Image from Ford’s patent application

We have entered an age where automakers are now modifying and improving car components that have have been all but unchanged since the earliest days of the auto industry. Incandescent light bulbs are being replaced by LEDs, drive-by-wire systems and electric power steering are making throttle cables and steering boxes obsolete, and even the steel body panels that make up the actual vehicle are being upgraded to lighter, stronger aluminum.

Ford is leading the charge with aluminum body panels by building the F-150 out of the lighter metal, but the automaker has also recently patented an idea for illuminated body panels, according to a patent application uncovered by “Professer G” of the FordRSClub.com forums (and here’s a link directly to the patent application). So when can we expect a production-sized glow-in-the-dark Mustang to hit dealerships? It might not be so far away.

The patent’s abstract says:

A molding of a vehicle is provided herein. The molding includes a cover panel portion mounted to a body panel of the vehicle. A carrier is disposed between the cover panel portion and the body panel, the carrier having an exposed portion configured to luminesce in response to light excitation. At least one light source is disposed inside the carrier and is configured to emit light for exciting the exposed portion.

Basically, Ford wants to hide a bunch of low-power LEDs under the moulding around the edge of body panels, so you can’t really see them upon casual inspection. Once the sun goes down, these LEDs turn on, allowing the body panel to “luminesce” (glow) in response to the LED light. Most likely, Ford intends to use some sort of glowing or reactive paint/coating to make this effect. The Nissan LEAF electric car was painted using a UV-absorbing coating called STARPATH that can provide up to 10 hours of luminescence when the sun goes down.

Ford’s idea calls more for a light-reactive body panel where the LED light basically flows down the body panel and is amplified. While this technology hardly seems groundbreaking or necessary, the “cool” factor of a car that lights up at night can’t be denied, and there are safety benefits as well. Broken down cars would be a lot more visible late at night, visibility could be improved in areas without street lighting.

There’s also the likelihood that certain elements within the automotive community could get overzealous, and then the highways are full of obnoxiously-illuminated automobiles. We envision all kinds of designs, funky colors, and weridness like a scene out of a 1980s sci-fi movie about the future.  It could end up kind of how street glow was the big, obnoxious thing for awhile though, I wonder if this neat idea has any staying power, or if it’s just another gimmick.