up to the full-width turn signals on the later models. All these decades later Audi is now using sequential (“dynamic)” turn signals and I still enjoy watching them in action.
Never seen the glamorbird’s in action, but found this online…
Ha! Thanks Mark
I was actually not aware that the 1967-69 Thunderbirds were called glamorbirds, untill this subject came up.
Worst: Like two flashlights glued to the sides.
Those are the least bad part of the car, tho.
These as well:
MG? (this was a style back in the 60’s)
Classic style, also shared w’ Pug, Ferrari, and some others? I think?
The Renault R5 (LeCar) had tails reminiscent of these too
65-68 Caddie
For sheer domination of the car’s tail end? Hard to beat the 60 Mercury.
Unless its the prior year!
Urk! What were they thinking?
The taillights on the S60 Toyota Crown wagons, post-facelift. You won’t mistake them for anything else:
Prefacelift for me, but who’s arguing?
Call me a minimalist but this is my favorite:
+1, along with the rest of it.
Yea Jim. Spot on. The 60s Ford Cortina Mk1 from sunny Britain is my favourite. The ‘kiss’ principle beautifully applied.
Except the one shown is from a BMW.
Sure is.
Pre’74 e10. I sold 50 of them… some attached to the cars too!
Bye-bye to my ’72 this past Spring, I’d had it for 35 years.
Paid $1.00 in 1982, Sold for $5000 in 2016.
I’m definitely +2 on my brothers ’67 Cougar tail lights, though.. I just thought those were the coolest thing ever, when I was a kid.
War of the Worlds (1953)
Was about to nominate these. Simple, pure form.
Perhaps you would have thought it was this but you would be wrong:
1960 Caddy,
1967(?) Eldo
More
I friggin love this one
67 Eldorado Tailights are great. Some of the best looking ones from Cadillac.
+1
Agreed.
As a 4 yr old kid I got to see the Gm X Stiletto @ the worlds fair. So when these were on the Eldo I was IMPRESSED.
+ 1
+1
+1
Ha! Almost made it….was going to post this exact photo myself if no one else had. Good choice Mya!
Aw thanks y’all! Good to hear your memories, too
Me too!
Oh, yeah, I could go with the 1967 Eldorado as having one of the most beautifully styled automobile rear ends, ever. Certainly in the top ten (maybe the top five), and those taillights had a lot to do with it. A good argument could be made that it was the zenith of Bill Mitchell’s years at GM styling.
I totally agree.
Ohhhh…way cool!
I also absolutely love these
thought th E32 7-Series was beautiful – especially the tail lights.
There are a lot of tail lights posted above that I also like/love, well chosen all!
Any full-width tail lights on U.S.-built cars from the 1960’s always rate real high on my list, especially those with the sequential turn signals on the T-Birds.
But for sheer style, the ’56 Packard Clipper wins hands down.
The hot rod community agrees with your choice.
Very nice indeed. Most don’t realize that those same lights were used on the 57-58 Packardbakers too.
+1
As a 4 year old boy I came in contact with those and there was nothing else on the road remotely resembling them, I was puzzled then and maybe up to this day, it’s German design with some kind of engineering pretext to look no-nonsense but ends up being neither one thing or another, but I guess it did its job.
Mercedes were in the forefront of composite lamps, both front and rear. The fintail is interesting, because it’s one of the first attempts on integrating all the parts into one unit. I know these are technically two units, but they’re supposed to be read as one single integrated unit. The same with the integrated cathedral front lights, first seen on the 300SL roadster. I wonder if Mercedes wasn’t acutally first with integrated composite units? Does anybody know if any maker did any before that? I’ve wanted to write the history of integrated units, or if anybody else is up for it. The reason you read those lamps as being “neither one nor the other” is because the language of integrated units weren’t really invented yet, so there was some trial and error to get it right. Or rather, that kind of design language was invented with these lamps, and other in that era.
But what I intuitivelly felt as a 4 year old boy was that this was indeed the result of looking at the task of building cars from an engineering point of view, whereas the American cars which were more common in Brazil (except for he Beetle) gave me the impression of lots of gimmicks for the sake of causing a splash – simpler models like Corvairs or Falcons were not available in Brazil – and I loved them for what they were, beautiful splashy cars, while the Mercedes inspired a different kind of respect, and I think you are right about the trial and error, not only as far as integrated lamps are concerned, but about getting the whole thing right with the introduction of the W108: the W111 “Heckflosse” was somehow a dress rehearsal.
Actually, the Cadillac SRX taillights were vestigal fins, reminiscent of the full fins AND the 65-68 taillights. That was clever, combining several things into one functional and cohesive unit.
