Disappearing Automotive Features - Which ones do you recall?

[bluesbassman]

I got a kick out of the article as I've had vehicles with pretty much all of these items. The one I included caught my eye because I had cars that never even came with seatbelts or lap only.:)

What things did they miss? I can think of about half a dozen.

No. 4: Lap-only seat belts for the center rear seat

This one is a marked improvement as far as safety is concerned. Most cars now provide the person sitting in the most uncomfortable seat in the car the same three-point belt the other passengers enjoy. Sure, you could find a car that still offers a lap-only seat belt back there, but why would you want to?

Article at:http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/autos_content_landing_pages/976/disappearing-automotive-features/;_ylc=X3oDMTE5a2JiN3M5BF9TAzI3MTYxNDkEc2VjA2ZwLXRvZGF5BHNsawNmZWF0dXJlcy1nb25l

[NightWatcher]

1. when I was a kid, the seatbelt in the back was that thing that you shoved under the seat or

it'd poke you in the butt

[bluesbassman]

5. Yeah, or that two inch square piece of chromed metal

would sit there baking in the sun and burn the hell out of your legs when you had shorts on!

[FarLeftRage]

2. Tape Players

either eight-track or cassette...

I was bummed when the last car I bought had a CD player.

[bluesbassman]

7. Probably won't be long till CDs are gone too.

Just a jack to plug your MP3 player in.

[HopeHoops]

3. Our 65 Falcon, and the 65 Valiant for that matter, had little vent doors under the dash.

They had a thumb-wheel thing you turned to open or close them and they were just air vents. I liked those. I wish they were still a feature.

The other thing I miss are the fly windows like my 68 Galaxie has (yes, I still have her). Those were great!

[hedgehog]

6. Air vents - they made air conditioning unnecessary where I live!

[bluesbassman]

8. I had a '51 Chevy PU that had a vent in the center of the cowling below the windshield.

Plus the wing windows. Worked great!

[yellowdogintexas]

64. Ihad vent doors and fly windows on my 65 Bug and no AC. In Tennessee.

It was such a nice feature I seriously thought I didn't need AC when I bought the replacement car. Fortunately two close friends convinced me otherwise.

But I do miss those big vents. I would pop open the back windows on the VW (remember those pop out windows?) and they would pull the air through the car like a hurricane.

[jmowreader]

4. Now, THIS is some crazy-ass shit...

A crank window on the passenger side of a Class 8 tractor. Why's this crazy? Two reasons: first, there's no question of the part being economically out of reach--it's not like we're talking about a $13,000 shitbox. And second, if you are a solo driver and you want to roll down the passenger window, you have to pull to the side of the road because no one in the world can reach across the cab from the driver's seat.

[bluesbassman]

10. That is wierd.

Older truck?

[jmowreader]

21. Not THAT much older...

We have one 2007 Freightliner Columbia, and in 2007 the Columbia was the top-of-the-line Freightliner. This truck has crank windows on both sides.

Strangely enough, I've seen trucks that have power windows, but it's not universal and you'd think it would be.

[skygazer]

9. Vent windows, gas caps on the rear of the car under the license plate

Dimmer switches on the floor

Headlight knobs on the dash

Starter buttons

VW commercials that advertised the bug for under $2000

Carburetors

[bluesbassman]

11. A couple of my old PUs had the starer button next to the gas pedal.

You really had to know how to drive in the old days!:)

[skygazer]

12. Yup - I learned to drive on a three on the tree PU

In the winter. If you can do that, you can drive about anything. :rofl:

[NMDemDist2]

22. i miss those vent windows and the dimmer on the floor too

don't miss re-building carburetors tho.....

:evilgrin:

[trof]

13. OK...fender skirts.

Yeah, that's how far back I go.
Curb feelers.
Exterior chrome radio antennas.

Seat belts?
We didn't have no freaking seat belts.
And the big 3 automakers fought them like hell.

Those little triangular vent windows that, when opened, would suck ALL the cigarette smoke out.
I still miss those.

