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Interesting X5 Electrical Tidbit (archive)
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Posted by Stanley on January 13, 2002 at 22:10:14:

An example of how advanced the X5's electrical system is are the tail lights. I noticed that with the parking lights on, there are two bulbs lit on each side of the rear. When the brakes are applied, the one lamp gets brighter. Most cars use a double filament bulb for this purpose (1 filament for parking lights, 1 for brake)
The X5's electrical system sends 3.5 volts to the brake light when the parking lights/headlights are on. This low voltage makes the 21 watt brake light perfectly match the intensity of the lower wattage parking lamp. When the brakes are applied, the voltage jumps to 12-13.5 volts to make the brake light brighter. Seems like a lot of work to eliminate the double filament bulb, but pretty cool nonetheless.

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