And these are definetly hors concours
What I like about the DS are not the break lights, but the turn signals. The ones on the berline that way up on the roof, recessed into a chromed housing, are superb.
But the ones they put on the convertible are just as (if not more) amazing.
It’s not necessarily the break lights, but the weird metal frame around it with the triangular apotheosis at the bottom. How will it be explained to future generations?
How will the DS be explained to future generations? One car so totally out of step with the mainstream, yet so successful, so well regarded by those in the know – yet in many ways a design and technological dead end? Only Citroen could pull that off!
The point is that the DS will still be remembered by future generations because it was so unique it all of its design choices. It explains itself…
Fluted to remain visible in inclement weather:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/1973-1980_Mercedes-Benz_450_SEL_(V_116)_sedan_(2016-01-29)_02.jpg
I’ve always had a soft spot for the Testarossa Tailights. I don’t care if they aren’t round, they just look cool.
Of course, my love of big American cars knows no bounds, so of course, I have some taillights from those. I thought the rear lights on the Roadmaster sedan were pretty cool.
The ’67 Thunderbird’s taillights are nice, but I prefer the more dramatic ’66.
+1
+1
I’m a sucker for simple, round taillamps. In addition to the Ford afterburners mentioned above, round lamps work very nicely on early C4 Corvettes, the Opel GT, and any one of a number of Ferraris. Not to mention the sweet ones pictured below on the ’65 Impala (and the simpler quad-lamp treatment on more mundane ’65 Chevies wasn’t bad, either)
I’ve always been a sucker for the ’68 Impala’s taillights.
Something about the taillights inside the chrome bumper on the Big Chevys just works. I like the ’73 taillights as well….
I’ve always been a fan of those as well!
I always like these
I always liked the 504.
Chevrolet Impala. It was a signature styling element for this car.
I have to say I like those better now than I did at the time.
That 62 esque rear styling does look neat, I actually really liked these when new, being a fan of the 96 SS(I didn’t realize these were just rebodied Luminas at age 11). I just wish they used three lights per side like a proper Impala.
I own a 2005 Impala……178,000 miles with no plans to sell it…..The taillight designs on the 2006 and newer Impala are very unimaginative……
Well, you guys have hit on just about all my faves (among some not that noteworthy ones…) So I’ll just add this. It’s not just the tail light, it’s the everything.
My Porsche Macan’s tail lights are a work of art.
+1 Macan tail lights are elegant and stylish.
I was always smitten with these Audi 200 tail lights.
One more- Fiero taillights with light-up PONTIAC badging.
Love the light up insert. The brake lamps are rather plain. But when coupled with the middle portion, adds distinction.
These.
Beat me to it. (sort of)
I remember seeing these upside-down on a VW-based beach buggy and thinking what an inspired choice they were.
As a kid, I thought the Mk1 Cortina’s taillights were the coolest – dunno if I’ve grown out of that. The 3 separate strips of taillight on late 90s/early 2000s Fiat Bravas were a nice touch whose novelty has also worn off on me.
I think my overall fave is 60s/70s Beetle “1200 style” taillight. Simple, elegant, not trying too hard.
Always liked the circa 1990 Dodge Colt wagon ones. Even though I just noticed they have the turn signal shaped into “arrows” pointing the wrong way which is usually a “how is that allowed?” headscratcher.
Ahem. Are we forgetting what is ALWAYS the answer?
+1- These taillights are part of the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) collection, providing a legitimate (though not absolute) claim to greatness.
https://www.moma.org/collection/works/91740
Reminds me of the old AI forums, where the answer IS always Miata.
For me, the NA MX-5 cluster has always elicited the response – organic.
Some great ones there for sure, Cortina, Monaco, Galaxie
I nominate 1939 Ford teardrops as applied to a 1932 Ford
I like the MN12 Thunderbird taillights too.
I’m a big fan of the MN12 T-Bird lights. I had a ’94 (actually the ex’s car) and a ’97, and these LED taillights were gorgeous to see at night. The Cougar’s too as XR7 Matt stated above.
Not so fond of the rest of the car, but the tail lights belong on something new.
It is really original to have tail lights on a large household appliance.
Admittedly biased…
Looks like an iron!
No, *this* taillight looks like an iron. 🙂
Rocket!
I’ve always been a big fan of these.
I’ll vote for the ’65 Skylark; the taillights are awesome except when one of the six panels goes dark. Then it looks like someone with a missing tooth.
I will admit that I was a total fan of the “wall to wall” taillight fad of the mid 60s. The 66 Buick Electra and the 66-67 Charger come to mind too.
Also a favorite of mine. And I like the “W” shaped ends of mid-1960s Buicks a lot. I wish my ’65 Wildcat had full width taillights like that!
When I went to college, I would always park in front of a large window to check the tail lights in the rear view mirror, so see if all lights worked.
