Cadillac vertical daytime running lights

📸: Photo MotorTrend.com

General Motors can certainly be faulted for many flaws in execution and design in some of the millions of cars it has put on the road, but one division stands alone as having a rich tradition of outstanding design: Cadillac. Not that the company hasn't had it share of misfires (Cimarron), but it has unquestionably hit a good number of home runs out of the design ballpark throughout its storied history.

For our "Cool Designs" series, we're taking a look at one of their latest styling elements, the vertical daytime running lights affixed to front ends across the model line. To us, these crystalline LED lights mimic the vertically stacked headlights of classic Caddys from a subset of the third generation of Cadillac coupes and sedans, produced from 1965 to 1968.

📸: Photo by GPS 56 courtesy Wikimedia

This 1967 Sedan DeVille exhibits the stacked dual headlights that enjoyed a three-year run at Cadillac.

📸: Photo Autoevolution.com

The way we see it, these vertical DRLs pay homage to the past without compromising driving safety and without actually affecting the physical line of the car's single headlight design as envisioned by Cadillac designers Bob Boniface and Robin Krieg. Nice trick!