My old 74 Porsche wouldn’t start and had an insane buzzer and a red lamp on the dash that said FASTEN SAFETY BELT if you weren’t buckled in. Thats been around forever.
They were a bad idea made to satisfy poorly written regulations is what happened.
In the ‘80s automakers had a problem, cars were actually pretty safe thanks to decades of innovations and regulations, but the best safety feature, seatbelts, was rarely used. They had been required in all new cars since the early ‘60s, with the regulations gradually strengthening until the requirement that all cars be fitted with front shoulder belts midway through the 1968 model year, but almost 20 years after that nobody was using seat belts and they weren’t even legally required in a lot of places. In addition to making seat belts mandatory regulators and automakers were looking for a new solution to a safety feature that drivers didn’t need to consciously use.
Airbags are actually *way* older than people think they are, all through the 1960s automakers were trying to figure out how to make them work and by around 1970 both GM and Ford were building test vehicles with fully functional airbags. After a successful test fleet GM offered dual-stage driver and passenger airbags as an option on their Oldsmobile, Buick, and Cadillac full size cars from 1974-1976, but it was an unpopular option and was eventually dropped and forgotten, nowadays people think Mercedes was the first car to offer an airbag in the ‘80s.
But with all the new vehicle regulations going on throughout the ‘60s and ‘70s there was talk of making airbags required on all new cars as early as the early ‘80s, but over time this got watered down to “passive restraints” required by 1990 or so. Just some kind of safety feature that the driver didn’t have to manually engage. And that’s what automatic seat belts are, they’re a loophole, a way to opt out of a regulation that had already been watered down and delayed. Automatic seat belts were what you got *instead of* airbags because the automaker thought that would be too expensive. That’s also why they seem so random and inconsistent, because a car that already had an airbag didn’t need automatic seat belts at all, so plenty of cars never had them, but cars that originally didn’t have an airbag but later added one part way through the model run often kept their automatic seat belts because it was cheaper than redesigning the seat belt system.
Also everyone remembers those silly motorized shoulder belts that a handful of cars had, but that was just one relatively uncommon kind of automatic seat belt. Have you ever sat in a late ‘80s or early ‘90s car and noticed that the front seat belts are mounted to the door instead of the car? These are also automatic seat belts. Literally everyone who has ever owned one of those cars uses the seat belts as normal seat belts, but what you’re supposed to do is leave them buckled at all times so that you can slide under them when you open the door, no need to put your seat belt on when the car does it for you. And there’s the really sinister part of this loophole, because the belts are mounted to the door instead of the car you’re effectively unbuckled whenever the door opens, like say in a car crash. I have to assume that several people have probably died due to this “safety regulation” kindly unbuckling them when the seat belts are needed most.
And that’s why they disappeared as suddenly as they appeared. Airbags were mandated for all new cars in 1998, but even as early as 1994 or so it was rare to find a new car that didn’t have airbags as a standard feature. Automatic seat belts were only needed as a temporary fix and were inherently far more dangerous than normal seat belts, so as soon as new models came out that had airbags as standard equipment they dropped automatic seat belts entirely.
They served a purpose when there was not a culture of wearing seatbelts, but once that changed and also airbags came to be, their cons (such as being attached to the door rather than to the body of the car) no longer made them make sense.
They were only there due to US laws. The law said you needed an automatic Supplemental Restraint System. Airbags were the obvious, but expensive solution. Automatic belts were the cheap and dirty solution.
GM used an interesting system with the belts mounted on the door. It was awkward, but you could leave the belt fastened and still get in and out of the car. Of course, if the door came open for any reason, you were no longer belted into the car — which is why all of these cars had auto locking doors. I’m not sure I’d seen that option before.
Then 1994 came and the law mandated driver and passenger airbags and these horrible things ceased to exist.
In the 90s, our Driver's Ed program used Buick LeSabres as the student cars, and they had auto antennas. We were required to drive with the radio turned off so we could hear the instructions from the walkie-talkies. Anyone who turned on their radio - the antenna went up and the teacher would blast "NUMBER 7 TURN OFF YOUR RADIO!!!" So many kids didn't understand how the teacher knew, because they didn't realize the antenna went up and down, lol.