With no exception all it took was to open the trunk and swipe the hand along the rear side of the tail lights and they would all go back to working again.
I did the same with my ’68 Wildcat!
Fiat Bravo always worked for a basic class segment economy box
+1
here’s said “economy box” (cheek 😀 ) at sunset in the lowlands, I loved its rear lights
I’m not sure which are my favorite taillights ever, but this is definitely my favorite QOTD ever.
+1.
Right now, the new Dodge Dart has my favorite tail lights.
Previously mentioned, the 1961 Ford and the recent Cadillacs have great tail lights, also.
Another good one that I don’t believe has been mentioned is the 54-55 Kaiser.
1966 Lincoln Continental. Simple, effective, and gorgeous.
Since Don says “any form of transportation” here’s a hammering V8 with 8 taillights on each side and 8 taillights on top.
I always liked the tails on my ’66 Tempest (pic not of my car):
And I replaced the USDM tails on my Fit with the JDM parts, which have illuminated lenses on the tailgate (reflector-only on the USDM part). Kind of Volvo-like, though.
Nifty. That also got you proper (amber) turn signals.
I always thought the trapezoidal tail lights on the Citroen CX integrated well with its rear design. I also like how the lens colors are distinct for all functions (red tail light, red brake light, red rear fog light, clear backup and amber turn signal lenses).
https://www.hemmings.com/magazine/hmn/2013/08/1962-Ford-Thunderbird-Hardtop/3728331.html#PhotoSwipe1487640027273
Love the bullet bird afterburner taillights.
I am really surprised no one has mentioned the ’61-64 Chevrolet round tail lights, although there was one mention of the ’65. In the day they were the most modded tail lights of all with some of the cars sporting up to 10. And some were manually sequential with driver controlled switches. At the same time front fender well amber colored lights and rear axle bright white lights on cars with jacked up rears especially with chromed covers were popular.
I have a soft spot for these
[img]http://autoguide.com.vsassets.com/blog/wp-content/gallery/restored-1978-range-rover-classic/1978-restored-range-rover-classic-20.jpg[/img]
There are two categories, as far as I’m concerned: pre-LED and LED.
In the “modern” LED category, my choice has to be the 1st series Maserati 3200 GT.
And for the pre-LEDs, the 1969-74 Peugeot 504 CC (coupe/cabriolet) by Pininfarina.
Yes, yes, yes! You beat me to it on these!
They were replaced with utterly generic versions – what a shame!
Ferrari. So simple. So elegant. So Brutal. So Ferrari.
1972-73 Ford XA Falcon sedan. I had one as my first car and the tail lights are my favourite design detail on the car.
A close second place would be the 1971 Dodge Charger R/T or SuperBee.
Yes! I was thinking the exact same thing Marlin.
Maybe that’s why I also like the ’68 Dodge Coronet
Very nice
I’ve got a XB, and this part was softed with the revision from XAs.
My dad had an XB when I was a kid. Not as nice as XA, but better than XC!
1969 Plymouth Satellite/Road Runner.
Little known factoid about the 1969 Plymouth musclecar taillights. The Road Runner and GTX were actually different, with the GTX getting lenses that were set further in, while the Road Runner got lenses more flush with the rear decklid.
That sort of detail always amazes me. So often back then car makers made little detail changes like this that weren’t obvious to maybe 99% of the people who saw them. Nowadays we just don’t get those little trim level distinctions.
The Maserati GranTurismo (and the Dodge Charger/Challenger as mentioned earlier).
E-Type Series I, with the lights above the bumper.
Love these!
And the Volvo 850/V70 wagons.
In 1990 these tail lights were a revelation.
I’m amazed that noone has yet said “59 Impala”. They are absolutely unique and not nearly as over the top as some of the contemporaries (Imperial, Caddy, I’m looking at you.) To put it another way, flashy in a very purposeful American sort of way, not gold leaf and crystal chandeliers. As hard to miss as they are, they are a very simple shape.
Also, judging by the latest Prius, fins are making a comeback!
Maserati Khamsin. The lights themselves aren’t that interesting, I think they are standard Alfa Romeo units. But they are set floating on a clear glassplate. That kind of flair could only have come from Italy at the time.
That is cool.
Those taillamps were 100% illegal in the us. You know what they had to do to sell them here? Talk about cringe:
Aaaaargh!!
I also like the extreme simplicity of the Aston Martin. Looking for pictures I see they had an awful lot of variety on how to mount the rear lights. Perhaps they only fitted what happened to be in stock that day? But for me, nothing makes beauty but the extreme simplicty of one each of amber, red, and clear lights.
They are standard Lucas lights, which were used on many cars including the original Cobras.
