60 years of "Coming home"
08/17/2025
Even today, car manufacturers still proudly proclaim that their cars have a "coming home" light circuit. When you come home in the evening and leave the car, the headlights shine on for a while to illuminate the driver's way to the front door (or similar).
The idea for this practical device is an old one; Automobil Revue reported on the "automatic parking light" back in June 1965. It was developed by the Chrysler Corporation and was called "Safeguard Sentinel Lighting".
It was described in the Automobil Rev ue as follows:
"This useful device enables the motorist to park his car either in a garage or in a parking lot with nothing to do but turn on the car lights and remove the ignition key. After a pre-set time (at least 1 1/2 minutes), the lights are switched off automatically.
However, the Safeguard Sentinel Lighting system can also be used to switch on the vehicle lights automatically when darkness falls while driving. This is done via a photocell located above the instrument panel, which measures the light intensity or darkness and closes or interrupts the circuit depending on the circumstances."
So Chrysler not only automated the parking lights, but also the switching on of the headlights in the dark. Practical, isn't it? Even 60 years later ...