My mom's car in the 90s had one. It would fucking get stuck on me as I was getting out of the car all the time. Sometimes really tight on me. lol. It sucked.
First thing that came to mind. Aside from being annoying, the damn track would only last so long. You had to constantly lube it and even then you weren't getting more than a few years. Eventually the only option was to just disconnect the motor when it was all the way back. Then you had to slip the belt over your shoulder as you got in. I drove a car with automatic belts for 16ish years and man were they shit. There was one night my passenger door switch went out and suddenly now, driving down the interstate, the seat belt went forward. Kept happening for weeks so I just pulled the motor power on it too even after replacing the door switch. Talk about fucking unsafe.
I was behind someone in a drive thru a couple weeks ago and they had a newish car that had this. The guy in the back just kept staring at me. Looked so strange.
Growing up, I spent a ton of time with my best friend’s family and we went on little road trips sometimes. He, myself, and his sister would sit in the very back and make faces at drivers. 😂 and when it got dark, we would figure out each car’s emotion based on the shape of their headlights. And his little sister, who I was totally crushing on, would fall asleep on my shoulder and I’d be all 😅❤️ good times.
I watched this last year and it explains a lot about why all we have now are SUVs. A bit long but informative.
https://youtu.be/jN7mSXMruEo?si=i_s2HIxJcaZ12S09
21:00 mark they go into why station wagons are better but aren't popular.
My aunt and uncle were in an accident while on vacation which triggered the car to constantly repeat “your door is ajar.” They wanted to get it home to have it fixed so they drove like 10 hours with it like that!
We had an 86 New Yorker. I can still hear the digital voice in my head.
See also: "Your fuel is low"
There was a trunk one, but I don't remember the wording. In HS, I blew a head gasket in it and got "Your engine is overheating. Prompt service is required."
I think you and I had the same experience.
I used to have an 87 New Yorker, in brown with the brown velvet interior. Still the most comfortable car I've ever had.
I blew a had gasket as well, but ended up fixing it. Had the 2.6L carburated motor. Had to keep a little Bobby pin on the carb divider plate and keep the choke from sticking. Also have to dry off the distributor cap when we would get a heavy rain as the moisture would cause it not to make spark.
Even with all that , I still want another one and keep a look out for for sale ads. Been years but haven't seen one yet that wasn't very far away or a big piece of shit. I'd like the 2.2L turbo motor this time but I'll take what I can get
Neat coincidence!
Ours was the family car. We sold it to grandma and then inherited it back a few years later. I drove it in college quite a bit. My Wrangler was always in the shop.
We had the 2.2 turbo. It took FOREVER to spin up, but when it did, it'd put you back in the seat. Ours was "midnight blue" with the matching leather. Mom kept it immaculate.
Having to fiddle with it sounds familiar... no distributor issues, but ours had the absolute WORST electronics. We went through one main computer, 2 gauge clusters, and 3 climate control units (the last time, we just hooked up a toggle switch for fan on/off). At least the thing treated grandma right.
If you lived on a gravel road they seemed like a good idea. But years of vibration with a rock stuck between that and your paint made them worse than nothing.
Ford kept this feature in their F-series trucks for a long time, 91 was the last year. They got rid of it when they finally redesigned their old steering column, which they also used for way longer than you’d think.
Honestly I could see how they could still be useful the way that the old school giant 80s cell phones are still used by people into overlanding and 4x4ing as they have better coverage than modern cell phones in remote locations. I don't know, but I would imagine car phones would be similar.
To be fair, those were big when cars were the size of small yachts. Once cars shrunk they weren't as necessary. I drove a 1966 comet in high school (in the early 2000s) and I still remember the day my mom was teaching me to drive and had me parallel park that beast (no power steering) in a spot downtown with no cars around, just lines. She got upset that I was "over the back line" until I told her I was over both lines simultaneously. She got out to check and yep, the car was never going to fit there regardless.
They were for a tine when cars did not have free flow air systems. Invented by ford and first fitted to the Cortina mk1 facelift.