I’ve always preferred the taillamps of the DB Mk III which I believe were cribbed from the Humber Hawk:
I’ve mentioned it several times before, but I also think the Oldsmobile Toronado needs a mention, for the clever use of negative area. I actually read the body colored part as part of the rear lights. I wonder if this is the first instance where negative area is used with that intention? It is an extremely beautiful fashion statement.
The negative was meant to be tail light, but the neon “wall of light” units could not be gotten to work reliably. Great pick thought!
I don’t think anyone has mentioned the 1957 Lincoln taillights, the ultimate space age expression of 50’s Lincolns, always my favorite as a 10-year old, and I still love ’em.
One of my Dad’s best friends had a 57 convertible with this same color scheme – I was always wild about it – I’m one of the few who liked the 57 Lincoln more than the awarding winning 56. Turned out to be a very good car – he sold it to his secretary around 64 when he got a new Cadillac Fleetwood (a car that saved his life in a bad accident) and she drove it for many years after.
Having thought about it some more, I have some more favorites from long ago, beginning with the 1956 DeSoto (my grandmother’s car).
And the 1959 DeSoto
Hit the link in my comment below for a version of those you might probably not have previously seen.
And the 1958 Oldsmobile Super 88 and Ninety Eight (yes, I know, I’ll take flak for this, but they were baroque in the extreme, and I loved them)
Just thought of another extreme baroque example, am I stuck in the 50’s or what? The 1958 Buick Limited, a one year wonder, but a tour de force, nonetheless.
A car that really can make a wife jaleux, if he is more concerned about getting the car to shine than her. One of the cars it takes a tooth brush to polish in quite a few places.
You’re not kidding, there must be more chrome per square foot on this car than any other, before or since. I loved it, one of the most imposing automobiles of the 50’s, bar none. There is a guy in L.A., Kris Trexler, who runs a site called http://www.kingoftheroad.net/buick, all about his acquisition and restoration of a ’58 Limited (and some other ’58 GM cars, too), fascinating reading about a nearly forgotten leviathan.
And the 1962 Cadillac (still my favorite Cadillac of all, how I loved those one year only trick taillights, clear under normal driving, but lighted up red or white when stopping or reversing)
I do adore those – very classic. But of course the 62 is probably the fave Cad in aggregate on this site. I want one!
This.
Nice to see my new commuter car getting some love. Thanks Jim.
I wish I was as good a photographer as you (I really need to dig up some of my old Cannon QL17-GIII or AV-1 shots)… I used to take night shots with those cameras and a shot of the Civic Coupe’s taillights at night would really show off how cool these are to see. The up and over the deck lid LED taillight bar really looks nice. I wish they’d have done the same treatment to the sedan (and now hatchback), but I suppose Honda wanted to keep the coupe unique.
So late to the party, my top 20 list is already represented. So, I’ll mention the car that came to mind when I saw the Citroen C6 in the lead photo; the 1963 Olds Ninety-Eight. Not really a favorite, the ’64 Ninety-Eight got the details right on this body. But, the Citroen C6 sure seems to blend the ’63 Olds tail lights with the ’69-’76 concave full-size Chevy coupe back window.
As for irreducibility, nothing in the universe beats these
Unless you only have one.
I love the detailing of the FX Holden’s light. It had quite a distinct pinkish glow at night.
I did consider the Holden, but I double-checked the title of the thread before posting and it says “taillights”, plural, so I decided these were not eligible.
These were offered for a year or so as bottom-line super-stripper Renault Dauphine in the mid-60’s in Brazil, and (thankfully) it found very few takers…
The Alfa Romeo 2000 Berlina from 1957 tends to be overlooked and belongs to the darker corners of automobilistic history for reasons I can’t fathom: their interpretation of the cathedral theme in the rear is like no other and deserves better appreciation.
It’s just too lavish, that I chased to have a closer look one night, but then it turned out to be…
1968 Impala/Caprice
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/c0/73/2c/c0732c2774d61e1666bad297c41edf47.jpg
As a kid, the rear of a ’69 Catalina was part of the view from my bedroom window. These tail lights always struck me as a bit odd and very ”sad face”.
Better were the lights on the tail of a ’68 Wildcat. Much more exciting and very sculptural.
Whuuuuut? No mention of these? I know they are failure prone (reader John C. can attest this) but we are not discussing reliability
Wow, I’m surprised there hasn’t been any love for these simple and elegant W126 specimens:
And to be somewhat contrarian, I was quite fond of the bold tail lights on the original Maser 3200GT, and I was very disappointed with the distressingly ordinary-looking replacements that were all-too-rapidly rolled out.
