Maybe they should make headlight lenses out of glass, but I doubt that they will. My guess is that the decision to use plastic is a combination of weight savings and the demand for better aerodynamics to make the government"s mileage requirements. And I suspect that the automakers can make the lenses cheaper from plastic than glass.
I never found the round or rectangular glass headlights ugly, and it was nice to be able to go to almost any auto parts store, hardware store or often even grocery store and find a replacement headlight on the shelf for only a few dollars. I think that some "modern" headlights make vehicles look sinister or goofy looking.
But I had to replace the old glass headlights fairly often. They burned out and sometimes broke from flying rocks. The only times I have had to replace plastic headlight assemblies was from collision damage, usually with deer. I have yet to have a plastic lens headlight break from rocks. And I very seldom have had to replace the actual tiny bulbs they have used for the last 20 or so years. But when you do have to replace a bulb or headlight assembly, it costs a whole lot more than replacing an old sealed beam.
The lighting in most modern vehicles is way more effective than the lighting in the old sealed beam vehicles. I think the modern designs are probably great advances over the old standard sealed beam days.
Unfortunately some of the plastic lenses weather over time and get cloudy or yellowed. There are kits at most decent sized auto parts stores to polish out most of the weathering on headlight lenses. The kits cost around $20 and will make most plastic headlight lenses look a whole lot better with only an hour or two of fairly easy labor with an electric drill and the kit.
Were glass headlight lenses better? Maybe, in some ways, but probably not in a whole lot of other ways. Good luck, and polish on!
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Today's Featured Article - Show Coverage: Journey to Ankeny - by Cindy Ladage. We left Illinois on the first day of July and headed north and west for Ankeny, Iowa. Minus two kids, we traveled light with only the youngest in tow. As long as a pool was at the end of our destination she was easy to please unlike the other two who have a multitude of requirements to travel with mom and dad. Amana Colonies served as a respite where we ate a family style lunch that sustained us with more food than could reasonably fit into our ample physiques. The show at Ankeny
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