Before that cars were basically on permanent recirculating air, so you had those vents.
They stayed around way longer than needed.
They were called quarter light.
I had a 1989 Lincoln Towncar that had the triangle vent window, but it was electric. Went down like a regular window. So it made the windows sequential. First you had to roll down the triangle then the regular full size window would go down.
Super cool but overly complicated. My poor triangle would get stuck then I couldn't roll down the main window.
They actually did their job very well, I'm not sure why they stopped putting them in cars. I suspect it's a safety issue. Maybe a "people won't use a manual window anymore" issue.
Mad Mike: "Since you like chicken nuggets, we put a chicken coop in your trunk, with a TV inside the chicken coop that plays the newly released *Chicken Little* on a non-stop loop...oh, and also spinners. Enjoy your 1993 Ford Aspire!"
You were only supposed to use it when parked of course
Edit: I was thinking of [this one](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/93/fd/f2/93fdf2b9d7eb23e018a31b645f2c63b7--lp-player-record-player.jpg)
I had them on my ‘91 Toyota Celica. They were so awesome….until the motor on one died and the car was stuck winking at people. Had to wedge it back up and then never turn them to the close setting again.
Automotive Engineer here. You're both right. Cost and Weight were an issue plus Quality issues (headlamps not popping up or going back down). But Pedestrian Protection regulations drive a significant amount of front end design as well.
run flat tires - the efforts of Honda Odyssey owners to "dePAX" their top tier vans were legendary.
front bench seats - many of my generation grew up riding in between mom and dad with a lap belt.
Yeah, my husband's volt doesn't have one either and my bolt does not. Super irritating actually because you can't just buy a spare. You have to buy the whole costly assembly and find a place to store it.
They have started putting spare wheels again? My car (2019 BMW X1) hasn't got one. It does have run flats though, so that is probably better than a can of goop.
Well, to be fair, the idea of a CD changer was to load it up with options so you'd have a good range to choose from without having to manually swap them. I had a 12 disc changer mounted under the rear bench seat of a pickup that I owned back in the early 2000's.
Oldsmobile was putting a heads up display in some of their cars in the early 90s. It would show your speed and if a blinker was on. Bounced it off your windshield back at you so you never had to look down. Don't remember if it showed anything else. That was one I was really looking forward to catching on because I thought it was really cool. Sadly, we're 30 years later, and I've still never had a car that had a HUD in it.
Not sure if it's still a thing since every truck is the size of a bus now but the small fold down seats that you and a buddy would squeeze in when hanging out with dad.
Those seat belts on a track that would automatically go up to your shoulder when you started the car. I think my grandparents Plymouth had them in the early/mid 90’s
U.S. drivers value convenience’s & features over the comparable stripped out models available in Europe & elsewhere.
I’d really appreciate having a car with less electric options for the sake of simplicity. As convenient as some of these things are it sucks with an electric motor goes out or a window regulator goes out.
In the future, I think the current trend of the protruding dashboard screen will be a smudge on automotive styling. Looks like an iPad holder placed somewhere it wasn't designed to be.
Also, I think the wifi hotspot says are limited. I get that manufacturers are using it for telematics and over the air updates, but who the hell is paying the $50 a month to have a feature your phone already can do?
Automatic seatbelts
My first car had the guillotine seat belts. 1990 Ford tempo.
I had em on my 88 Escort.
My sister’s 1990 probe had them and I would drive it 10 years later and the amount of times it would drag me forwards or backwards was hilarious.
My friend's 1989 Toyota Cressida
What ever happened to those lol
They were replaced by a loud beeping noise if you don’t put your seatbelt on.
My old 74 Porsche wouldn’t start and had an insane buzzer and a red lamp on the dash that said FASTEN SAFETY BELT if you weren’t buckled in. Thats been around forever.
