Popular Car Features We’ll Probably Never See Again

[joe_padavano]

1 hour ago, Steve_Mack_CT said:

Largely true but some examples I think may have been victims of bean counters.  Cowl vents for example, and later vents blowing fresh air into the footwells.  I am guessing with AC becoming a common option, now standard on most everything, someone said "they will never miss this".  

Same I suspect for full size spares - what about toolkits??  Hmm..

Speaking of spares, had run flats on my last caddy.  Blech, rode like I had 4 round stones on it.  I think I put real tires on it at 14,000 miles just to get rid of them.  I carried fix a flat and a plug kit, which I figured was enough with AAA but really GM ?

When was the last time you saw a newer car without air conditioning? And nearly ever A/C car I've ever seen has a VENT function that replaces cowl vents and vent windows.

When was the last time you had to change a tire on the road? I personally don't remember.

Toolkits? That's hilarious. What could you possibly fix on the side of the road in a newer car? Your cell phone is the best "tool kit" possible for these cars.

[charlier]

57 minutes ago, ply33 said:

On the cars I am aware of with "keyless" entry there is a mechanical key hidden in the FOB that you can use to open the driver's door. Then there is a mechanical hood latch that gets you to the 12v battery if located there. On the 2004 Prius the 12v battery was buried behind a panel in the back of the car so on that one there was a stud in the front fuse box that was used to "jump" the 12v at least enough to open the doors and get access to everything else.

 

The RAV4 Hybrid has a similar setup to what you described for the Prius. In the RAV4 Hybrid the traction battery does most of the work that a 12V battery does in other vehicles including charging the 12V battery and starting the gas engine. In the case of the RAV4 Hybrid the 12V battery is located in the passenger side rear liftgate area and is not much of a battery since it does not need to  perform any heavy load tasks like cranking the engine. 

[DonMicheletti]

Yup. I miss manual steering when parking, I miss slow windshield wipers with vacuum motors, I miss points, plugs and condenser, ever 10,00 miles. I miss tires that last about 12, 000 miloes, I mas ajusting brakes manually, I miss 1000 mile oil changes, I miss engine overhaul at about 50,000 miles and an auto,matic trans rebuild shortly thereafter. I miss having to have seatcovers installed on a new car so the upholstery will last. I miss having to grease fitings every so often.

If you didnt do these things, somebody else did.

Yup, they dont make them like they usta....Thank God.

[Steve_Mack_CT]

11 minutes ago, joe_padavano said:

When was the last time you saw a newer car without air conditioning? And nearly ever A/C car I've ever seen has a VENT function that replaces cowl vents and vent windows.

When was the last time you had to change a tire on the road? I personally don't remember.

Toolkits? That's hilarious. What could you possibly fix on the side of the road in a newer car? Your cell phone is the best "tool kit" possible for these cars.

The toolkit was indeed tounge in cheek Joe!   I would still want it, maybe on a sportscar because, ypu know 30 years or so on the showfield... 

[DonMicheletti]

I might mention, I have been "playing" with vintage cars since 1960

[JACK M]

I have an accessory in my stash that I don't ever recall seeing one in use. I think this one may a virgin as well. Just shelf dusty.

It's an ash tray that has a jar to mount on the firewall and uses vacuum to pull the ashes to the jar.

There is a lever at the ash receiver that opens vacuum via thumb to pull the ashes.

Any idea on value?

 

 

Edited March 8, 2023 by JACK M (see edit history)

[bryankazmer]

I don't think the lawyers are letting this one come back

  I

[JamesR]

18 minutes ago, bryankazmer said:

I don't think the lawyers are letting this one come back

 

 

At last...a 4 wheel vehicle that's more dangerous than a motorcycle!

[Buffalowed Bill]

Push start feature on an automatic transmission.

[8E45E]

1 hour ago, JACK M said:

I have an accessory in my stash that I don't ever recall seeing one in use. I think this one may a virgin as well. Just shelf dusty.

It's an ash tray that has a jar to mount on the firewall and uses vacuum to pull the ashes to the jar.

There is a lever at the ash receiver that opens vacuum via thumb to pull the ashes.

Any idea on value?

