According to You: Long-Lost Automotive Trends You Miss
Everyone here at Hagerty Media is thrilled to see how you, readers, take our questions and run with them. Last week’s question—what automotive trends do you miss?—was answered with a nice array of elements from our automotive past. We know there are long-lost trends that we thought would never die off, and stepping back to see how life has changed because of them can be revealing.
We may never know why a trend must die, but these automotive trends are at least not forgotten. So let’s see what everyone came up with.
Luxury Does Not Equal Technology
@TingeofGinge: Luxury, implying high-build quality and not just electric or “smart” toys in your car.
CB Radios
The Hagerty Community really ran with my suggestion of the Citizens Band radio:
@70AMXguy: Bought a pristine ’82 AMC Eagle with factory CB/trailer pack from a retired couple. Saved me countless hours on HWY 401 in Toronto. Learned a few “choice” words from the trucker guys in English AND French … good days.
@DUB6: I started driving semi-trucks in the late ’60s and really put on the miles in the ’70s, right when the CB phase was at its peak (along with cowboy boots) in trucking. And sure, when we piled into the family car to make a trip in those days, the CB came out of the rig and went right along with us. Each of my kids got handles and each took turns calling out to find out where the Smokeys were up ahead. Great fun.
In my trucking life, the CB was as important as having an empty bottle on board (TMI?), and it saved me more than once. I suppose that most of the truckers today are just using their cell phones for a lot of what we relied on our CBs to do. Auto drivers, too. But honestly, I would still consider digging out the ol’ Cobra 29 and sparking it up if I were driving across the country again!
@Dan: Ten years ago I bought a used truck that had a CB in it. I made a cross-country trip in it and the CB came in very handy. The interstate was shut down from a bad accident one night and a trucker who happened to be a local guy came on his CB and said, “I know a way around this if anybody wants to follow me.” A bunch of us did and it probably saved us a two- or three-hour wait. I didn’t have a handle but I was towing my 1966 Charger on a trailer and they just named me Charger Guy. It stuck all the way across the USA from San Fran to Cincinnati. 🙂
Turn Signals
@WRLotus: To be only mildly sarcastic, one trend that I would like to see come back is turn signals.
@Sajeev Mehta: You bring up a good point, because Tesla deleted the turn-signal stalk from its mass-market Model 3 sedan. I actually didn’t mind the buttons on a short test drive at city speeds, but the arrangement feels odd and I would hit the wrong button if I was concentrating on something else on the freeway.
Vent/Wing/Smoker’s Windows
@JohnG: The door vent windows and floor foot vents like in my parentss 1977 Chevy C-10 truck. Pull them open at 55 mph and all the dirt on the floor flies all over and in your eyes.
@DUB6: Wing windows, baby! Open that door vent window at speed, and you better be prepared or there goes the paper map on the dash, along with any drive-thru napkins you put there, and maybe even that pair of “cheap sunglasses” (nod to ZZ Top here)—whoosh. Been there—done that!
@NovaResource: I’m sure the loss of vent windows has to do with aerodynamics but I agree with you. I’d love to see them make a comeback.
@Sajeev Mehta: I heard the loss of vent windows was due to the proliferation of air conditioning in every car. Kinda makes sense, as they started disappearing around the time everything could be ordered with A/C . Also, don’t door-swap your project car to reinstate vent windows: That was absolutely not worth the effort. Or maybe it was, and I just can’t enjoy the benefit yet.
Analog Vehicles
@TG: Completely analog vehicles. Even though I swore I wouldn’t, I just went up to #6 … a 1972 Ford F-350. This thing is as analog as it gets, without a microchip or transistor to be found with the exception of the aftermarket radio. It performs all the same basic functions as a modern truck, and the only 1s ands 0s going on might be the turn signal flasher
@Tom: TG, your turn signal relay is a bimetallic strip–type deal. Purely thermal/mechanical! (Zing! —SM)
@TJRL: Real buttons, analog gauges, and radios separate from sat-nav screens! My passengers used to be able to set the radio or sat-nav whilst I reversed out of the driveway. Now we only get a single “infotainment” interface, so the reversing camera stops anything else being done. Worst, if a passenger changes the radio station the sat-nav screen I was using disappears!
@Trekker: I miss the simplicity of older cars before the advent of everything “computerized.” Their mechanical feel, sounds, and smells, analog gauges, engine bays where you could actually see the engine and work on it without a digital reader or sensors, unique designs that clearly separated makes from each other, and simple things like vent windows and roll-down windows that don’t require a motor and switch that ultimately goes bad, and costs hundreds/thousands to replace/repair. Finally, I miss having the tactile feel of actual switches/knobs for A/C, temp, fan, radio, etc. Touchscreens are a distraction that requires the driver to take his eyes off the road to find the right “spot” on the screen.
@Ryknot: Analog gauges. Am I the only guy out there who has no interest in driving a computer? I detest the gauges of today; of course I can’t afford to drive one anyway, but still.
The Devaluation of Child Safety?
@Chris: Yes, I know safety is a factor in the change, but where I live kids these days are not supposed to sit in front seats until they are 13. Some of my fondest childhood memories in the ’70s were sitting “shotgun” while driving with my dad. Just side-by-side chatting, operating the radio or eight-track (!), or rooting around in the glove compartment. I felt like less of a passenger than a “co-pilot.” Not recommended, but I even recall being really small and sitting on the armrest between Mom and Dad during road trips in our big Chrysler Newport!
@NovaResource: It’s surprising that I’m alive. I was brought home from the hospital as a newborn in the front seat on my mother’s lap in a 1966 GTO. No car seat or seat belt.