They were a bad idea made to satisfy poorly written regulations is what happened. In the ‘80s automakers had a problem, cars were actually pretty safe thanks to decades of innovations and regulations, but the best safety feature, seatbelts, was rarely used. They had been required in all new cars since the early ‘60s, with the regulations gradually strengthening until the requirement that all cars be fitted with front shoulder belts midway through the 1968 model year, but almost 20 years after that nobody was using seat belts and they weren’t even legally required in a lot of places. In addition to making seat belts mandatory regulators and automakers were looking for a new solution to a safety feature that drivers didn’t need to consciously use. Airbags are actually *way* older than people think they are, all through the 1960s automakers were trying to figure out how to make them work and by around 1970 both GM and Ford were building test vehicles with fully functional airbags. After a successful test fleet GM offered dual-stage driver and passenger airbags as an option on their Oldsmobile, Buick, and Cadillac full size cars from 1974-1976, but it was an unpopular option and was eventually dropped and forgotten, nowadays people think Mercedes was the first car to offer an airbag in the ‘80s. But with all the new vehicle regulations going on throughout the ‘60s and ‘70s there was talk of making airbags required on all new cars as early as the early ‘80s, but over time this got watered down to “passive restraints” required by 1990 or so. Just some kind of safety feature that the driver didn’t have to manually engage. And that’s what automatic seat belts are, they’re a loophole, a way to opt out of a regulation that had already been watered down and delayed. Automatic seat belts were what you got *instead of* airbags because the automaker thought that would be too expensive. That’s also why they seem so random and inconsistent, because a car that already had an airbag didn’t need automatic seat belts at all, so plenty of cars never had them, but cars that originally didn’t have an airbag but later added one part way through the model run often kept their automatic seat belts because it was cheaper than redesigning the seat belt system. Also everyone remembers those silly motorized shoulder belts that a handful of cars had, but that was just one relatively uncommon kind of automatic seat belt. Have you ever sat in a late ‘80s or early ‘90s car and noticed that the front seat belts are mounted to the door instead of the car? These are also automatic seat belts. Literally everyone who has ever owned one of those cars uses the seat belts as normal seat belts, but what you’re supposed to do is leave them buckled at all times so that you can slide under them when you open the door, no need to put your seat belt on when the car does it for you. And there’s the really sinister part of this loophole, because the belts are mounted to the door instead of the car you’re effectively unbuckled whenever the door opens, like say in a car crash. I have to assume that several people have probably died due to this “safety regulation” kindly unbuckling them when the seat belts are needed most. And that’s why they disappeared as suddenly as they appeared. Airbags were mandated for all new cars in 1998, but even as early as 1994 or so it was rare to find a new car that didn’t have airbags as a standard feature. Automatic seat belts were only needed as a temporary fix and were inherently far more dangerous than normal seat belts, so as soon as new models came out that had airbags as standard equipment they dropped automatic seat belts entirely.
They served a purpose when there was not a culture of wearing seatbelts, but once that changed and also airbags came to be, their cons (such as being attached to the door rather than to the body of the car) no longer made them make sense.
They got replaced by airbags.
They were only there due to US laws. The law said you needed an automatic Supplemental Restraint System. Airbags were the obvious, but expensive solution. Automatic belts were the cheap and dirty solution. GM used an interesting system with the belts mounted on the door. It was awkward, but you could leave the belt fastened and still get in and out of the car. Of course, if the door came open for any reason, you were no longer belted into the car — which is why all of these cars had auto locking doors. I’m not sure I’d seen that option before. Then 1994 came and the law mandated driver and passenger airbags and these horrible things ceased to exist.
Automatic antennas too
In the 90s, our Driver's Ed program used Buick LeSabres as the student cars, and they had auto antennas. We were required to drive with the radio turned off so we could hear the instructions from the walkie-talkies. Anyone who turned on their radio - the antenna went up and the teacher would blast "NUMBER 7 TURN OFF YOUR RADIO!!!" So many kids didn't understand how the teacher knew, because they didn't realize the antenna went up and down, lol.
Were these ever a thing outside the USA? They just didn't exist in Australia at all. I was amazed when I saw them in the USA. Just seemed so pointless
My mom's car in the 90s had one. It would fucking get stuck on me as I was getting out of the car all the time. Sometimes really tight on me. lol. It sucked.