+1 was very sad when they axed these, always makes me smile when I see a “proper” boomerang-light Maser
Renault Talisman sedan:
Talisman again
Trying to compete with Lincoln – Alphabet-something
I’d like to see a QOTD on “What are your favourite re-purposed taillights?” – eg on low volume cars which borrowed lights (or other parts) from mundane mass market cars.
That’s a great idea! It’d be interesting, but maybe a bit of a limited selection. I think the cars that did it best were the Jag XJ220, although it did try to hide it’s (Rover 200) light under a bushel, and the clear winner: the Lotus Esprit with Toyota Hachiroku taillights. They looked exactly like they were always meant to be there.
Casting my (predictable) vote for the FIAT Coupe’s tail lights:
I’ve always loved the ones from the outgoing 1990 Cadillac Brougham. May have been used for a year before that as well. Heritage, and a bit long in tooth at that point, the mostly white taillights really dressed up the old car for it’s end.
65 Impala….My Dad had a 65 4 door hardtop in this same color with a white roof….He was always sorry that he sold it.
It’s hard to choose, for a Brazilian like me the incredible amount of variety of american cars makes me surprised with something I’ve never seen every time I see CC. For now maybe the Eldorado ’69 takes the cake.
It’s hard for an Australian too.
I thought I knew something about American cars, but I’m seeing so many I wasn’t really aware of. And some Europeans too.
Nobody’s shown my favourite yet, so I’ll keep on scrolling down…
We seem to have two approaches to this question. There are the showpiece lights and the ones we gradually came to love or respect for remaining unchanged over a decade or more. I’m a huge fan of the deep dimensionality in the last 15 years. They look like aquariums full of fish; you can lose yourself in them, stopped behind a car at a traffic light.
Once you get beyond the distance where depth of field allows you to see in, the overall shape takes over. Present tense, I like coming up behind a BMW with the Hale-Bopp look. It has fine associations with the two major comets that graced the night sky in the ”90s.
Older Curbivores like me also have deep memories of another aspect of tail light design that has been overwhelmed over decades by excited electrons: reflectors.
Before the early ’50s, tail lights were mostly small. At night, they played as red dots. Reflectors were integral, but their shapes within the lens were often a surprise.
As ever, light and movement attract the childish eye. Standing behind the front seat in the days before lap belts was a kid delight. From there, the nighttime view through the windshield was like looking at a movie screen. As Dad drove through the neighborhood, tiny white-red quasars would flash on the rumps of parked cars, A kid would cast eyes forward of the approach to the next looming rhinoceros in the dark and anticipate where the two bright blips would appear–a game similar to leading one’s eyes ahead of the course of a firefly–and giggling when the guess was wrong.
Some of those kds grew up to design the first video games.
^^^ I love this post! It’s almost poetic in its storytelling. I really almost FELT like that little kid, so clear was my understanding of the time and the feeling.
We’re not exactly a forum devoted to flowery writing here, but every once in a while a piece of writing in the form of the simplest of comments just strikes me as wonderful. I love it when that happens at the most unexpected moments.
+1.
My 1989 Cadillac Sedan de Ville was born with EU tail lights.
Fortunately the legislation is changing, why I will only have to reinstall them once more for the visit in the inspection hall, before I can keep the original installed.
Someone in Japan might want those. Weren’t they used on the Mitsuoka Galue? I’m always in favo(u)r of amber turn signals when possible, but I can sure see the case you’re making here. Funny, that’s so clearly a European hearse with those huge windows, but made out of an American car.
I like the original US tail lights a lot better.
The 1961 Canadian Meteor taillights were just plain odd.
Well, they sort of look like hockey sticks, and how Canadian is that?
And then there was the 1949 Nash.
The full sized Pontiac Grand Prix’s from 1963,65 and 66 were quite memorable. Trouble is they’re never seen anymore.
Was gone all weekend and missed this, a great topic! I’m sure it has come up several times and if not shame on you all but the best of all time has to be the ’69 Ford Mustang. It was a tribute to the ’65 original, then received its own tribute from the ’05 and ’15 generations. Honorable mentions go to the Lincoln Mark III, Jaguar XJ6, Mercedes 350SL, ’70 Camaro and ’49 Cadillac. I think the new Civic 4-door taillights look really nice.
I’m a big fan of these:
Love the ’89 deVille/FWD Fleetwood taillights. Classy, a bit retro, refined, elegant……made the deVille and FWD Fleetwood look like Cadillacs again!
+1
Had an ’89 Sedan De Ville way back when… and I concur.
Another style I love was from the ’79 – ’83 Riviera. They looked cool at night when the “R” in the middle lit up. Even though the reverse light was there, the “R” would glow in a reddish hue that looked classy. The strange thing was the middle bulbs tended to burn out prematurely and therefore it took away from the overall coolness of those taillights.
