GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

My vibe is the first vehicle I have ever owned that has fog lamps, and I am a bit confused about their use.I had always thought that one used fog lamps in foggy conditions (duh) to avoid the glare from standard headlights reflecting off the fog and back into one's eyes. As such, I thought that they were to be used instead of regular low beams.Fog in my area usually occurs early in the AM, when it is still dark enough that the Twilight Sentinel will activate the headlights. As far as I can tell, there is no way to use only the fog lamps in such conditions.Is this a design flaw, or am I confused about the purpose of foglamps?

Yes, fog light give you better view at the ground level but I think fog light are more for esthetic reason then for the utility (but the can be some times usefull).

quote:The fog lamps will give you a better "close to the ground" view...It is designed to allow a better view of the side of the road (ie road lines...etc) and the area close to the front of the car.Yeah, in the Vibe's case, not being able to turn the low beams off with the fog lamps on partially defeats their original designed purpose. I would say nowadays fog lamps are for aesthetic purposes (as stated) and as Salsa says for better view up close and to the side of the roads.I found the fogs to be somewhat useful when driving in fog, but really would have been nice to have the low beams off as well.

Personally, I think they give a better view of the road in normal condtions too. I keep them on pretty much all the time...and I can definitely see improvement in bad conditions, but as previously stated, with the lows still on, it's hard to take complete advantage of the system. My speculation is that you have to keep on the lows for other drivers to properly see you. But I'm speculating. I dunno.

Original Fog lamps were yellow/orange because that frequency of light gives less glare off of the water molecules in the air, and thereby giving you better vision in thick fog with a low height mount. Highbeams in thick fog simply give more glare, which is where the fog lamps came in.Yeah...the Vibe lamps are for looks, and not much for practicality.