 

 

I remember seeing one of those installed in a car.  I believe it was called "Ashaway"

 

But on that subject, cigar lighters and ashtrays themselves appear to be disappearing in new cars.

 

Craig

Edited March 8, 2023 by 8E45E (see edit history)

[46 woodie]

Bumpers! I would like to see some form of a bumper that prevents $3000 in damages by someone simply backing into you. I cringe whenever I pick up my grand-daughter from school and see some ditz in a huge SUV trying to squeeze into a parking spot that is too small for her car. It never fails but as the car is backing up, the car in front of me starts to shake. That tells me that that the ditz is parking by feel and has bumped into the plastic grill of the parked car in front of me.

[8E45E]

4 hours ago, Walt G said:

Craig - I am pre 1968 by nearly two decades, and my brain is pre 1948 , so yes, I am a bit out of focus on what "modern" appointments had to be met for government qualifications to keep us all safe from ourselves.

When those new regulations came out for the 1968 model year, it was a drastic change for all the automakers.  ALL cars and trucks, buses, sold in this country had to have side marker lights or reflectors, front & rear, and flush knobs on the dashboard.  It was profound enough that one could tell a new 1968 VW Beetle from earlier models a block away, and British cars had to get rid of their familiar protruding toggle switches, and use rocker switches instead.

 

Craig

[Paul Dobbin]

13 hours ago, Studemax said:

Personally, I miss wing windows.

   We are down to 7 cars, only one has wing windows.   Our 1966 VW Bug.

   

[Paul Dobbin]

3 hours ago, timecapsule said:

Suicide doors.  They just make sense.  Super easy to get in and out.  Especially with the monster steering wheels (love them) and the not so trim waistline. 

    If you ever had one come open @ 50 MPH, you wouldn't say they make sense.   Voice of experience.

[joe_padavano]

1 hour ago, bryankazmer said:

I don't think the lawyers are letting this one come back

  I

It was 100% legal under federal law at the time. It also cleverly got the don't-call-it-a-pickup out of the 25% tariff.

[alsancle]

How about exhaust cut outs?   Last seen on a production American car in 1970.

[PONTIAC1953]

The beautiful continental kit. 

[60FlatTop]

4 hours ago, charlier said:

On the cars I am aware of with "keyless" entry there is a mechanical key hidden in the FOB that you can use to open the driver's door.

I was aware of the proximity sensor key fob prior to buying my Cadillac recently. So here I am, FOB in hand picking at the edges to find the key.

[ia-k]

Foot operated headlight dimmer switch and a turn signal stalk that only operates the turn signals, not the "10 in 1" multifaction stalk they have nowadays.

[31nash880]

Would love to see the hood of my car while driving.

[Akstraw]

11 hours ago, 8E45E said:

How much longer is Ford going to hold out with the 5-button exterior keyless entry?  Its now more or less obsolete with handheld fobs.

 

Craig

I am surprised this feature didn’t catch on across all the major manufacturers.  Great for rafting, beach excursions, etc, where you don’t want to worry about losing a key or fob or keeping your iPhone dry.  Also nice if you have to drop off a car for your spouse to access or pick up later.

[8E45E]

7 minutes ago, Akstraw said:

Also nice if you have to drop off a car for your spouse to access or pick up later.

It still has its benefits; especially those with a family who has to come and go as they please.  Someone I work with likes the pushbutton keyless entry for that very reason.

 

I remember Nissan (when it was still Datsun) offered it on the Maxima in the early 1980's.

 

Craig

[Akstraw]

I, too, miss station wagons.  I also like car styling with horizontal lines, where the front and rear door handles are the same height from the ground.  Most cars today have a wedge shape; lower in the front, higher in the rear.  I read once that this was driven by European safety standards that have something to do with frontal pedestrian impact.  A lower sloping hood provides for the impacted body to roll up on/over the car, rather than being plowed under.  When the Triumph TR7 was introduced, the advertising called the wedge profile “the shape of things to come.” I think they were correct.

[timecapsule]

7 hours ago, JACK M said:

I have an accessory in my stash that I don't ever recall seeing one in use. I think this one may a virgin as well. Just shelf dusty.

