Pop-up or hidden headlights are a feature you rarely see on cars anymore . While the sleek headlight design wasn't ever officially banned, new cars don't have pop-up headlights because the feature makes it difficult to comply with pedestrian safety regulations. Those regulations, in part, aim to reduce protrusions that increase the risk of injury should a person be struck by a motor vehicle, resulting in the sleek front ends common on modern vehicles.
In addition to safety regulations, the mechanics of raising pop-up headlights, or opening hidden doors, from a car's front facia eventually presented problems. Some automakers employed electrical systems for operation, and others used an engine vacuum to actuate the mechanism. However, either type was subject to failure at the most inopportune times with one or both headlights refusing to shine past the car's exterior.
Pontiac produced six models with pop-up or hidden headlights, including various model years of the Grand Prix, GTO, Fiero, Sunbird, Firebird, and Tojan, a rather unique Firebird spin-off. While some models like the Grand Prix and GTO among the coolest Pontiac muscle cars , others came later and were met with various levels of adoration. [Featured image by Kahvilokki via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 4.
0 ] The late 1960s were some of the best years for the Pontiac Grand Prix , including the 1967 and 1968 model years featuring hidden headlights. The hidden headlights on these Pontiac Grand Prix m.