# Blackout emblem overlays — Why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 29, 2021, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackout-emblem-overlays-why/956860 "2021-12-29T16:21:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2021, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackout-emblem-overlays-why/956860/1 "2021-12-29T16:21:33Z")
I just learned of the existence of blackout emblem overlays. I found out what they are. I found out how to install them. But I can’t find anything that tells my why anyone would want to use them. Anybody out there know? ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2021, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackout-emblem-overlays-why/956860/2 "2021-12-29T16:32:33Z")
De-chroming a car has been popular for decades. Heck, I painted the grill surround black on my 1992 BMW. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2021, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackout-emblem-overlays-why/956860/3 "2021-12-29T16:37:45Z")
People have different preferences and tastes than you do. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2021, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackout-emblem-overlays-why/956860/4 "2021-12-29T16:57:34Z")
Yes it’s a thing. Some manufacturers, like Jeep for one, sell a trim level where all emblems and chrome trim are blacked out. For Jeep it’s the Trailhawk trim. [https://www.google.com/search?q=Jeep+Trailhawk&client=safari&hl=en-us&prmd=isvxn&sxsrf=AOaemvIM3KDVPlr7loA5oBWTY635YWR3ow:1640796964368&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjNk9aBvYn1AhWKg-AKHXuuD3gQ\_AUoAXoECAIQAQ&biw=414&bih=715&dpr=2](https://www.google.com/search?q=Jeep+Trailhawk&client=safari&hl=en-us&prmd=isvxn&sxsrf=AOaemvIM3KDVPlr7loA5oBWTY635YWR3ow:1640796964368&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjNk9aBvYn1AhWKg-AKHXuuD3gQ_AUoAXoECAIQAQ&biw=414&bih=715&dpr=2) ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2021, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackout-emblem-overlays-why/956860/5 "2021-12-29T17:06:21Z")
I remember family trips through Pennsylvania when we would see cars with all the chrome (and back then there was usually a LOT of chrome on a car) painted black. These cars were driven by the “black-bumper” Mennonites. One of their rules was to paint the chrome black to show that the car wasn’t an object of vanity. I often wondered if, when black trim became popular, the rules were changed to something like “paint the trim _flat grey_”. And that reminds me, I knew someone who applied black paint to the chrome (that was visible from the driver’s seat) and the top of the dashboard on their cherry '53 Roadmaster Buick. (Original owner.) They said that they often couldn’t see past all the reflected sunlight. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2021, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackout-emblem-overlays-why/956860/6 "2021-12-29T17:08:37Z")
Question: I sometimes see cars where the taillamps look like they have been coated with that same film which people use to “blackout” their side windows. For taillamps - wouldn’t this be illegal? ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2021, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackout-emblem-overlays-why/956860/7 "2021-12-29T17:26:00Z")
I’d expect so, given legal requirements for vehicle lighting. It’s also seriously stupid, in my layperson opinion (IANAL or LEO). ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2021, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackout-emblem-overlays-why/956860/8 "2021-12-29T17:29:56Z")
I haven’t seen that, but I imagine that the taillights look black, but when on they are red. Therefore, not illegal. ---
**Author:** ![TheCuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thecuse/32/2854_2.png) [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2021, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackout-emblem-overlays-why/956860/9 "2021-12-29T17:31:14Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > es it’s a thing. Some manufacturers, like Jeep for one, sell a trim level where all emblems and chrome trim are blacked out. > > For Jeep it’s the Trailhawk trim. > > [https://www.google.com/search?q=Jeep+Trailhawk&client=safari&hl=en-us&prmd=isvxn&sxsrf=AOaemvIM3KDVPlr7loA5oBWTY635YWR3ow:1640796964368&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjNk9aBvYn1AhWKg-AKHXuuD3gQ\_AUoAXoECAIQAQ&biw=414&bih=715&dpr=2](https://www.google.com/search?q=Jeep+Trailhawk&client=safari&hl=en-us&prmd=isvxn&sxsrf=AOaemvIM3KDVPlr7loA5oBWTY635YWR3ow:1640796964368&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjNk9aBvYn1AhWKg-AKHXuuD3gQ_AUoAXoECAIQAQ&biw=414&bih=715&dpr=2) I’ve got a Cherokee High Altitude and it’s got the black as well. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2021, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackout-emblem-overlays-why/956860/10 "2021-12-29T17:35:45Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > I haven’t seen that, but I imagine that the taillights look black, but when on they are red. Therefore, not illegal. Are you sure, I thought they still have to reflect headlights, like if you are pulled over on the shoulder in the dark, a car coming up still sees the back light reflectors. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2021, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackout-emblem-overlays-why/956860/11 "2021-12-29T17:43:42Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Are you sure, I thought they still have to reflect headlights, like if you are pulled over on the shoulder in the dark, a car coming up still sees the back light reflectors. Red taillights are not reflective. > [@TheCuse](#): > > > [@Bullitt](#): > > > > es it’s a thing. Some manufacturers, like Jeep for one, sell a trim level where all emblems and chrome trim are blacked out. > > > > For Jeep it’s the Trailhawk trim. > > > > [https://www.google.com/search?q=Jeep+Trailhawk&client=safari&hl=en-us&prmd=isvxn&sxsrf=AOaemvIM3KDVPlr7loA5oBWTY635YWR3ow:1640796964368&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjNk9aBvYn1AhWKg-AKHXuuD3gQ\_AUoAXoECAIQAQ&biw=414&bih=715&dpr=2](https://www.google.com/search?q=Jeep+Trailhawk&client=safari&hl=en-us&prmd=isvxn&sxsrf=AOaemvIM3KDVPlr7loA5oBWTY635YWR3ow:1640796964368&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjNk9aBvYn1AhWKg-AKHXuuD3gQ_AUoAXoECAIQAQ&biw=414&bih=715&dpr=2) > > I’ve got a Cherokee High Altitude and it’s got the black as well. Ahh yes, thanks for that reminder. The HAs are blacked out too. