<sigh> Preview, then submit. Preview, then submit. Preview, then submit. :smack:
As you point out (quite rightly), none of the sites that make an assertion as to the origin of the term give a compelling, or indeed any, reason for this assertion. You are trying to prove the point with a preponderance of evidence which is all well and good, but I didn’t bother because I didn’t feel that was sufficient for the purpose. If one wanted to show that most sites which make an assertion do, in fact, make the claim that it is an acronym, a few Google searches is more than sufficient for that purpose; something which dtilque is quite capable of doing himself, I’d wager.
I do appreciate the effort you put in there, however. Thanks 
I am not an entomologist, but don’t you think it’s possible (I would argue probable) that the word is both an acronym and a ripoff of RADAR? As in:
Inventor: I want to create a name that will describe my new Laser Radar system.
Marketer: How about Laser Radar?
Inventor: RADAR stands for RAdio Detection And Ranging, my system uses light, rather than radio.
Marketer: Well, how about we call it LIght Detection And Ranging, LIDAR for short?
Inventor: Brilliant!
Why is everything in italics? It wasn’t when I previewed…
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Fixed italics coding.
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MEANWHILE, AWAY FROM THE IVORY TOWERS…
Q.E.D., purely theoretically, could LIDAR’s range be significantly reduced through certain vehicular modifications, such as painting the vehicle’s front end with nonreflective paint, covering the headlights/license plates with a non-reflective clear film, micro-etching ( 
) the windshield to minimize reflection, etc.?
No, laser doesn’t diverge just like other light since it is collimated. It does still diverge slightly since it isn’t perfectly collimated, but this is one of the main properties that distinguishes laser light from ordinary light (the others are monochromatic and coherent).