But over the course of the past year or two, I had become painfully aware that it was harder and harder to see at night anytime it rained or I was on dark side roads. My headlights had yellowed with age and were cloudy instead of clear and transparent. If a car was riding next to mine, I could plainly see how much brighter its lights were and how much more of the road was illuminated. It was borderline embarrassing, but I thought my only option was to replace both headlight assemblies at a cost of more than $200 each. As you can imagine, I wasn’t real excited about that proposition.

The average car on the road is 9 years old, so I know I’m not alone in this quest for better, brighter lighting. I asked our resident photographer to snap a few photos of my Toyota’s transformation so you could see for yourselves what a difference it can make.

The first night I drove home with my “new” headlights was akin to an awakening. I saw potholes and road features I haven’t seen in ages, and I’ve driven this same road for nearly 8 years. I was thrilled—and shocked at how little I’d been able to see before. My only regret? The fact that a snowstorm kept me from having this done before I drove 600 miles to Pennsylvania over the holidays.