Static electricity straps.

I even remember when cars had NO turn signals.
You had to actually stick your arm out the window and give a 'signal'.

Geezer here.
;-)

[bluesbassman]

14. Did you have a raccon tail on your antenna too?

:)

I forgot about those static straps.

Remember when you could get a spring reverb for the premium radios?

[trof]

16. Aw man, the reverb!

Weren't they cool?
Your own echo chamber.
Way cool.

[trof]

17. No, the raccoon tail was a bit before my time.

So was the raccoon coat and 23 skidoo.
So's you old man.
Bee's knees.
My mother's generation.
:-)

[DemBones DemBones]

49. Fuzzy dice hanging from the rearview mirror and

a rug under the back window!

[Bertha Venation]

72. What were the static electricity straps?

I'm not THAT young, but I don't remember these.

[bluesbassman]

78. Actually, it appears they're still available.

I remember seeing them in the past. I guess if your upholstery generated a lot of static electricity they would be handy. Kinda goofy looking though.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

103. Running boards, too?

I've never actually seen a car with a running board, but my mom says that when she was little, her parents used to put the family dog in a carrier and strap it to the running board, and off they'd go camping.

[Inchworm]

15. Suicide knobs

on the steering wheel. Hey! I want one on my car again :D

:hi:

[bluesbassman]

24. Apparently they're back. I think maybe for drifting?

Can't see much use otherwise. Last car I had without power steering was my '70 Challenger 440 Six Pack.

[Inchworm]

25. Pretty handy driving "boats" on dirtroads

Glad I made it through that phaze :rofl:

:scared:

[Lady Effingbroke]

18. landau roofs. opera windows. rich corinthian leather. vinyl interiors (ouch!)

antennas in the windshield glass. (my parents had a 74 Pontiac Lemans with this feature).

chrome. lots of chrome.

[bluesbassman]

28. Yes indeed. Nothing like sliding onto vinyl upholstery in August!

Yowch!:grr:

Those windshield antennas were the pits too. Never got good reception.

[Midlodemocrat]

19. The first car I purchased for myself was a 1980

Pontiac Sunbird. Approximately $5200 new.

Well, anyway. It had these 'vents' in the front with a pull lever about where your parking brake would be that you would pull open for fresh air. Really, really nice, because you didn't have to open the windows, but in the summer? OMG. Sucked.

[azmouse]

57. My first car was a 1980 Chevy Monza.

It was the Chevy version of the Sunbird.
I loved that car. Had it for 14 years but finally had to sell it when I moved to AZ because it didn't have AC... and there was no way I was living here without AC.

[underpants]

66. I was going to say the little vent windows that you could turn around for "2-60 AC"

2 windows down 60 MPH

I had them on a Mazda that I was CRAzY to get rid of 7 years ago. Loved that car.

[guitar man]

76. ah yes "wing vents"

The last vehicle I had with those was a '96 F-150 pickup. I wish I had kept it now :(

[JitterbugPerfume]

20. sideboards and cranks

Honest! My uncle had a car when I was a little kid with side boards and a crank . I also vaguely remember rumble seats


I'm older than dirt

[krispos42]

23. Ashtrays

My old Oldsmobile had 3, with 3 cigarette lighters to match.


Those would be "power outlets" for you young'uns. :-)




Now get off my lawn!

[bluesbassman]

27. I was wondering when those would get mentioned.

I use to hate washing my mom's car after she and her buddies had been riding in it. Every one of those 3 ashtrays would be full to the brim with butts. :rofl:

[krispos42]

29. And I don't even smoke...

:-)

[FloridaJudy]

34. Most non-smokers kept their change in them

For the toll booths. Handy little things even for those not addicted to nicotine.

[krispos42]

39. Bingo... and a Chap-Stick!

:rofl:

[intheflow]

48. They still have them.

They've just renamed them "cup holders". The lighters, though... gone, gone, gone.