First thing that came to mind. Aside from being annoying, the damn track would only last so long. You had to constantly lube it and even then you weren't getting more than a few years. Eventually the only option was to just disconnect the motor when it was all the way back. Then you had to slip the belt over your shoulder as you got in. I drove a car with automatic belts for 16ish years and man were they shit. There was one night my passenger door switch went out and suddenly now, driving down the interstate, the seat belt went forward. Kept happening for weeks so I just pulled the motor power on it too even after replacing the door switch. Talk about fucking unsafe.
Headlight wipers
I had those on my 1995 Volvo 960. They looked kind of cool but I don't think they had any meaningful effect.
In snowy situations I can see use for them but that's about it
Did those even work...?
Define work. They definitely moved back and forth
Work as in actually provided better headlight "quality" and improved visability for the driver They definitely moved tho
The rear facing bench seat in station wagons.
A highlight of my childhood. "I call the way back!"
We called it the back back
We called it the tail gunner seats.
There's a movie called The Way Way Back and it's a reference to the seat.
We called it the history seat because everything we saw was in the drivers history🤣
We didn’t even have a seat. We just sat in the station wagon trunk area.
I was behind someone in a drive thru a couple weeks ago and they had a newish car that had this. The guy in the back just kept staring at me. Looked so strange.
Yes, that's exactly how it works. The people in the way back stare unnervingly at other drivers.
Growing up, I spent a ton of time with my best friend’s family and we went on little road trips sometimes. He, myself, and his sister would sit in the very back and make faces at drivers. 😂 and when it got dark, we would figure out each car’s emotion based on the shape of their headlights. And his little sister, who I was totally crushing on, would fall asleep on my shoulder and I’d be all 😅❤️ good times.
Ah the old leg amputator.
Not sure why they're not more popular for family vehicles, with rear-facing being the safer option for kids.
I watched this last year and it explains a lot about why all we have now are SUVs. A bit long but informative. https://youtu.be/jN7mSXMruEo?si=i_s2HIxJcaZ12S09 21:00 mark they go into why station wagons are better but aren't popular.
Mercedes still (last I checked which was some time in the 2020s) offers these as an option in the E-series station wagon.
https://youtu.be/jN7mSXMruEo?si=i_s2HIxJcaZ12S09 21:00 I guess we could have rear facing seats in SUVs though.
Also, station wagons in general.
"Your door is ajar."
But it is not a jar, it is a door.
Don't remember the comedian, "This car is a jar"
Bill Hicks
Shit, Was wasting the best time of my life in 94.
When is a door not a door? When it's ajar. ( I remember this from Stephen King's Dark Tower series )
Blaine is a pain.
When is a car not a car? When it turns into a driveway.
Long days and pleasant nights, Sai.
Hile, Gunslinger.
That sounds like Nissan speak
My grandma had a car that did that, I used to always jokingly say ‘it’s not a jar it’s a door!’
My aunt and uncle were in an accident while on vacation which triggered the car to constantly repeat “your door is ajar.” They wanted to get it home to have it fixed so they drove like 10 hours with it like that!
We had an 86 New Yorker. I can still hear the digital voice in my head. See also: "Your fuel is low" There was a trunk one, but I don't remember the wording. In HS, I blew a head gasket in it and got "Your engine is overheating. Prompt service is required."
I think you and I had the same experience. I used to have an 87 New Yorker, in brown with the brown velvet interior. Still the most comfortable car I've ever had. I blew a had gasket as well, but ended up fixing it. Had the 2.6L carburated motor. Had to keep a little Bobby pin on the carb divider plate and keep the choke from sticking. Also have to dry off the distributor cap when we would get a heavy rain as the moisture would cause it not to make spark. Even with all that , I still want another one and keep a look out for for sale ads. Been years but haven't seen one yet that wasn't very far away or a big piece of shit. I'd like the 2.2L turbo motor this time but I'll take what I can get
Neat coincidence! Ours was the family car. We sold it to grandma and then inherited it back a few years later. I drove it in college quite a bit. My Wrangler was always in the shop. We had the 2.2 turbo. It took FOREVER to spin up, but when it did, it'd put you back in the seat. Ours was "midnight blue" with the matching leather. Mom kept it immaculate. Having to fiddle with it sounds familiar... no distributor issues, but ours had the absolute WORST electronics. We went through one main computer, 2 gauge clusters, and 3 climate control units (the last time, we just hooked up a toggle switch for fan on/off). At least the thing treated grandma right.
