# I pit rain-sensing windshield wipers! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 23, 2005, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rain-sensing-windshield-wipers/295831 "2005-03-23T03:12:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rain-sensing-windshield-wipers/295831/21 "2005-03-24T01:58:18Z")
> [@mr bus guy](#): > > My wife’s 97 Camry does the same thing. Leave the lights ON, and they go on when you start the car, and shut off when you turn the ignition off. That’s not new, either. My '85 Camry did the same thing. My '92 Miata doesn’t. I’ve killed the battery once, and I now carry jumper cables in the trunk. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rain-sensing-windshield-wipers/295831/22 "2005-03-24T10:15:05Z")
> [@anamnesis](#): > > The Germans invented everything from airbags to headlights that turn around… To be fair, the French invented swiveling headlights: they were on a luxury Citroen in the early 70’s, although I gather they didn’t work very well, being mechanical and not electronic. ---
**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rain-sensing-windshield-wipers/295831/23 "2005-03-24T12:27:38Z")
And French. ---
**Author:** ![anamnesis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@anamnesis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anamnesis)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rain-sensing-windshield-wipers/295831/24 "2005-03-24T15:14:53Z")
> [@Case Sensitive](#): > > To be fair, the French invented swiveling headlights: they were on a luxury Citroen in the early 70’s, although I gather they didn’t work very well, being mechanical and not electronic. Okay, okay … I’ll grant credit where it’s due, the Germans haven’t necessarily “thought up” everything. In fact, now that I give it some thought, I believe it was Volvo that began most of the pioneering research into airbags during the 70’s. Their claim to fame has always been their efforts into researching safety technology. But the Germans are the ones who take it mainstream and improve upon it tremendously. 😉 Here in America we don’t do much except trail behind Japan. Germany sets the benchmark, Japan makes a fantastic copy, and then America struggles desperately to tread water and decides building trucks and SUVs is easier than packaging a decent passenger car. Here I go again, I’ve hijacked my own thread … ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rain-sensing-windshield-wipers/295831/25 "2005-03-24T15:47:58Z")
Do we ignore that Tucker put a swivelling center headlight in his cars in 1948? ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rain-sensing-windshield-wipers/295831/26 "2005-03-24T15:56:48Z")
> [@Case Sensitive](#): > > To be fair, the French invented swiveling headlights: they were on a luxury Citroen in the early 70’s, although I gather they didn’t work very well, being mechanical and not electronic. Tucker beat that by several centuries. I mean, decades. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rain-sensing-windshield-wipers/295831/27 "2005-03-24T16:00:10Z")
10 minute gap on a simulpost? Weird. \*\*Cheese[/]b’s post wasn’t there when I posted. Maybe I should turn off the autoreply switch. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2005, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rain-sensing-windshield-wipers/295831/28 "2005-03-24T16:03:08Z")
[::sigh::](http://nicklewis.smartcampaigns.com/node/175) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rain-sensing-windshield-wipers/295831.md?page=1)