"Fog one side and reverse the other" is becoming the fashion, and a lot of manufacturers even go so far as to disguise their apparent penny pinching by "dyeing" the reversing light lens red (Nissan Almera, Subaru Forester and many more...)

I read a Saab brochure in the 80s which extolled the virtues of the single driver's-side foglight (avoiding confusion with brake lights, less dazzle in the rain, blah blah...) and a growing number of cars have a wiring loom and fuse system which won't allow for a second fog or reversing light without some major electrical overhauling.

I'm not really bothered, as long as the reversing light is visible all round, which many are not (including the Focus Mk1 hatchback and certain small vans.)

I'd love to know why no two Minis have the same rear light set-up! (In the USA, I've even seen some with red rear indicators, not combined with brakelights as is quite common, but actually fitted separately but bizarrely coloured red. What's the story, Mini?

The reason why many cars have only one reversing light is cheapness of conversion from LHD to RHD.

It is mandatory to have a single rear foglight either in the middle of the vehicle or on the offside - thus a single foglight has to be moved from LHD to RHD.

If the single foglight is "twinned" with a single reversing lamp, the conversion is easy - just fit the lamp units for the appropriate market. Wires for both functions are fitted to both sides in the wiring loom so the appropriate lamp unit just connects to the wires needed.

Some LHD to RHD "conversions" are real bodges - I see BMWs and M-Bs with the wipers configured the wrong way, and M-B "clap hands" wipers with the LH blade on top. The result is a nasty streak from the nearside wiper in your line of vision when the wipers are stopped. This, from a Company which prides itself in "safety engineering".

Cheapskates.

659.