Lighters and ashtrays

[Bill Stoneberg]

Working on my 1980 Coupe De Ville and I am amazed at the number of both lighters and ashtrays in this car.

My earlier Buick's had a lighter and an ashtray in the front and in the back seat.

But this Cadillac had one for each of the 4 passengers.  I was amazed especially my more modern cars have none.

Edited October 22, 2021 by Bill Stoneberg (see edit history)

[8E45E]

Cadillacs always did!!!  And they were even larger in the 1960's Cadillacs.  But other full-size GM cars did as well.  My dad's '71 Pontiac had four ashtrays, two on the dash on each side of the glove compartment, and two real small ones on each rear armrest for back seat passengers.  Now that I think of it, so did my mom's '60 Pontiac.  The ashtray closest to the driver had the chrome 'P' on it, and the passenger ashtray had the chrome 'C', while the glove compartment door had the middle letters that made up 'Pontiac'.

 

Craig

Edited October 26, 2021 by 8E45E (see edit history)

[EmTee]

3 minutes ago, Bill Stoneberg said:

I am amazed at the number of both lighters and ashtrays

 

Huh...?  Are you referring to the charging ports and gum receptacles? 

[Bill Stoneberg]

Quote

 

Now that I think of it, so did my mom's '60 Pontiac.

 

 

Interesting Craig.  I have a 1960 Buick and it is not as well equipped.  I have an ashtray and lighter in the front and one in the back.

[8E45E]

2 minutes ago, Bill Stoneberg said:

I have a 1960 Buick and it is not as well equipped.  I have an ashtray and lighter in the front and one in the back.

As I mentioned a couple days ago in a different post, my a friend mine's mom owned a 1959 Electra 225 with at least three cigarette lighters, maybe four.  I do remember there were two separate lighters for rear seat passengers.  If I remember right, Buicks had one very wide ashtray with two separate compartments in it for some years.

 

Craig

[rocketraider]

Oldsmobile's thing was lighted dash ashtrays with a small green lighted jewel above the ashtray door so you could find it at night. They were doing that on 88/98 as late as 1985.

 

I don't know if the other GM Divisions had the lighted jewels.

[avgwarhawk]

2 hours ago, Bill Stoneberg said:

Working on my 1980 Coupe De Ville and I am amazed at the number of both lighters and ashtrays in this car.

My earlier Buick's had a lighter and an ashtray in the front and in the back seat.

But this Cadillac had one for each of the 4 passengers.  I was amazed especially my more modern cars have none.

 

Modern day cars it is a "power outlet".  But you know, there was a stink by some new car purchasers that did not want to pay for cigarette lighters and ashtrays because they did not smoke.  So, now they are power outlets.  A aftermarket lighter will work in it.  So will charging your phone.    It was the best answer the car manufacturers came up with to make all happy.   

Edited October 22, 2021 by avgwarhawk (see edit history)

[wmsue]

I've got one in the front, centrally located, and 2 in the back, each equipped with a lighter.

Total of 3 in my 1965 Electra 225 and all have the original lighters.

 

 

Bill

[8E45E]

3 hours ago, avgwarhawk said:

 

Modern day cars it is a "power outlet".  But you know, there was a stink by some new car purchasers that did not want to pay for cigarette lighters and ashtrays because they did not smoke.  So, now they are power outlets.  A aftermarket lighter will work in it.  So will charging your phone.    It was the best answer the car manufacturers came up with to make all happy.   

As per Post #12 here--->  https://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/forum/your-studebaker-forum/general-studebaker-specific-discussion/104731-new-power-outlet   not all of those 12V receptacles in new vehicles are designed or rated to accept the heat from a cigar lighter element.

 

Craig

[Guest]

Bill, we must have been tapped into the cosmic pipeline at the same time! 😄

I was just thinking last night of posting a similar thread.  

I remember one of my father's Lincolns having many ashtrays and lighters.  A smoker's paradise.  The front, center receptacle was so large it could hold several months worth of cigarette butts or a small child.

It seemed like everyone smoked back then.  As a young man I did as well.  When I quit, I found the car ashtrays were perfect for holding pocket change and I've used all my vehicle's ashtrays for this purpose ever since.

Yesterday I was driving my wife's Cadillac SRX and found myself thoroughly annoyed by the complete lack of any type of ashtray or usable receptacle for spare change.   It has a generous glove box and large console storage (and "charging ports" galore but no lighters) however it only offers one very tiny, stingy little divot in the console that can hold about a dollar's worth of quarters but has no lid to hide that temptation from prying eyes.  It is an absolutely worthless and purposeless feature.  I may fill it with a half ounce of Portland Cement just to hide it's hideous existence.

Funny the things one remembers and misses today in an otherwise luxury themed car.

Cheers, Greg

 

[8E45E]

3 minutes ago, GregLaR said:

 

I remember one of my father's Lincolns having many ashtrays and lighters.  A smoker's paradise. 