Lastly, can’t believe no one mentioned the ’71-’78 Toronado with its second set of lights? Cool all the way!
Do the Citroen DS retro-rocket turn signals count?
Shelby Mustang!
Also used on the 65 Thunderbird. Same light, different look.
1972 Toyota Crown. Decades before there were LEDs to achieve such effects, these taillights featured a slim red lamp area that completely surrounded the white reverse and amber signal lights. Must’ve been a very complex bulb-housing assembly behind it all… but such a good effort on Toyota’s part. Absolutely beautiful.
All Jag taillights look great, with the old SIII XJ6 being delightfully distinctive. But the lights fitted to the 2009-15 version of the current XJ are far and away the most glorious and my favourite:
Hyundai … bear with me … Sonata Hybrid … bear with me some more … from a couple years ago, I think synonymously with the previous generation of the car. The flower is a piece of art.
Wow. I never noticed that!
Artful, for sure, but functionally these things are a peeve. The stop (brake) light function consists of a very small, very high-luminance central dot that is a damn pain to be stuck behind in traffic. The US regs have minimum-lit-area requirements for the stop lights and turn signals to prevent this kind of glare, but they are written with 1968 technology in mind; today’s technology allows makers to meet the letter of the law while utterly violating its spirit and intent.
I was about to nominate these myself. I saw them at the NY motor show and fell in love. They’re works of art.
I’ve spent a couple days figuring out how to answer this one. I am very much of a form-follows-function mindset, so I’ll have to punt and say “Almost any of the ones in Attachment 7 of this document I put together some months ago. If you force me to pick just one, it’ll be the very last one in that collection.
Ah, Mr. Stern. I have been awaiting your response to this QOTD more than that of anyone else. Your choice reminds me of these words;
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
When amber rear turn signals (←that’s a link) are required in the US and Canada, I can die happy; I anticipate leading a long and cranky life.
A bigger issue, to me—and Daniel I know you’re the expert on this, so I’d be very interested to hear your opinion—why, oh WHY do some of the European carmakers (BMW and Mercedes-Benz, specifically) have many models that have LED signal lights, but incandescent bulbs for brake lights?!? This is madness to me, and completely irresponsible… anyone can deduce why an instantly illuminating brake light is much more important, safety-wise, than the signal light. Any thoughts? By the way, the very first Japanese car I saw years ago (early 2000s Infiniti G35) with LED lights had it done right: LED brake lights, and incandescent signal lights. Trust the Japanese to actually do things properly…
Cost.
You don’t seriously expect anyone to download a pdf in order to see your answer, do you?
…
Thank you! Nice.
I expect nothing. Whoever wants to see the slide show enough to spend the seven seconds downloading the PDF will probably do so. Whoever doesn’t, probably won’t.
1960 Chrysler
Pure elegance. These boomerangs are gorgeous! They must look lovely at night.
Or 1960 Imperial
I’ve been a bit busy and distracted, but have loved all of these nominations, which include a number of my favorites. So instead of a duplicate nomination, I’ll throw out on that I don’t think has been done yet, the 2015 Aston Martin Vulcan. If GM knew how to make these in 1957, they’d have been on the ’59 Cadillac.
For a utilitarian commercial truck, this looks so clean.
I can’t believe there are almost 300 responses and no one has mentioned the king of taillight designs!
another view…
can’t get enough…
Those are pretty damned cool!
Spacey!
Have the 1959 Cadillacs been erased from people’s memories?
Quite a few that have been mentioned here already, but some of my favorites include:
1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass
1973 Caprice/Impala
1974-1976 Mercury Cougar
1976-1977 Pontiac Grand Lemans
1977-1979 Ford Thunderbird
1978/1979 Oldsmobile Delta 88
1982/1983 Buick Century
1987-1988 Ford Thunderbird
1987/1988 Chevy Monte Carlo (incl. 86 LS)
1989-1993 Buick Riviera
1990-1992 Oldsmobile Toronado
1996-1999 Mercury Sable sedan
1998-2002 Lincoln Continental
2011-2014 Dodge Charger
Overall, I’m a fan of squares and full width.
Can’t add a photo in the editor, so:
The export version:
My favourite on any new car, and one of my favourite sets of taillights of all time: the current Hyundai Genesis, or Genesis G80. They have a very cool 3D effect… Captivating at night!
Maybe not my favourite, but I just figured someone had to throw these in:
59 Chevy.
Of note, I saw a new model Mazda SUV (CX-5?) that had the angle on their taillights that sort of reminded me of these.
