Jim, that may have been the case in the early 80s, but by the mid 80s lots of other makes had rear fog lights here. Even MB had them by 1990 on all the other models. They just didn't want to re-design the electrical system on the W126 to accommodate it.

Of course the rear light fixtures were prohibited too, they don't have side retro-reflectors or parking lights... IMO the one area where US lighting standards are superior. I can also understand why they banned manual adjustment headlights... nobody would ever have it set properly.

The blinkers are different again... no retro-reflectors. I'll agree that the euro orange color is more pleasant, but that's simply a standards thing. At the time the US and EU simply defined amber slightly differently.

At the beginning of replaceable lamp fixtures the DOT required mechanical aiming... that's what the bumps on the front of the lens are for. You would attach a fixture with bubble levels and aim it until the bubbles were centered... just like yee olde sealed beam. That's why the US lights have the separate fog and headlight assembly, the front lens of the headlight assembly needs to move. By the 90s the standards had been changed to allow just the optics inside to move, but the fixture had to include a built-in bubble level. Look on a W140 and you'll see it. The goofy lill wipers simply do the best they can on the smaller cleanable area of the DOT fixture.

I will agree completely that the DOT standard for headlights was very bad, and it seemed as if Bosh and Hella wanted to punish us by giving us the worst possible fixtures. It is possible to make a good headlight system that conforms to DOT specs, even one using wimpy 9004 lamps.

-J

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1991 350SDL. 230,000 miles (new motor @ 150,000). Blown head gasket

Tesla Model 3. 205,000 miles. Been to 48 states!
Past: A fleet of VW TDIs.... including a V10,a Dieselgate Passat, and 2 ECOdiesels.
2014 Cadillac ELR
2013 Fiat 500E.