When new technological advances come along in car design, the engineers rarely get it right the first time around. The current trend of LED lights on vehicles is no different. When they first started showing up on new automobiles, they generally looked downright silly. It looked as though the designers received an LED light kit from an arts and crafts store on Friday, and were told to come up with something interesting by Monday morning.

The designers, however, are starting to get more creative with the visual effects this type of lighting produce. Gone are the cute little party lighting properties of the design and taking their place are the mean, angry look of a predator in the night. When one of these vehicles creep up behind you in the dead of night you cannot help but look in your rearview with a bit of anxiety.

The new Volkswagen Golf R is one such vehicle. The Golf has always been a friendly looking car; even in the sporty GTI and R forms. With the new LED lights on vehicles, this friendly, unimposing attribute has turned aggressive without being too intimidating. The Mk VII R features great semi-square LEDs up front that mold into the shape of the hood – the effect is a car that looks like it is staring you down. This is a big improvement over the silly LED dots that once surrounded the headlamps on the Mk VI. Marketing people say the lights “create presence and a distinct identity.”