This chart shows 38 mainstream automakers selling cars in America. Of these 38, eleven have amber penetration rates of 100% across their fleet of models. Interestingly, Japanese carmakers have excellent representation in the 100% class. Lexus, Subaru, Mazda, Acura, Mitsubishi, and Nissan (which has ambers on every vehicle except the Frontier) come close to full amber status at 93%. Infinity,  Nissan’s luxury arm, is just behind at 80%.

The list of carmakers with absolutely no amber rear indicators is surprising as well; there are a few American makes in there – Dodge, Chrysler, Rivian, GMC – but aside from Genesis, it’s dominated by European marques. BMW has the most individual red-only models, but Italian and English brands are also stuck down there in the amberless pit.

I was delighted to be shown Jack Tigras’s remarkably comprehensive The State of Amber Turn Signals: 2023 because this is precisely the sort of project that needed to happen and I’m thrilled I didn’t have to actually, you know, do it. This is what I believe to be the first comprehensive report on amber rear turn indicator usage in the American automotive market ever, and there are fascinating trends and information to be gleaned from it. Well, I suppose that’s only true if you find amber rear-turn indicators to be fascinating, which I freely admit I do. So let’s dig in!

Amber tail lightsMustang

Maybe they changed them on the newer Bolts but I have amber signals on the bumper that are bulbs in a clear housing. What’s also strange is the 2019 Jettas have amber turn signals but after 2019 they switched back to red. We had a 2021 with red and then traded it for the Bolt.

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It reminds me of how some lower spec 2019 Ford Escapes had only a small tiny red area to act as the indicator, brake, and running light where an amber indicator would be on higher trims. Also, USDM models missed out on cool LED tail lights for the 2013-2019 model years that the Kuga had in Europe, for presumably cost cutting?

On the new Bolts, it’s a combination red brake + indicator light on the bumper. Indicator is acceptable, but having the brake that low is an odd choice. Even for “”aesthetic purposes””

What is one supposed to pour over turn signals? I thought blinker fluid was to refill the signals, not to be used as anointing fluid?

On my 16 GSW, the amber indicator was fitted with a red reflector lens and a red bulb, and both the stop and turn lights were recoded to function together for both functions.

Honda is at 75%, and Toyota, the lowest-ranked of the major Japanese carmakers, comes in with 65% of its models winking in amber.

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The people who defend red turn signals also want to keep pennies around and think that Daylight Savings is necessary. Oh, and inches.

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I truly can’t understand why Porsche only uses red indicators in the US. It’s such that one of the most desirable ‘aftermarket’ mods is installing OEM E-Code taillights. Suncoast makes a killing off it, at least.

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This means many mail couriers are unnecessarily driving around with one brake light hidden behind the glare of the closet placed amber strobe. Just absurdly dangerous.

I’m trying to suss out any patterns or trends here, but it’s tricky. There was a time when amber rear indicators were more heavily skewed to lower-end cars, but I’m not sure that’s the case anymore. Mercedes-Benz and some of the other luxury marques seem to spec red and amber haphazardly, while more affordable brands and models (for example, the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Sonata) show plenty of red representation.

Ford is 58% amber, though that could be mitigated by the fact that higher-trim levels of the F-150 do have amber rear indicators – though the F-150 is classified overall as a red-indicator vehicle.

The linked medium article references Technology Connections’ video. Think I found one of the clubs that I truly am greatful for a being a member of. Time to go pour myself an extra strong “Squircle Amber” cocktail.

A quick rootaround in OBDEleven fixed the functionality, though I was too cheap to get the Euro units with amber bulbs and no reflector for the indicators.

The report claims to be the first single source that catalogs every “mainstream” car model sold in the US market with amber rear turn indicators, and the information should be valid for Canada as well, at least for the models those two closely related markets share.

They use the genuinely dangerous brake-light-doubles-as-a-hazard/turn-light pattern that should be illegal (at least on non-trailers) AND sold them to the USPS. About half the mail couriers around me drive with their hazards on despite also having supplementary beacon lights.

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I prefer amber rear indicators myself, though in a perverse way I respect America’s irrational and defiant holdout. What I do not understand is how carmakers from Europe and Japan don’t choose to make universal taillights that fit every market’s demands. You’d think there’d be significant cost savings, and the challenge doesn’t appear that steep at all – I mean, some carmakers have managed to do it.

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This report is wonderful to have, even if it all just serves to baffle me more. The resistance in America to amber rear indicators both confounds and delights me: I think red rear signals are a bad idea, but the fact that people care enough to defend them, bad idea or not, is incredible. I can’t quite get to the root of the resistance to amber rear turn signals, either. Is it just defiance? A streak of American independence? Are there people who prefer the functionality of the red rear indicator? If so, I’d love to know why.

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Incredibly, Tigras even broke down amber representation by model, and even signal mode. The filled-in amber cells are my addition:

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It’s also worth noting this list only needs to be compiled for the North American market, as the entire rest of the world already requires amber rear indicators. We’re the lone holdouts, the global weirdos who still somehow insist that red turn indicators are okay, despite studies and the rest of the world deciding the ambers are at least a bit safer.

Turn signals need to be clear THAT THEY ARE TURN SIGNALS. The marker sniffers might be upset it clashes with their design, but that what it’s supposed to do: stand out. Amber helps, but I have seem amber ones that are so buried or poorly placed it’s not useful. The Mustang’s sequential lights are immediately obvious that they’re a turn signal, even though they’re just red. It think turn signals using the same lamp as running/brake should be outlawed before worrying about color.

I encourage everyone to read the report in full, but I’d like to go over some of the findings here, with you, right now. Let’s look at the percentages of models with amber rears across the board:

I’d love to see a comparison of which models are US specific and which are sold in other markets. That may explain some of the differences. Also, a look at the suppliers may provide some information. Do the European manufacturers use different suppliers for cars assembled in the US? If so, it may be cheaper to use red signals on those cars.

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I also realize that fussy car designers may prefer not to deal with the extra color in their taillight designs, but that doesn’t seem like a valid argument anymore as there are now so many ways to seamlessly hide amber indicators within clear or red sections of the taillight lens to present an amberless look when the indicators are off. So there.

I could’ve sworn I was behind a RAM just the other day and the indicator was red. I remember looking at the taillight and saying “that is a massive taillight for such a tiny zone to be actually illuminated, and then they also did the combined brakelight/indicator thing too?” Seemed like a huge waste of taillight real estate.

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Interestingly, American carmakers – who really have the least pressure to produce cars with amber rear indicators – are pretty evenly distributed across the board. Lincoln and Tesla both score 100% amber rears for their current lineups, along with Lucid (counting them as mainstream is pretty generous, but whatever). RAM surprised me most, also coming in with complete amberhood.