In 1940, 7 inch round, sealed beam headlights were required equipment on all vehicles sold in the U.S. Then, in 1957, the law was revised to allow 5.75” round, sealed beam lights, two on each side. A side-by-side orientation seemed obvious, but Nash decided to stack them on their 1957 Ambassador. The idea didn’t really catch on…
…until Pontiac tried it on their 1963 full-size models. Within a couple of years, Ford, Mercury, Buick, Cadillac, Plymouth, and American Motors all had at least one model with its own take on a vertical arrangement. The trend ran its course after about five years, and in 1969 no American cars wore the stacked look. Sure, Chevrolet, Plymouth, and Ford tried stacked rectangular lights in the mid to late ‘70s, but I consider the headlight “tower” a 1960s trademark. Maybe the “tailfin” of that decade?
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