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2021, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackout-emblem-overlays-why/956860/12 "2021-12-29T17:53:31Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > Red taillights are not reflective. Yeah they are, they have reflectors [built in to the plastic](https://jalopnik.com/this-thing-has-an-actual-name-1826419841). They are the parts that look textured. > As a lifelong taillight obsessive, I’m sort of appalled at myself that I wasn’t aware that these bits of taillight arcana had an actual name. The things I’m referring to are those reflective panels, made of the same plastics and colors as a car’s taillights, that fill in the rear body section between the separate lights to give the illusion of one long, contiguous taillamp unit. ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2021, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackout-emblem-overlays-why/956860/13 "2021-12-29T18:18:48Z")
I knew a Church of the Brethren guy who had a brand new hot rod TransAm. But it was ok, because the chrome was blacked out. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2021, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackout-emblem-overlays-why/956860/14 "2021-12-29T20:03:41Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > > [@Bullitt](#): > > > > Red taillights are not reflective. > > Yeah they are, they have reflectors [built in to the plastic](https://jalopnik.com/this-thing-has-an-actual-name-1826419841). They are the parts that look textured. > > > As a lifelong taillight obsessive, I’m sort of appalled at myself that I wasn’t aware that these bits of taillight arcana had an actual name. The things I’m referring to are those reflective panels, made of the same plastics and colors as a car’s taillights, that fill in the rear body section **between the separate lights** to give the illusion of one long, contiguous taillamp unit. Emphasis mine. I read the article about heckblende and it confirms what I said. And, while some cars have heckblende, not all do, and it’s specifically the taillights themselves that are not reflective. On all cars. That is why, when we drive down a street with parked cars at night we don’t see in the distance any reflected taillights. Reflective materials catch our headlights from far away and visually stand out for us to see. Taillights do not do that. Further, for cars with heckblende, that heckblende is designed to catch the light _generated by that car’s own taillights_ to make it appear that there’s a long strip that lights up. When that car’s taillights turn off, the heckblende is no longer reflective. It’s all explained in that article. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2021, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackout-emblem-overlays-why/956860/15 "2021-12-29T22:25:35Z")
Back around 1982, I painted all of the chrome on my ‘69 Beetle black. Handles, badges, hubcaps, headlight and taillight trim, etc. I was even able to buy the (normally white) strips that go between the fenders and body in black. It was a nice contrast to the light blue paint job. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2021, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackout-emblem-overlays-why/956860/16 "2021-12-30T20:49:08Z")
And then there was the brief trend for gold plated emblems and trim. Lincoln had it for sure, and I think Cadillac. Even Toyota got in the act with their gold trimmed Camry. There were also after market gold packages. > **[QOTD: The Gold Package – Is All That Glitters Gold Or Not?](https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/question/qotd-the-gold-package-is-all-that-glitters-gold-or-not/)** > > As I was driving my daughter to school last week, we pulled up behind a late 1990’s white Toyota Land Cruiser, basically the same as the one we used to \[…\] ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2022, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackout-emblem-overlays-why/956860/17 "2022-01-02T17:02:34Z")
Many years ago I had a Pontiac Grand Am and bought a set of dark lenses for the headlights because ‘looks cool’. I figured they wouldn’t actually be dark enough to significantly impact the functionality. Nope. I estimate I lost 50% of the light at night. So into the trunk they went. Maybe if I had gotten a set of sun corona LED headlights to go with them. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2022, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackout-emblem-overlays-why/956860/18 "2022-01-02T21:05:33Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > I remember family trips through Pennsylvania when we would see cars with all the chrome (and back then there was usually a LOT of chrome on a car) painted black. These cars were driven by the “black-bumper” Mennonites. One of their rules was to paint the chrome black to show that the car wasn’t an object of vanity. To me, vanity implies a desire to be noticed. By blacking out their cars, they are drawing attention to themselves; thus, displaying vanity. (‘Look how holy I am!’) ISTM that if they didn’t black out their cars, then nobody would notice them. ---
**Author:** ![TheCuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thecuse/32/2854_2.png) [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2022, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackout-emblem-overlays-why/956860/19 "2022-01-02T21:19:35Z")
Just tuned in my 2019Jeep High Altitude because the lease was up. Just got a 2021 Cherokee Trailhawk (spitfire orange) with the black out. Very sharp.