Let's think about this:
Stock production car backup lights serve a single purpose: alert other drivers to the fact that you are backing up. They do not provide illumination. They are an INDICATOR TO OTHER DRIVERS.
Now let's make those lights come on ANY TIME HAVE A DOOR OPEN!
My neighbors' minivan (an Uplander) has this feature, and it drove me nuts for quite a while until I realized what was going on. Damn near EVERY TIME I drove by, the van was sitting with its reverse lights on. So I'd stop and wait for the car to back out of the parking spot. Which wouldn't happen. People are dumb and sit in reverse all the time, so I figured it was simply operator stupidity. Then one day I noticed that the sliding door was open. The next time I drove by it was night, and the liftgate was open. Reverse lights were on, interior lights on, no one in the driver's seat and no brake lights. That's when it finally hit me.
I understand the point of providing safe illumination around a car in the dark. But backup lights DON'T PRODUCE THAT MUCH LIGHT. And even if they did, there are better ways to accomplish that (see pickups with bed lights). And how often do you park and then walk BEHIND your vehicle in the dark? Stupid, stupid, stupid. Completely undermines the functional purpose of backup lights.
My LS has illuminated entry, too. It doesn't turn on daytime running lights or reverse lights or any of that s***. It has DEDICATED LIGHTS in the side mirrors to light ground beside the car. Regular Fords do this. But GM? Nah, they won't add new lights when there are exisiting ones to misuse. What's next, hazard lights when you forget to lock the car?
When I see backup lights I'm going to slow or stop, with the assumption that the driver of that car hasn't seen me. I don't need them coming on for no effing reason.
I figured thats why they were white. Definitely helps me back into the driveway at night.