My own choice(s) would be,
1955 Plymouth
1968 Charger
1974 Plymouth Duster
2014 Chrysler 300C
1974 Dodge Dart Sport
1973 Chev Malibu
1959 Ford Galaxie
1962 Ford Galaxie
1973 Olds Cutlass Supreme
1965 Oldsmobile Starfire. Better looking than the taillights on the ’65 Delta/Dynamic 88.
Always liked these – Renault Avantime
As a long-time disciple of our Mr. Stern, I think the *best* taillight design is the *most functional* taillight design.
There are several that come to mind, but as a long-time Certified Volvo Nut™, I’ll select the 1981+ 242/244 taillights. Simple, obvious, and functional, with a distinct “cell” for each function.
Round…works everywhere it’s tried.
These.
Sure it’s just a body-colour panel with slits over a larger light assembly, but for sheer visual difference, these get my vote.
With the’60 Oldsmobile it’s not just the tail lights, it’s the entire rear end!
1974 Buick Electra
What was interesting about mid-’70s Buick Electras was that the outer taillight built into the bumper had a clear lens, with no indication at all that they glowed red with the tail lights. I assume they also had a clear bulb for backup light duty, as I don’t see any other clear-lensed lamps back there. What I don’t know is if they glowed red because the main red taillight section was too far from the edge of the car to meet legal requirements, or if they blinked when signaling for a turn. If the latter, does that mean they alternated white and red if indicating a turn whilst backing up?
They just have two small 194 bulbs under a red lens above and under the back up light. So they just glow along with the parking lights but they don’t blink. The main taillights have 4 bulbs each and just the two outer ones serve as combined brake/flasher lights. Those in the center are also located behind reflectors.
The 1970 Electra also had backup lights in that area (in the fins rather than the bumpers) and those also had a bulb under a red lens under the clear lens.
I can’t believe there’s been only brief mention of the ’59 Cadillac – no taillamps are more iconic than those.
The taillights on the 1997-98 Lincoln Mark VIII are interesting. Nothing amazing about the shape – just a full-width rectangle – but photos don’t do them justice for how distinctive they look in real life when illuminated. They used some sort of neon bulb setup so they light up as a perfectly evenly lit panel, without the bright spots and dim areas found in nearly all incandescently-lit taillamps. In the pre-LED era, these were something to behold.
I think the late ’50s to late ’60s were the heyday of elegant taillamp designs – so many rocket-ship afterburner motifs, with chrome highlights and wonderfully three-dimensional, chrome-highlighted round, oval, and rectangular shapes (also, this is one area where Detroit walked all over the rest of the world stylistically). By the ’90s taillights had become indistinguishable amorphous blobs. There’s been an uptick in interesting designs in recent years though thanks to the LED revolution.
I think the fins are iconic, but as far as the illuminated taillight signature I think the 60 Cadillac is the best. Ironically I like the bullet shaped 59 lenses when they’re retrofit on other custom cars more, but that’s me.
I agree with the those late Lincoln Marks, neon light has a look unto itself and it’s a sight to behold – when you come across one that still works*. Not quite the pre-LED era mild you, the 92-97 Thunderbird used LEDs on the trunk taillights
Among my all time favourites are the taillamps for 1071-72 Mercyry and Meteor full-size cars.
1972 here: https://tinyurl.com/3aephvk8
The entire red part of the lamp would light up. But the entire red part of the lamp was also the reflector. The major downside for these (besides no amber turn signal, hi Dan!) was that they were almost always broken, because they were at the extreme rear of the car, maybe even a bit past the bumper. Or at least that’s what it seemed at the time.
Another taillight I have liked since I was a kid, simple as it is: VW Beetles for several years from the late ’50s to early ’60s (I’m not enough of a Bug-o-phile to know the exact years) used this seemingly simple flat oval taillight lens. But there was a pretty little flower design embedded in it, visible whether the light is on or off, that gave it a unique look. These were preceded by simpler round lights (some with a neat heart-shaped opening in the top of the housing) and succeeded by three-dimensional lights that wrapped around the sides.
Had one of these back in the day, and I always thought the tail lights were very attractive for a low budget economy car. They also incorporated separate brake and turn lenses, always a good thing.
…
Winky The White Cat Breaklights. Fur a little extra safety.
How about the Oldsmobile Alero
+1
I can’t say I have a favorite. Along with about half already listed, I always thought the ’59 Ford was a great design. Or I should say the ’59 Ford taillight trim ring, because the taillight is nothing without that trim ring.
Someone already listed the ’58 Edsel wagon taillight. One of the best taillights out there is the ’58 Edsel hockey stick.
Citroen C6 in action. The dark outer part is the orange turn signal.
