It would be great if we lived in a world where original-equipment lights were available forever and at realistic prices. But unfortunately we don't, because the sealed-beam era is long since behind us. It's legitimate to rant about the inferior quality, performance, and durability of off-brand lamps -- I do that myself -- but at the end of the day, sometimes original lamps aren't on the menu (unavailable or unaffordable). Then the task falls to picking the best remaining option. That's usually going to be Dorman, Depo or TYC. They don't match original quality, performance, or durability, but they're better than most of the other aftermarket junk on the market. And while aftermarket "certifications" like CAPA are largely sales tools that don't actually mean what they'd like you to believe they mean, at least they're some minimal, nominal effort towards accountability. Likewise, the NSF certification doesn't mean aftermarket lights that have it are equal to original lights, but the NSF program (see
here and
here) has something going for it that "CAPA certification" does not: NSF is a recognized, reputable, independent testing outfit like UL and ETL. (CAPA is just basically a lobbying outfit whose main aim is to get insurance companies to fix your car with aftermarket parts made by CAPA's members rather than with genuine parts).
In practice, the most likely effect of programs like this is that the best lights to come off the production line at Depo and TYC get the NSF label. The ones that aren't good enough for the NSF label get the CAPA label. The ones that don't merit the CAPA label don't get either label. This isn't a big secret or anything, and it's not limited to Chinese manufacture or to any one industry. It works the same for light bulbs: the ones that meet all the specs go to the automakers for OE install. The ones that meet most of the specs go to the automakers for replacement parts. The ones that come close to meeting most of the specs get packaged up as first-brand replacements and sold through jobbers and parts stores. The ones that'll probably work pretty much OK get sold under second or "value" brands. And the ones that light up (and don't ask about any specs) get sold as generics.