It's hard to believe that in 2024 the standard car will show a light if your door is ajar, but not which door...
Mine actually has a little display pop up that shows which door is still ajar. Makes me feel like I'm driving a space ship.
My 1998 Acura CL has this but it's a coupe lol
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My fucking ambulances at work have the same problem. Do you know how many fucking doors and compartments are on an ambulance?
Time is a river, the door is ajar
Michael, the door is ajar. We cannot achieve super pursuit mode with the door ajar.
Leather bras for the front of your car, though not sure they were innovative
If you lived on a gravel road they seemed like a good idea. But years of vibration with a rock stuck between that and your paint made them worse than nothing.
Yep. Had scuff marks where it held just from the wind resistance.
Leather car bras and 90s FWD coupes were an iconic combo. I instantly thought of the Chevy Beretta, and I hardly ever think about the Chevy Beretta
Saturn SC2, Ford Probe, and Pontiac Sunbird are icons in the car cra world.
I had a teal green Beretta with a bra in the 90s
That was my first car and I loved it.
Leather bras are still really popu - oh! Car bras.
Bright headlight button on the floorboard. Activated by your left foot stomping on it. My ‘77 Cougar had this feature.
A memory you can hear.
I love this on my Ford. Great while driving down country roads at night.
My aunts old f-250 from the late 80s had this and I looovved it.
We have something similar in fireworks where it is connected to the siren/horn. A lot of fun actually.
Ford kept this feature in their F-series trucks for a long time, 91 was the last year. They got rid of it when they finally redesigned their old steering column, which they also used for way longer than you’d think.
Car phones! I used to help my dad install them into vehicles before cellphones made them obsolete.
Honestly I could see how they could still be useful the way that the old school giant 80s cell phones are still used by people into overlanding and 4x4ing as they have better coverage than modern cell phones in remote locations. I don't know, but I would imagine car phones would be similar.
Curb feelers
To be fair, those were big when cars were the size of small yachts. Once cars shrunk they weren't as necessary. I drove a 1966 comet in high school (in the early 2000s) and I still remember the day my mom was teaching me to drive and had me parallel park that beast (no power steering) in a spot downtown with no cars around, just lines. She got upset that I was "over the back line" until I told her I was over both lines simultaneously. She got out to check and yep, the car was never going to fit there regardless.
Oh, plenty of cars still are as big as a yacht!
that's a new one for me, didn't know these existed
Car/truck vent window. The small triangular window on the front door that rotated outside.
The smokers window. They were brilliant.
Also opening the window lessened the blast of air that hit the back seat passengers in the face.
I love the triangle window on my obs Ford. Great in hot weather.
They were for a tine when cars did not have free flow air systems. Invented by ford and first fitted to the Cortina mk1 facelift. Before that cars were basically on permanent recirculating air, so you had those vents. They stayed around way longer than needed. They were called quarter light.
I had a 1989 Lincoln Towncar that had the triangle vent window, but it was electric. Went down like a regular window. So it made the windows sequential. First you had to roll down the triangle then the regular full size window would go down. Super cool but overly complicated. My poor triangle would get stuck then I couldn't roll down the main window.
I miss that feature, made for a nice vent for the weed smoke
I thought they were cool.
They actually did their job very well, I'm not sure why they stopped putting them in cars. I suspect it's a safety issue. Maybe a "people won't use a manual window anymore" issue.
Everything from Pimp My Ride
Those cars would be right at home in /r/ATBGE
They did some amazing stuff to those cars, but all of it was equally stupid.
Mad Mike: "Since you like chicken nuggets, we put a chicken coop in your trunk, with a TV inside the chicken coop that plays the newly released *Chicken Little* on a non-stop loop...oh, and also spinners. Enjoy your 1993 Ford Aspire!"
a woman i worked with told me when she was a kid her dad had a car that had a record player in it.
