Just in case you’ve misplaced your copy of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108 or SAE Standard J592e or your tattoo of either of these texts has become blurred, scarred, or otherwise illegible, let me remind you about what America requires regarding side marker lighting of cars. I’ll just paraphrase, to keep things simple: Starting in 1968, cars were required to have either lights or reflectors at either end of the sides of the car, amber for the front, and red for the rear. This would be updated in 1970 to require both lights and reflectors. If you’re still not convinced of the utility of visibly marking the sides of cars, perhaps you’ll listen to what the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said about them in a July 1983 report: Mmmm. It’s like poetry, isn’t it? Early side marker lamps were often small and quite stylish, like the legendary Firebird marker lamps used by Pontiac in 1969:
This marker lamp is still discussed with hushed tones of reverence in the Markie community, and justly so. As I mentioned earlier, by 1970, the rules were revised so that both lights and reflectors were required at each end. Markies generally don’t discriminate between the types of side marking, and while the self-illuminating variety tend to be better known (and are technically the only type to deserve being described as “lights”) the reflector-based solutions are important as well, and are specifically what I’d like to focus on now. Here’s what I’d like to show you:
See that? That’s a Jeep CJ-5. According to Jeep themselves, it’s a 1965 Jeep CJ-5, but I’m not sure if I think that’s entirely accurate – or, if this is a 1965, it’s been updated to have front side marker lamps in the fender that seem to have been introduced in 1970. From what I can tell, for front side marking, Jeep started in 1969 with reflectors mounted to the sides of the hood, like this: While that’s undeniably fascinating, it’s not what I really want to talk about. I want to talk about the rear side marker reflector, this one right here: Okay, everyone just take a moment to breathe. Stay calm. I understand how you’re feeling: a mix of excitement, wonder, and perhaps a touch of arousal. This is all normal. But we have to focus. Yes, the red rear marker reflector is mounted in the center of the side-mounted spare tire, and the vinyl cover of that spare tire has a little cut-out just to showcase and expose that reflector. In some ways, you could consider that whole wheel, tire, and vinyl cover as the largest side marker reflector bezel ever produced by human hands. In fact, taken as a whole, this CJ-5 has the largest rear side marker reflector of any car of any kind, ever. This unique marker reflector solution becomes even more interesting because a little bit of research shows that, somehow, Jeep has been an unsung pioneer of red rear side marker reflectors, with even the earliest WWII army Jeeps featuring red rear side marker reflectors and rear-mounted versions of the same wheel-mounted red reflectors.
From what I can tell, Jeeps have been marking their sides at the rear with red reflectors since 1941, making them in all likelihood the first automobiles to have deliberate and obvious side marker hardware of any kind! Jeeps are hardly rare and are some of the best-recognized vehicles of all time, so the fact that they haven’t been singled out for this important milestone is a bit baffling to me. With this in mind, it’s not surprising that the CJ-5 with the side-mounted spare tire would take such pains to be sure that red reflector was visible; this has clearly been a quiet but consistent priority for Jeeps for decades. It’s amazing how, sometimes, you can realize something new about a familiar car that makes you see it in a whole new light. I’m surprised Jeep has been sleeping on this milestone, and I sincerely hope that soon we’ll see a special edition of the Jeep Wrangler that really celebrates this with some sort of oversized or enhanced rear side marker lights. Maybe a special Wrangler Rear Side Marker Pioneer edition is in order? Stellantis and Jeep, you know how to get ahold of me. Never change, Torch. Ever. Great article as always! Brian I’ll start working on my Markie of The Year acceptance speech now.
