I did. A 1984 Ford Tempo. God, was that stupid! My dad had a 1985 Tempo with the horn in the normal position, on the steering wheel hub. I liked to say, “Ford learns from its mistakes.” 
Drivers in Europe commonly use the stalk-mounted ‘flash to pass’ as a polite request for slower drivers ahead in the left lane to please move to the right lane, to let faster cars pass on the left (in England it’s also common, but swap the left and right).
Googling “flash to pass” gives Wikipedia’s page for Headlight flashing, where it has:
It’s easier to give a polite flash with a stalk-mounted control. On the floor, the high beams stay on too long for the flash to be polite.
Early '60s Renaults (don’t know about earlier, but probably) had the horn on the left stalk, and the right stalk had the turn signals.
More weirdly, they had two horns, a country horn and a city horn — one louder than the other — with a rocker switch to change back and forth on the bottom edge of the dash.
I think the dimmer/bright switch was on the floor.
In the UK the two states of the headlights are referred to as “full beam” or “dipped”.
I’ve driven since the mid-80’s and don’t recall ever driving a car with a switch for that on the floor. Always on one of the stalks.
I did work as a car salesman for time in the early 90’s so have had exposure to many models in of that period.
As to what we call it?..I really don’t know. Not sure I’ve ever had need to refer to the physical item specifically as it always shares a function with something else (indicator or wipers).
It is just a stalk that switches between dipped and full beam.
In the UK, if there is a seperate name it’s the “Dip Switch”, going from Main to Dipped beam.
Probably this has lost currency since the demise of the old floor switches.
I doubt this demise has anything to do with front-wheel-drive; the original Mini had them on the floor at least until the mid sixites.
More likely is that once you decide to use relays, then it’s cheaper to put all the wiring harness to one place and not have a one-off bit running under the carpet. Plus it makes manufacture for right and left drive easier, maybe why the Japanese used it.
Lots of models have the horn on the indicator stalk, not sure if it’s any better or worse than in the middlle of the wheel. It does mean that you can hoot and still have 2 hands on the wheel, but not as satisfying as punching the middle pad or button (and firing the air bag…)
I’ve never heard the term, either, but I’ve never had need to refer to the switch. (I originally thought this was going to be about the dash lights dimmer.) I’d’ve called it the high-beam switch or brights switch if I had occasion to need the term. I also had no idea this switch used to be located in the footwell, either. But the oldest American car I’ve driven was probably an '85, so that would explain it. An educational thread indeed!
Back in Ye Olde Darke Ages, like the 1930s-1950s, headlights were a lot dimmer. And streetlights were a lot dimmer and a lot more rare. And the vast majority of driving was on roads with little traffic.
So the default was to run your headlights on bright. And to briefly lower them to half-bright on the rare occasions you encountered another car driving after dark.
In that world, calling it a “dipper switch” or “dimmer switch” made sense. In modern urban / suburban traffic, not so much.
Never heard it called anything else, as a floor item. It seems to be a little more common to call the stalk control “the high-beam switch” but it’s still referred to as a dimmer in many places.
Another reason for moving the switch - more exactly, the reason the switch might have been on the floor in the first place - is that the floor switch is a high-current one that directly switches power between high and low beam circuits. It would be an awkward control for hand use. Most European and smaller and newer cars use a relay to do the switching, which allows a much smaller, more delicate switch for control.
And yes, they do rust up and get sticky. The one in my Mustang has been replaced at least three or four times, and that was in a dry climate.
I’m an old guy and have always known it as a dimmer switch. I guess at least thru the 70s they were always on the floor.
I’m a retired postal maintenance worker who mainly did HVAC work. I normally drove a service van but would occasionally drive something bigger to pick up parts or whatever.
I was given a ton-and-a-half stake bed truck to pick up a large AC compressor that we would be installing. This was in the early 80s as I recall, truck was mid 70s likely. It was a rainy day and I had the headlights on, low beam. I’m on an elevated 3 lane downtown interstate when I notice smoke wafting up from the floor under me.
I look down and there is a ring of fire surrounding the dimmer switch. The rubber floor mat is on fire around the switch, flames about an inch high. I’m trying to watch the road and traffic in pouring down rain while dealing with this. I turned off the headlights (dash switch) and with my left foot stomped out the fire.
Got off the highway and drove it right to the vehicle maintenance garage. I was a young guy at the time and was laughed at by the old timers there but they said they’d check it out. When I went back for the truck the next day was told they did get it to catch fire again and changed out the switch. Presumably corrosion/moisture caused a current-carrying problem.
The floor operated switches tended to be hard to operate, particularly in the winter when you were wearing boots and the floor mats had gotten scrunched up a bit. Also, if you’re driving a manual, you already had enough to be doing with your feet without worrying about trying to find a little knobby thing in the dark.
…and that’s the problem with running high-current wiring any farther than it has to go, whether it’s for headlights (which typically have a high-current ‘fusible link’ or auot-reset circuit breaker rather than proper safety fusing) or an in-dash ammeter. A short can be absolutely disastrous.
(For in-dash ammeters, at least old-school ones that actually show something useful - as oppose to modern idiot-lights-with-a-pointer - ALL of a car’s working current goes through it, except for that switched to the starter. That can be 30-40-50 amps or more, going through relatively long wiring looped through the firewall and dash. Stupid. Useless. A voltmeter would be far more useful and have no such safety issues, much like putting headlight power switching in a relay up by the battery and lamps and using a small switch and light wiring to control it.)
That’s what I remember, try downshifting on a hill while braking and trying to dim your lights. Tapdancing!
'Twas never a problem. But I’m no stranger to flicking on the brights when signalling a turn.
Never had any problem finding the floor switch. Never (personally) had trouble using the clutch and the floor switch at the same time: with those old gearboxs and engines, didn’t have to change gears very often.
It was harder and slower to use: I had to push to get that sucker to switch.
Do have trouble finding the high-beam on the stalk. Don’t use it very often, and have to guess when I need it.
So some good and some bad: I’d rather have a floor switch, and a big floor area, and I’ve never cared about having a fasionable car “like the expensive european cars”, and I’d put up with the stiff switch and the rust/corrosion, but I understand other people see it differently.
I’d rather have crank window openers too, but I don’t think that is going to happen either.
I understood what he meant by “dimmer switch,” but I can’t recall the last time I heard anyone call it that. It’s the “high beams” or “brights” switch.
Little known fact. Bill Gate’s first job was for GM. They couldn’t think of any changes to make in 76 so Bill suggested they move something functional to make it appear as if they improved it.
Renaming it was also part of Bill’s work. He didn’t want anybody to find it in the manual.
Great one Kansas Beekeeper! I Really needed a Good Laugh! I feel you are 100 % Correct to have light and to have the car in park ( Not in Motion) When replacing a floorboard dimmer switch! Really Great Humor is a Fantastic thing to have! And is Contagious! Thanks again!
I think it pretty much depend’s on what part of the US you live, as to what the dimmer switch is called! Low Beam And High Beam’s are the function of the dimmer switch! Everyone used to drive with the high beams on until 500 feet from another car! Kind of foolish not to use them when you can! You can see at least twice as far! I guess if you have size 2 feet that button might be hard to find? Never once have I ever had a problem with finding it! I always use my foot. Never my hand! Peace! Out!
IIRC, my 1959 Renault Dauphine had that. There was also a rocker switch on top of the steering column that allowed me to switch the horn’s volume from “Town” to “Country.”