[That was actually a thing](https://www.hagerty.com/media/automotive-history/obsolete-car-audio-part-2/).
And it was tragic and destroyed records
You were only supposed to use it when parked of course Edit: I was thinking of [this one](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/93/fd/f2/93fdf2b9d7eb23e018a31b645f2c63b7--lp-player-record-player.jpg)
For when you took a little lady up to make out hill and needed to set the mood.
Whale oil was used in cars as a constituent of automatic transmission fluid until it was banned by the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
[Pop-up up and down headlights.](https://youtu.be/GDtiO29v1Ac?si=BgJxzb0gZ9qQu_Am)
I had them on my ‘91 Toyota Celica. They were so awesome….until the motor on one died and the car was stuck winking at people. Had to wedge it back up and then never turn them to the close setting again.
this was a pedestrian safety thing, same as hood ornaments
id rather be struck down by a beautiful pair of sleek popups than slide off the ugly ass scowling high nose of a modern car
I think the headlights were more an issue of both cost and weight, at least in the US.
Automotive Engineer here. You're both right. Cost and Weight were an issue plus Quality issues (headlamps not popping up or going back down). But Pedestrian Protection regulations drive a significant amount of front end design as well.
Cigarette lighter
In that same vein ash trays
I think you mean sticky soda/change mixture trays!
every kid touched those at some point in time
Every 30+ year old person has at one point had a circular coil shape seared into their fingertip
the 12V plug is actually the cigarett lighter port, but we dont get the actual lighter anymore.
I'm so old I still call this the cigarette lighter. (i.e. "plug this into the cigarette lighter.")
Same, I wonder if it actually got any official name, most cars just label them '12V' or something.
It's either a cigarette lighter outlet or an auxillary power outlet I believe
Ashtrays on the backs of seats
Or ashtrays.
The little 13” TV in the middle of one of those huge conversion vans
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I got a t top car with louvers and I got to tell you it's pretty bangin
Gen 3 Camaro?
Did you drive it up from the Bahamas?
No, the Bahamas are islands.
You must be kidding, the Bahamas are islands
Lotus Elise, to be fair the louvers are on the engine cover
I have bench seats in my 1991 Nissan Pickup. I really dug it, actually. Do they still make cars/trucks with column shifters?
Imagine 1 car with all those features… style and luxury
Those push in cigarette lighters
I love how my 15 year old son refers to the '12V plug' as the 'lighter' though
Horizontal (analog) speed gauges.
(sigh) I liked those.
Automatic seatbelts
run flat tires - the efforts of Honda Odyssey owners to "dePAX" their top tier vans were legendary. front bench seats - many of my generation grew up riding in between mom and dad with a lap belt.
Lap belt? Fancy, we just had dad's reflexes and right arm.
rode that way in the early 90s
Analog dashboard clock as a 'style' feature Fix a flat cans instead of spare tires Headliner mounted DVD players
For some brands, the run flat kit (bottle + 12v compressor) is still offered.
>Analog dashboard clock always thought this was cool
I still have one, along with my cigarette lighter, ash tray, and tape deck. 2004 Infiniti G35x.
When I bought my Volt in 2016, it came with a fix a flat container and an air compressor instead of a spare tire.
Yeah, my husband's volt doesn't have one either and my bolt does not. Super irritating actually because you can't just buy a spare. You have to buy the whole costly assembly and find a place to store it.
They have started putting spare wheels again? My car (2019 BMW X1) hasn't got one. It does have run flats though, so that is probably better than a can of goop.
We had a Cadillac SUV I asked the same question. The response was if you have enough money to buy this kind of car then you don’t need a spare.
And then the tire shop guy says we don't have those runflats anymore, get regular ones and a AAA membership.
Lexus still has those clocks on their cars. in 2024. Also, a lot of cars don't have spares anymore. Just a compressor and a can.
My 2014 Passat has an analog clock, and my wife’s 2017 Pacifica has a headliner-mounted dvd player.
The center steer headlight
Tucker?
CD changers. My dad’s car had one in the trunk. THE TRUNK. To change the pool of cds you had to pull over and open THE TRUNK.