Funny the things one remembers and misses today in an otherwise luxury themed car.

Back then, at least one ashtray was always standard, and a cigar lighter was optional only on the inexpensive cars and trucks; unlike all new vehicles today where one has to order a complete "smoker's package", regardless how expensive it is. 

 

Craig  

[avgwarhawk]

1 hour ago, 8E45E said:

As per Post #12 here--->  https://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/forum/your-studebaker-forum/general-studebaker-specific-discussion/104731-new-power-outlet   not all of those 12V receptacles in new vehicles are designed or rated to accept the heat from a cigar lighter element.

 

Craig

 

Well then....time to give up smoking

 

[TAKerry]

I find it a bit ironic that the deluxe interior option for the second generation Firebird has included, an ashtray at each back seat armrest. One each side of back seat. The funny thing is that a child can barely fit in the back seat of these cars. Although I remember back in the day cramming 4 teenagers into one of these cars for weekend cruising. Also standard is an ashtray centre of dash with a lighter in the middle of the dash. Ashtray is lit with a fibre optic.

[Ed Luddy]

My 1959 Cadillac Sedan DeVille had 4 "cigar lighters" . 2 up front, 2 for the kids in the back seat!  No mention of cigarettes, just cigars. After all it's a Cadillac.

[8E45E]

5 hours ago, avgwarhawk said:

Well then....time to give up smoking

Hard to give up something I never took up!!     

 

I got my car at 16.  First thing my mom said to me was, "I'm supporting you, but I'm NOT supporting your car!" I was on my own, and couldn't afford buy cigarettes at the same time.  Back then, I wanted to burn rubber more than cancer sticks.

 

Craig

[3macboys]

5 minutes ago, 8E45E said:

Hard to give up something I never took up!!     

 

I got my car at 16.  First thing my mom said to me was, "I'm supporting you, but I'm NOT supporting your car!" I was on my own, and couldn't afford buy cigarettes at the same time.  Back then, I wanted to burn rubber more than cancer sticks.

 

Craig

I'm with you but I'm willing to bet that just the same you checked the lighter to make sure it worked, I know I did - in every car.  Used to see how long it took for the red glow to disappear

 

Don

[8E45E]

9 hours ago, 3macboys said:

I'm with you but I'm willing to bet that just the same you checked the lighter to make sure it worked, I know I did - in every car.  Used to see how long it took for the red glow to disappear.

I did at one point, but was never my first priority whenever I bought a car.  Most surprising is my latest acquisition which has the optional cigar lighter.  First, it was not missing, considering the rest of the truck where the engine & transmission have been removed.  And even more surprising, it appears to have never been used.  The element is in perfect shape, and the middle contact point actually has a thin coat of rust from lack of use.

 

Craig

 

Edited October 23, 2021 by 8E45E (see edit history)

[3macboys]

8 minutes ago, 8E45E said:

I did at one point, but was never my first priority whenever I bought a car.  Most surprising is my latest acquisition which has the optional cigar lighter.  First, it was not missing, considering the rest of the truck were the engine & transmission have been removed.  And even more surprising, it appears to have never been used.  The element is in perfect shape, and the middle contact point actually has a thin coat of rust from lack of use.

 

Craig

 

Neat project - love the bigger iron even though I never really drove it, aside from as a summer student working for the city for a couple of summers.  They gave me the opportunity to get my D Class license for Ontario - basically dump trucks and straight trucks along with my air brake endorsement.  I've since given both up as I got tired of writing the tests every few years for something that I wasn't using.

 

Don

[8E45E]

6 minutes ago, 3macboys said:

Neat project - love the bigger iron even though I never really drove it, aside from as a summer student working for the city for a couple of summers. 

Thankfully, this one and my '63 have juice brakes; no air ticket required.  I've had plenty of practice, having restored a '63 that doesn't have a cigar lighter 20 years previous.   I said I was never going to buy another 'big rig', but after several years of hearing about the '62 that was sold new where I was born & raised it finally surfaced on Kijiji, and I just HAD to buy it!

 

Craig

 

[f.f.jones]

2 hours ago, 3macboys said:

I'm with you but I'm willing to bet that just the same you checked the lighter to make sure it worked, I know I did - in every car.  Used to see how long it took for the red glow to disappear

It was the radio that I checked first...as long as I could get the car  started and it had "tunes", I was set to go. (Sometimes, not very far...)

Edited October 23, 2021 by f.f.jones (see edit history)

[8E45E]

In the '80's Acura compared the ashtray with its engine!!

 

[TAKerry]

12 hours ago, Ed Luddy said:

My 1959 Cadillac Sedan DeVille had 4 "cigar lighters" . 2 up front, 2 for the kids in the back seat!  No mention of cigarettes, just cigars. After all it's a Cadillac.