…and the illuminated amber part in your pic is the side marker light. Outside the North American regulatory island, side marker lights and reflectors are required only on vehicles more than 6 metres long (19 feet, 8-1/4 inches), so most passenger vehicles don’t have them, and if they’re present they’re amber front and rear—except the rear ones may be red if they are physically or optically combined with one or another of the red rear lighting functions. Which is a thoughtless, silly condition, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ These on the C6 could have been absent or red, but Citroën chose to put them there and make them amber. Side markers are pretty much a styling gimmick in Europe, sort of like side turn signal repeaters in America.
1949 Buick
Hardboiled Eggs and Nuts nominated the 1963-1965 Pontiac Grand Prix hidden taillights. Here is a 1965, which to me is the best looking of a fine and memorable group.
59 Caddy, 67-68 Cougar, 70 Mustang.
Honorable mention, the common box tail lamps used on trucks and Jeeps, millions of them.
I really like these: Brazilian Fiat Uno taillights
But my overall favorite has to be a Chinese car called Ora Good Cat (yes, thats its real name, and yes, I love that name). Its taillights are hidden under the rear window making the rear end cleaner.
The beautiful 1965 Chrysler New Yorkers (early production) neat clear tail lights.
It would be interesting to fit red LED lamps in these, as you could eliminate the red seen behind the lens during daylight.
There are red glass caps that cover the incandescent bulbs. Those could be left off if using red LEDs, giving all clear lenes except for the small square red reflectors. However, I sort of like seeing a hint of red from the glass caps being reflected in the reflectors. But yes, the red LEDs would work.
Bill, I agree with you. And the more I’ve dug into these, the more interesting they get. There were two versions of the clear-lens lamps, and possibly of the red-lens lamps as well; one with a single bulb in a single large reflector, and the other, shown here on your car, with two bulbs and two reflectors (not counting the inboard reversing lamp in either case).
I think that you are correct. It seems that I have seen lenses/reflectors with only one bulb. I had narrowed the possible reasons down to a few, as to why Chrysler discontinued these clear lenses early in the model year.
However, it seems that they had a high rejection rate for assembling the lenses, and that they had a tendency to crack (or cracks were more noticeable), and they were expensive to produce.
They small red reflectors had to be hand glued in place, and the chrome strips had to be hand applied. Also, the red glass cups were another extra expense and had a metal attachment ring holding the glass cups on over the bulbs – held on my 3 screws (all hand installed). So, they stopped installing them, and simply used the less expensive red lenses from the 300 and Newport.
I had heard that some States had issues with the clear lenses, as far as the lights being hard to see against the sun light, and the red no being to code. This could have been a secondary reason that was the nail in the coffin for the clear tail lights.
You’re definitely right about the high cost of the clear-lens setup.
High rejection/crack rate: mmmmmaybe. It’s not that I disbelieve you, it’s that this could easily just be someone’s plausible-sounding guess which has vulcanised into received wisdom by repetition over the years. I’d love to see any documentation, but I don’t imagine there’ll ever be any.
I’ve heard the same thing about states, and I think that can be dismissed out of hand as probably somebody’s thin-air guess. At that time, before the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards came in, all vehicle lighting devices (except headlamps) had to be type-approved by every state—making it unlikely a state would have reason to object after the cars were already on the roads. But that’s my (educated) guess; here again, I’d love to see documentation that probably doesn’t exist.
I just got a gander at this article. First, we have proven how much you men check out rears! I submit to you the simple 1952 Ford taillight. It is simple it is elegant in its design AND for those of us who were around when this car hit the streets, IT WAS A SHOCKER. The lights appeared so very bright compared to anything else on the road. The 1952 Ford started the effort to better highly visible taillights for automobile in the U.S.
There was no such general effort until many years after the 1952 Ford.
Late 80s Isuzu I Mark is probably my favorite.
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tvmuQ-HSChI/XTaOoIhHeoI/AAAAAAABCu8/L6RkfaGlVLQ_-Jej9XQ5TKJqKNJgCTNkwCLcBGAs/s1600/2.jpg
A close second is the mid 80s FWD Olds 88, when it had amber turn signals.
https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Rear-2.jpg
I’m going to nominate these, which is a bit cheeky, but they are dual function – both lighting and aero. The spoiler part of the 981 rear lamp actually did have a measurable effect when tested in the wind tunnel. Getting such tightly packaged units to meet all the regs. was a PITA, but satisfying!
Lots of cool taillights. Now one of the reasons why I like the 67 NewYorker, and would love to have one, is because of the taillights. The 300 in 66-68 had some interesting lamps also.
Audi A6 (C5). Contour defined the entire back end, rendering arguably one of the most graceful automotive tails of the decade if not all time.
Yep, like these! Audi was on a roll at this time – look at the original TT lamps, for instance…
60 Pontiac molded the back 1/3 of the car into the taillights.
Last taillight you need to see