(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.