It's an ash tray that has a jar to mount on the firewall and uses vacuum to pull the ashes to the jar.

There is a lever at the ash receiver that opens vacuum via thumb to pull the ashes.

Any idea on value?

 

 

Do you recall anything more about this accessory?  Was it car make specific?  Or a general aftermarket accessory?  Any idea what years it might have been available?

[Pfeil]

6 hours ago, Paul Dobbin said:

   We are down to 7 cars, only one has wing windows.   Our 1966 VW Bug.

   

Vent wings were new. From 1938-1952 VW didn't have them. Skirts are for women-just kidding.

Edited March 9, 2023 by Pfeil (see edit history)

[Pfeil]

6 hours ago, 8E45E said:

When those new regulations came out for the 1968 model year, it was a drastic change for all the automakers.  ALL cars and trucks, buses, sold in this country had to have side marker lights or reflectors, front & rear, and flush knobs on the dashboard.  It was profound enough that one could tell a new 1968 VW Beetle from earlier models a block away, and British cars had to get rid of their familiar protruding toggle switches, and use rocker switches instead.

 

Craig

Yes, but it's hard to tell a 68 beetle from a 69 or 70 from a block away.

 

 

FYI, you forgot to mention the individual lap and shoulder belt-tucked under the holders in the headliner. Interesting to me was G.M., and possible other manufacturers knew about the upcoming shoulder belt for 68, but what really got me was when I was helping a friend on his refurbishment of his 1966 GTO, we pulled down the headliner to discover the reinforcement in the roof and the threaded welded in nut for that shoulder harness all done by the factory. Since the car was being built for Grand Touring, the factory saved us some time. Since then, another friend with a 67 GTO found them in his car also. Wonder if all GM "A" bodies got them.

[Paul Dobbin]

10 hours ago, timecapsule said:

Suicide doors.  They just make sense.  Super easy to get in and out.  Especially with the monster steering wheels (love them) and the not so trim waistline. 

    If you ever had one come open @ 50 MPH, you wouldn't say they make sense.   Voice of experience.

[Hans1]

13 hours ago, 8E45E said:

How much longer is Ford going to hold out with the 5-button exterior keyless entry?  Its now more or less obsolete with handheld fobs.

 

Craig

I hope they keep the exterior  buttons, you can lock the vehicle with keynfob inside and not worry while at the beach or other activity.  Very valuable item.

[Marty Roth]

Exterior Actual Keyed door locks, especially on Passenger side,

and maybe the Tailgate.

While my '02 Suburban has it, my daughter-in law's '05 Trailblazer, my daughter's '04 Tahoe, and my son's '07 Yukon don't have one on  the passenger door.

 

This came to light one day when the '05 Trailblazer's remote Key Fob battery went out.

The remote Key Fob would not unlock the door  --  

      OK - so use the Actual Ignition/Steering Column Unlock "metal" Key, Right?

           Nope !!  Seems when the driver's door was repaired following a "minor" sideswipe, the plastic connector attaching the "unlock" rod either slipped, snapped, came disconnected, or just plain went south.

In any case, the keyed entry for the ONLY KEYED LOCK was non-functional (Even the tailgate doesn't have a keyed lock - same on the '07 Yukon and '06 Avalanche).

 

The only solution was for my daughter-in-law to phone, and to wait for POP-A-LOCK, and pay them to snake a wire through the passenger door to the mechanical lever, or to hit the "unlock" button.

 

Of course, had it been the car's battery that was down, even that wouldn't have worked, and they would have needed to find a way for a wire to manually move the nearly inaccessible slide handle mechanism. The guy actually had an inflatable sleeve he slid in after prying the door open a bit, and then pumped up to give room to manipulate the wire - pretty cool !

 

But if BOTH front doors, and the tailgate had keyed entry, she would not have lost 2 hours, the revenue from 2 patient visits, and the cost of theservice call.

 

By the way, GM - &  OnStar have disabled the previous version of OnStar for our '02 Suburban, as well as the later one  for our '06 Avalanche  - part of the reason we bought both 2500 Series 8.1L tow vehicles.

[Marty Roth]

1 minute ago, Hans1 said:

I hope they keep the exterior  buttons, you can lock the vehicle with keynfob inside and not worry while at the beach or other activity.  Very valuable item.