[yellowdogintexas]

65. mine has a little covered container that fits in the cup holders and can be moved around

and yes I keep change in it. Chapstick, etc are in the console

[tabbycat31]

68. cigarette lighters now have a new use

charge the cell phone

[Bryn]

101. and my e-cigarettes

:)

[Bertha Venation]

73. LOL "power outlets"

LOL "Now get off my lawn!"

Thanks for the laughs.

[JitterbugPerfume]

26. chrome

miles and miles of blinding silver chrome and fins! Do not forget FINS

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

30. There was a large button on the floor on the left side

that controlled the high-beam headlights.

And there was the manual choke, which I liked because I could ALWAYS start my car.

Some much older cars had back seat doors that swung open front to back. I nearly fell out of one of those when I was about 3. If they weren't latched the wind would catch them and they'd swing open. Especially considering there were no seat belts or kids' car seats in those days, it was a pretty dangerous design.

[krispos42]

41. "Suicide doors"

Well-named... :-)

[XemaSab]

60. My mom's element has them

They're snugly latched under the front doors though. :D

[GCP]

31. Woodies with the rear window that came down

To get really good airflow through the car.

[many a good man]

32. Electronic eyes

Or do they still have 'em? - the little sensor that detected oncoming cars and switched off your hi-beams automagically. Had 'em on old Caddies, but they never worked.

Do they still have power antennas?

I also liked when cupholder meant opening the glove box and using the little inscribed circle.

I also miss ashtrays big enough you could stash a .38 in 'em.

[bluesbassman]

35. Oh yeah, the glovebox cup holders!

I could roll a pretty mean joint on one of those back in the day!:)

[FloridaJudy]

33. The "choke"

Used to be on the dashboard. You pulled it out on cold mornings to keep the car from stalling. Eventually, they added an automatic one to the carburetor. Cars don't even have carburetors any more - I'm older than dirt.

I also miss those triangular side vent windows.

And fully reclining seats. Those made parking on Lover's Lane a whole lot more gratifying. Bucket seats are designed for contortionists, when it comes to that automotive-related activity. I guess kids these days just use the bedroom, since chances are both parents are at work.

[justabob]

86. I forgot all about the choke

One of my finest hours with a car was push starting an old rx7 with a bad battery by myself.... pushing the car to get it rolling... run around really quick popping the clutch then remembering to pull the choke..... sputter sputter sputter sputter (come oooooon!!!).... vroom vroom. I didn't realize it till after the fact that I had an audience, across the parking lot two guys watching a ridiculous twenty year old female dealing with this.... They cheered! :D

I probably wouldn't have gotten it on the first try if I had known they were watching. :)

[Lady Effingbroke]

36. fender signal indicators.

separate lap and shoulder belts.

fake alligator tops.

One of my ex-bfs had a 69 Plymouth Fury with all of these features. That car was a beast!

[latebloomer]

37. My husband made the rolling gesture indicating I should open my window

and I realized that our teenagers had no frikkin clue what he meant.

Just like when my daughter, years ago, when told she sounded like a broken record, said, "What's a record?"

Anyway, when my car was in an accident a couple of months ago, I rented the cheap- but brand new- car that my insurance company would pay for. And guess what- it had roll-up windows! And no way to let someone in the other doors unless you got out of your seat. What a PITA.

And yes, I too remember the pre-seat-belt days. As a very young child I used to STAND next to my mom in the front seat, sucking my thumb and playing with her hair. When she had to stop short her arm would shoot out to prevent me from falling into the windshield. Dad also smoked in the car, with all the windows closed. Those were the days. :eyes:

[Lady Effingbroke]

44. My 6 year old niece came home excited from pre-k a couple years ago.

It seems the teacher had played a record during class and many of the kids were excited by the "big black CD", lol!

I also remember my mother throwing her arm out to "catch the kids" whenever she came to a sudden stop.

I used to lie on the ledge underneath the rear window while my folks drove around town.