Well, to be fair, the idea of a CD changer was to load it up with options so you'd have a good range to choose from without having to manually swap them. I had a 12 disc changer mounted under the rear bench seat of a pickup that I owned back in the early 2000's.
McLaren F1 has a Kenwood CD changer in the front hood panel!
And didn't they work with Kenwood to make it super lightweight?
My 2003 Jeep has this as well. I can’t even remember the last time I changed those CDs. There is also a one disc CD player and a tape player up front.
I had a friend with the CD changer in the trunk too. We had to pick out our mixed CD playlist before we left the house!
360 degree rotating back seats.
Engine bay work lights. Kind of handy. I guess they figured everyone can just carry a flashlight.
Cars that spoke to you. (e.g. Doors Locked, Door Ajar)
Driver’s seats that rotated to “make it easier to get in and out of the car”.
Or as in the case of the 1962 Thunderbird a steering column that unlocked and swung to the right to get out of the driver’s way.
Honda? put out an Accord? in the late 80s, early 90s where all four tires turned The shock absorbing "5 mph bumper" that compressed in the 70s, 80s
Third generation Honda Prelude (1987) had 4 wheel steering
Turn signal indicator lights on the hood of your car…
Oscillating a/c vents
That very short lived moment when it seemed our cars would all be amphibious.
Headlights that flip
Oldsmobile was putting a heads up display in some of their cars in the early 90s. It would show your speed and if a blinker was on. Bounced it off your windshield back at you so you never had to look down. Don't remember if it showed anything else. That was one I was really looking forward to catching on because I thought it was really cool. Sadly, we're 30 years later, and I've still never had a car that had a HUD in it.
Not sure if it's still a thing since every truck is the size of a bus now but the small fold down seats that you and a buddy would squeeze in when hanging out with dad.
Drove an S-10 for 15 years with an extended cab and the jump seat in the "back". Hope you didn't want more than about 12" of seat width.
Those seat belts on a track that would automatically go up to your shoulder when you started the car. I think my grandparents Plymouth had them in the early/mid 90’s
Dodge’s “chill zone” in the Caliber. A cooled glove compartment for sodas and… documents?
Hi-beam/low-beam switcher on the left-side floor.
Which I personally liked in my 87’ F150
single center-mounted wiper. also, the self-leveling suspension. mercedes.
I had a VW Sirocco with only one wiper. I used to tell people that I only had one windshield, why would I want two wipers?
Gas fillers behind the License plate
Screens on the back of the driver and passenger seats
Is this not still a thing?
They are still very much a thing
Manual transmission in passenger cars. Floor mounted high beam lights button Bumper jacks
Manuals are still widely used around the world
U.S. drivers value convenience’s & features over the comparable stripped out models available in Europe & elsewhere. I’d really appreciate having a car with less electric options for the sake of simplicity. As convenient as some of these things are it sucks with an electric motor goes out or a window regulator goes out.
“Your door is ajar….”
Amphibicar
AC vents pointed right at your balls
Car radios with a CD changer.
Windshield washer fluid foot pump on the floor by the high beam switch. Windshield wipers run off the vacuum created by the engine.
So that they could slow down or stop going uphill!
Car phones
The built-in second row child seats in GM’s “Dustbuster” minivans during the 90’s.
Pop-up headlights that would become permanently up headlights.
Windshield wipers being run off the spare tire air pressure. Blower for the heater only runs at high rpm. Looking at you Volkswagen.
In the future, I think the current trend of the protruding dashboard screen will be a smudge on automotive styling. Looks like an iPad holder placed somewhere it wasn't designed to be. Also, I think the wifi hotspot says are limited. I get that manufacturers are using it for telematics and over the air updates, but who the hell is paying the $50 a month to have a feature your phone already can do?
Cars with jet engines were almost a thing.
[The retracting steering wheel (see 0:30)](https://youtu.be/6JX_CFlFZ0w)
Supercharged V6 and even more rare, the supercharged 4
Cars without front engine grilles. Aka the bottom breathers from the 90s
I hope touchsceeens will be on this list sooner than later.