The owners manual in my Mercedes calls it a cigar lighter. First time I had ever heard that but the more I look at cars I do see it mentioned often. More so in older cars.

[zeke01]

I hadn’t thought about it but my 1923 Hudson has a lighter but no ash tray and my 1933 Dodge has an ash tray but no lighter. Zeke 

[m-mman]

16 hours ago, 3macboys said:

I'm willing to bet that just the same you checked the lighter to make sure it worked, I know I did - in every car.  Used to see how long it took for the red glow to disappear

 

And over the years I have seen strange random "rings" in vinyl upholstery, especially the front seat. 

Took me a while before I figured out that the imprints were from bored, unattended children using the lighter to brand the upholstery. 

A 6-8 year old playing with a glowing red piece of metal. What could possibly go wrong? 

[Guest]

Guilty.

[TAKerry]

I made a post in another thread about the time I was around 5 or 6. My aunt had a new Buick and was showing off to my mother. My cousin and I were playing around in the backseat.  I found the pop up lighter intriguing. Wondered what the glowing red thing felt like! Both times I have touched a lit lighter. I suppose I wasnt the sharpest kid in my moms tool rack as I remember sticking something into an electric socket as well!! 

 

I suppose I should add, we did not have child safety devices, I never road in a car seat, let alone seat belts, only helmet I ever wore was playing organized football and that thing was a quarter century old beaten up piece of plastic. Somehow I along with my 4 siblings survived being kids.

[Buick35]

On 10/22/2021 at 9:31 AM, 8E45E said:

As I mentioned a couple days ago in a different post, my a friend mine's mom owned a 1959 Electra 225 with at least three cigarette lighters, maybe four.  I do remember there were two separate lighters for rear seat passengers.  If I remember right, Buicks had one very wide ashtray with two separate compartments in it for some years.

 

Craig

I thought they were refered to as cigar lighters. That sounds more manly anyway.

[Digger914]

Originally these things were called cigar lighters and they were also referred to as "Rockefeller" lighters because only the "well to do's" could afford to smoke tailor made (factory hand rolled) cigarettes and cigars. 

[8E45E]

2 hours ago, Buick35 said:

I thought they were refered to as cigar lighters. That sounds more manly anyway.

Not the Drawmatic lighters.  The opening is too small for a cigar:  https://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/forum/your-studebaker-forum/general-studebaker-specific-discussion/97017-rare-studebaker-accessory-on-ebay-1950-1951-1952-drawmatic

 

 

[Guest]

 When I bought my 48 Chrysler, in the glove compartment was a small tag on a string that came with the car that hung from the lighter.

 

 It explained the use and operating instructions on how to use it.

 

[zepher]

Back in the 20's, more expensive cars came with cigar lighters and ashtrays.

My Pierce has two Hot Head lighters, one in the front one in the back, but only one ash tray on the man's vanity in the back seat.

My Pickenbacker has no lighters and no ashtrays.

The '64 Malibu I used to own had three ash trays and one lighter.

[8E45E]

Probably the most ridiculous ashtray I ever saw in a car was in a Clenet, one of those silly "neo-classics" from the 1970's.   It is a huge, heavy clear crystal thing that is more at home on an office desk than on top of a transmission tunnel in a car.  

 

Craig

[pkhammer]

How about this little accessory that clamps to the steering column. Fill with cigarettes (short, non-filtered type -we don't need no stinkin' filters!). Open the little drawer and the coil lights it for you! Get your smoke and shut the little drawer.

[ejboyd5]

Here's the 300 SL ash tray which is composed of 28 separate parts including a detachable reservoir for ashes. Closing the lid operates a scraper which cleans the upper chamber and causes the ashes to fall into the lower unit.

 

 

3

 

[CHuDWah]

On 10/23/2021 at 12:45 PM, zeke01 said:

I hadn’t thought about it but my 1923 Hudson has a lighter but no ash tray and my 1933 Dodge has an ash tray but no lighter. Zeke 

38 Plymouth (and probably other MoPar makes/year) is the same, ashtray but no lighter.  Guess owners lit their smokes with matches or their trusty Zippo if they were too cheap to spring for Accessory Group A, which included the cigar lighter, at $19 ($13 for convertibles as they came standard with the right hand tailamp included in the group).

[8E45E]

3 hours ago, CHuDWah said:

38 Plymouth (and probably other MoPar makes/year) is the same, ashtray but no lighter.  Guess owners lit their smokes with matches or their trusty Zippo if they were too cheap to spring for Accessory Group A, which included the cigar lighter, at $19 ($13 for convertibles as they came standard with the right hand tailamp included in the group).

42 DeSoto went one step further with an automatic cigarette dispenser in the middle of the steering wheel:  10 Most Unusual Car Options That Never Took Off (hotcars.com)

 

Craig

[hook]

A cigarette lighter is a most important accessory. After all, it's the safest way to light those cherry bombs before tossing them into a mail box!!! Just kidding....................I think