Very valuable Item?

Yeah - until they quit working and leave you locked out!

They quit on our 1992 Grand Marquis back around the time the warranty expired !

 

They also quit on our 1995 Grand Marquis back around the time the warranty expired, and far, far too expensive to repair, especially since that car now seems to have developed an electrical parasitic drain - also very expensive to trace!

They still work on our 2000 Excursion, but in the back of my mind, I just know that if I don't have a spare key in my pocket , the buttons will know, and will also quit.

 

[timecapsule]

41 minutes ago, Paul Dobbin said:

    If you ever had one come open @ 50 MPH, you wouldn't say they make sense.   Voice of experience.

That's what they invented bungie cords for 😁

[Pfeil]

1 hour ago, Hans1 said:

I hope they keep the exterior  buttons, you can lock the vehicle with keynfob inside and not worry while at the beach or other activity.  Very valuable item.

Know what you mean, however I leave the fob at home and just take the key with me. If I go surfing, there is no way the fob is going in the water.

 

 Also, like Marty says, no door lock on passenger side of either NISSANs I own.

 When I got my new NISSAN truck in 2019, I quickly learned to leave the fobs at home. I was parked at a restaurant and while sitting down at my table I was looking out the window at my truck outside and I observed my parking lamps flash. The fob was being pushed by the change in my pocket unlocking the doors. That was the end of that so called convenience.

[Billy Kingsley]

Our Edge has the keypad on the door but we haven't used it once, other than the one time when it was brand new just to see how it worked. 

 

Not having a key in the ignition while driving feels weird and wrong to me.

[TAKerry]

11 hours ago, Akstraw said:

I am surprised this feature didn’t catch on across all the major manufacturers.  Great for rafting, beach excursions, etc, where you don’t want to worry about losing a key or fob or keeping your iPhone dry.  Also nice if you have to drop off a car for your spouse to access or pick up later.

I was just talking to my son about this, the only time I would see a need is when I went out on a boat or jet skiing. Lock the keys in the truck and not worry about losing them. On the lighter side a month or so after my brother bought his truck he locked his keys inside. Ended up calling a locksmith at a cost of 100. or so. When the guy got there first thing he asked, what the code for the door was? He had no idea.

[hook]

10 hours ago, Paul Dobbin said:

    If you ever had one come open @ 50 MPH, you wouldn't say they make sense.   Voice of experience.

I have at 60 mph on a 61 Lincoln Continental. It felt like I had a drag shoot. But no damage to the door, no damage to the hinges. Just scared the hell out of us. I still miss those doors.

[hook]

23 hours ago, EmTee said:

Drum brakes - especially on the rear axle.  In the rust belt, rear disk brakes seem to require much more maintenance (i.e., cleaning and lubrication) than the drum type.  I wish my '04 Silverado had rear drums...

I sure don't miss the fading that drum brakes were known for nor the useless feeling after going through a deep puddle.

[EmTee]

Yes, front disc brakes are good.  I was really talking about rear-wheel discs being more trouble than they are worth.  Most also have a complex parking brake mechanism that freezes up (usually due to non-use) and once inoperative typically disables the self-adjustment feature.  That said, I have complete confidence in the factory drum brake system on my '67 Riviera.

[JACK M]

15 hours ago, timecapsule said:

Do you recall anything more about this accessory?  Was it car make specific?  Or a general aftermarket accessory?  Any idea what years it might have been available?

I doubt it was OEM, 

Cast into the lid,     "Flameout"      "Walker engineering & Mfg Co"      "Portland, Ore"      "Model 100"    "Patent Pend."

Bottom of the jar has the "Ball" logo and "233-32"  Also "10A"

There are no markings on the under-dash part.

[SMB]

On 3/8/2023 at 10:28 AM, TAKerry said:

Ash trays and lighters!  ( I will ad, I dont smoke)

 

 

I have the keypad on my f150 and no idea what the code is!!

They are easy to program.  Check utube.

[SMB]

Just read an news article about someone from the FCC stating the need to keep putting AM radios in cars.   CD players are apparently now deleted at least in the 2023 F150.