I think I figured out why parents rarely forgot kids in locked cars back then - it's because we were always in their face!!!! Not easy to forget a kid who is standing on the driveshaft tunnel (another vanished feature) and pulling your hair!

[many a good man]

38. Chrome bumpers!

I can't believe nobody has mentioned them yet. Mine were always peeling.

[Xipe Totec]

40. Rumble Seats

[hellbound-liberal]

42. My best friend in high school had a 62 Rambler with a push-button transmission

It was also one of the few cars that had seats that folded all the way down to make a flat surface. Unfortunately, it was salmon-colored and we were very popular targets for the local sheriff!

[bluesbassman]

53. We had a Rambler station wagon when I was in grade school.

One summer the starter went out. It had a "three on the tree" so whenever my mom needed to go somewhere, I'd go round up the neighbor kids to go with us so we'd have enough people to push it to bump start.:)

[FloridaJudy]

55. Ah, yes!! The infamous "make out wagon"!

We had one of those. I suspect they'd call it something a lot more R-rated these days.

[hunter]

82. The Nash was a good one too.

My parents got one as a family hand-me-down when I was a little kid.



We'd go camping and all of us could sleep in the car.

It was the preferred vehicle of traveling salesmen. Hide your wives and daughters!

It's quite possible my grandma is the woman on the left. She was a wild thing, and that looks a lot like her. All they left out was the cigarettes and bourbon. (Someone posted this picture on DU a long time ago.) I have another picture I found somewhere of a nudist couple standing beside the same model car with big sunny smiles on their faces.

The sheet metal on this car was so thin and undersupported you'd start to hear it rumbling if you drove faster than 65 or 70 mph, but if you were doing that you were putting your life in danger anyways because the car would start to sway from side to side.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

91. My grandmother had a Studebaker with push-button transmission

I guess it was supposed to be cool and modern and everything.

[MorningGlow]

43. The metal radio preset buttons

The ones you had to SHOVE with brute force to get to the next preset station. And radios with a true "dial". And static in between stations.

[Lady Effingbroke]

45. rear wheel drive.

almost nonexistent in cars now.

[cloudbase]

46. Steel dashboards.

Tailfins.
AM only radios.
Drum brakes at each corner.
Six volt electrical systems.
Setting points (I haven't done that since my '74 Dodge)

[flvegan]

47. T-tops.

Targas are making a nice comeback, even though they're calling them convertibles half the time.

[DemBones DemBones]

50. An ashtray on the back of the bench front seat.

[Frank Cannon]

51. In-car record players

I shit you not.

[bluesbassman]

52. That's wild!

Wonder how they kept it from skipping?

[Frank Cannon]

63. Probably just the sheer mass and inertia of the vehicle

Cars were built like Sherman tanks back then.

In reality, you know that thing probably skipped around like a four-year-old in line for the Porta Potty.

[pokerfan]

97. Chrysler

Didn't work too well. Probably nice while parked, though.
http://www.uaw-chrysler.com/images/news/phono.htm


Now it's front aux inputs and USB:

[madeline_con]

54. Curb feelers.

:rofl:

[kwassa]

56. Push-button transmission

back when push-buttons were the rage. Mid 60s Dodge Dart.

Floor button radio station changer.

[Doc_Technical]

58. windshield wipers that would move in opposite directions.

Today's wipers move back and forth together
but the older cars (a leftover from when the
windshield was two pieces of glass) the wipers
would barely intersect and there was a "V" shaped
area of the windshield that would not be touched
by the wipers.

[Tabasco_Dave]

59. Vans & pic ups that had the engine inside the cab between the passenger seats.

my dad had a 68 dodge van, i used to sit on the engine hood during short trips after 50 miles the engine hood got too hot to sit on. No seat belt either.

[XemaSab]

61. Station wagons with the "tailgunner" seat

:D

[bluesbassman]

79. Yeah, and they always put the rowdy kids back there.

The ones who would make faces at you when you pulled up along side the car to pass. :P

[conscious evolution]

81. This former tailgunner

says thanks for the memory.

[MrCoffee]

84. Hell yes!

I recently bought a 2001 Volvo wagon BECAUSE it has a tailgunner seat.

[old mark]

62. Late '40's early '50's cars with vacuum operated wipers - when

you stepped on the gas and accelerated the engine the wipers would stop dead - you had to back off the pedal to get them working again - not the best idea ever.....
My '49 Buick and '54 Olds Rocket 88 had them.

mark

[blaze]

89. Heh

I had a 52 Chevy with those vacuum wipers.

Got pretty good at coordinating my accelerating. :)

[old mark]

105. They left you no choice - had a few scares driving by the

"best guess" method in sleet or driving rain.....

mark

[Deep13]

67. Triangular vent windows. nt

[DBoon]

85. we called them "wing windows"

no doubt expensive and very bad for mileage

[Lydia Leftcoast]

92. Or just "wings"

as in "It's getting hot in here. Open your wing."

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

69. Window vents!

Too cool :)

[TreasonousBastard]

70. GM's "speed minder." I remember a '62 Buick with...

a little knob that moved an indicator across the speedometer. When you got to that speed, a buzzer went off.

This was before cruise control was common, but I still want one for speed traps where CC doesn't make any sense.

[MineralMan]

71. Floorboard dimmer switch.

[Bertha Venation]

74. The flip-up seat in the "way back" of the station wagon

Ours was a Ford Country Squire, yellow with "paneling."

[Auggie]

75. Semaphore "idiot sticks" on the VW Beetle

Actual 3-D turn signals that would pop out from the side of the car and point either right or left. Pre 1955, I think.
My grandmother had a Beetle like that.

They disappeared years ago, of course.

[TheMightyFavog]

77. Aftermarket cupholders.

The ones you'd hook in the gap between the window and the door.

Pickup trucks that drove like trucks, handled like trucks, and rode like trucks, dammit! Like the piece of shit 1984 Dodge I learned to drive stick in as a teenager.

[CreekDog]

80. Whitewall Tires

kind of weird they were so prized, now that i think of it. :rofl:

[elifino]

83. Handcrank, before electric starters

I remember those.

elifino

[Lady Effingbroke]

90. Welcome to DU! Great user name!

:hi:

[Just Visiting]

87. Mercury had a "breezeway rear window" available from around '63-67

You could open the rear window from a control on the instrument panel.

Also:

Polyglas tires

red-line tires

FM radio "converters" (that hardly ever worked)

[Lydia Leftcoast]

93. Yes, we had one of those

and the rear window was slanted outward, so that the bottom was farther in than the top. This kept the sun from beating down on your neck if you were in the back seat.



We used to love to have the window down.

[BreweryYardRat]

88. Rubber bumpers.

Ugly, but very useful.

[leftofthedial]

94. I used to love the wing vent...

that little triangular window in front of the main front-seat door windows.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

95. I can't find any images but

cars in the late 1940s or the early 1950s sometimes had what looked like a hat brim over the front windshield.

During that same era, some cars had front seats that folded back so that you could convert the whole car into a bed. I recall seeing TV ads for that, showing a couple sleeping in their car just as if it were a king-size bed.

[Dr Fate]

98. My friend's Rambler had that folding bed- seat feature.

When we were young & irresponsible, we used to even drive it around in bed mode.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

96. Widetracks

They were considered really cool in the early 1960s. They had very wide chassis.

[bluesbassman]

104. Those were great cars.

I had a '65 Bonneville convertible when I was in HS. Some great memories from that car.:)

[AwakeAtLast]

99. Dimmer switches that you stepped on

They were a button on the floor of the vehicle.

Which made for a great state rivalry joke.

"Why did they move the dimmer switches from the steering wheels back down to the floor of the cars in (enter state here)? Because they kept getting their feet caught in the steering wheels!"

:D

[Swede]

100. A real tire for a spare.

Not the little thingy they give you now.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

102. And it hung on the outside of the trunk

:-)