Maybe you might think I was a bad parent but I let my kids sit in the front seat when they were under 13. I just made sure they had on a seatbelt and the seat was as far back as it could go to keep them far away from the airbag if it ever did deploy. I find adults sitting so close to the steering wheel are far more at danger from an airbag than children far from it.
@TG: My aunt used to sit me in her lap and let me steer.
Actual Colors
@Steve: Colors. Try to buy any new vehicle that isn’t blue, silver, red, black, or white. Yes, exceptions are out there but for the most part the new-vehicle color palette is very monochrome.
@DUB6: When I was driving long-haul for a big company, they at first had a really distinctive paint job, using the company colors. I used to get hailed on the CB by company name from great distances as other truckers and even regular car drivers knew our “colors.” Then, the manufacturers started making all-white trucks significantly cheaper, so we converted—and blended into the traffic so no one knew who we were. Lots of free advertising out the window, IMO. I still have pictures of some of those “company colors” trucks, but I don’t know of anyone who took or saved a photo of one of those plain white ones.
Bench Seating
@William: I miss bench seats for front-seat passengers. With those, you had more legroom up front—especially since you didn’t have a console taking up space between the two seats. The car felt more spacious, and, most importantly, you could get in on the passenger side and slide across to the driver’s seat if you needed to.
@Dennis: Bench seats, so my dog can sit next to me instead of the shift handle, which on my EV could be a toggle switch.
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CB radios are still available and around if you really want one. Most people had them if they got stuck and with a Cell Phone well. Some did like to play Rubber Duck and convoy but most got over that.
Maybe this world could use a little MORE playing Rubber Duck and Convoy!
Agreed!
My old Corvette had a factory CB in it
Used to “ share the ride” by keying up the 23 channel and flooring it.
I still have an AM FM CB 40 channel radio that was factory installed in my 1981 Oldsmobile. It’s on my shelf in the garage, after the car went 242,000 miles. I thought it was a good idea to at least keep the radio. It still worked 100% when I took it out.
People be showing their age when asking for a CB radio! Even my parents didn’t have one after the ’70s! 😁
Age and treachery will overcome youth and exuberance every time…
Are… are… people ARE showing their age
Pissed at bad *grammar
While I appreciate and agree with your statement, check your own work before criticizing someone else’s, no matter how accurate your thoughts may be.
It was a joke. Like he be showing his age…get it?
😠
I was in the minority. I’m an Amateur Radio Operator, commonly called a HAM Operator. I remember having a full rig mounted in the trunk and the control head on a bracket between the seats. I made hotel reservations 500 miles from my current location via phone patch and when I arrived at the hotel they were surprised to see a 1963 Triumph Spitfire. The antenna dwarfed the car. Talking about living dangerously, there was a time I could do 25 words per minute on a Morse code key while driving at 65mph. Now it’s illegal to even pick up a cell phone while driving … SOMETHING I WHOLE WHOLE WHOLEHEARTEDLY AGREE WITH. The world was so different then and at 19 years old you think you will live forever.
As a parent of a teen and near-teen, I can say there are surprising number of kids out there who are actually interested in and enjoy the older, more analog tech- stick shifts, wing and manual windows, carbs, and just old cars in general. Maybe it’s selection bias on my part because of how I’ve raised my kids, so they have found friends with similar interests, but there is also some of the usual contrarian vibe that every generation of teens expressed probably back to cave dwelling times. The norm is econoboxes and CUVs. I don’t know any kids interested in those. It’s cooler to have an old car or truck if the kids are actually interested in cars.
At the moment the teen and his friends are in the process of installing CB radios in a 75 K10, a 78 Aries, and a 73 Coronet. A fourth friend is installing one on his four-wheeler for now but plans on swapping it when he is able to find the old Jeep or 70’s Ford truck he so desperately wants 🙂
Which reminds me? Where can he find a whip antenna to mount on the side of his truck bed? Used to be I could get them at truck stops, but he hasn’t had any luck finding one.
I’m part of that same group. My friends are starting to sound more like the comments in this post. Personally, I don’t want a car with a screen. Until recently all of my cars were built in the 20th century, however I recently picked up an 09 Civic Si, not a complex or bad car, but man does it have electrical gremlins that I think originate from the steering wheel buttons. Also the drive by wire throttle in it rev hangs very bad on any shift that is done in non aggressive driving.
I’m most happy in my 90 Jeep Comanche, 5 speed manual, vent windows, sliding rear window, simple controls and it does have the luxury of AC. I appreciate the fuel injection, it works flawlessly without any need to tune it up. New vehicles are way more complicated than they need to be.
I have an ’08 Civic (stick), with zero infotainment. I’ve never noticed any electrical gremlins, and either I’ve gotten used to the rev hangs or that’s stopped happening.
Best car I’ve ever owned. I love it.
So your friend call you “Stu” ?
Yup, I agree. I was thinking about this not long ago and decided if I buy another new truck in this lifetime, it’ll be strictly ordered as a work truck, nothing that isn’t necessary.
Has your Civic been in an accident? When the airbags in the steering wheel deploy they can damage the clock spring contacts in the wheel so you get intermittent connections or shorts.
My friends and I somewhat jokingly installed a 9 foot white whip antenna on my 1975 Datsun B-210. Sure it was functional and helped me to get further with my CB signal, but, of course, it looked ridiculous. We called it the sperm.
Get rid of those SUNROOFS, hardly anyone uses them and would lower the price.
Ed, I agree 100%. They are just a leak waiting to happen and as you say, hardly anyone uses them and would lower the price.
Only the car manufacturers want these roofs. They bundle them into an option package with other features you do want – power seats for example – and since they no longer allow the customer to pick options feature by feature – you have no choice but to overpay for a useless feature you do not want and simply robs you of 3 inches of head room, weakens the roof rigidity, and when it fails costs a fortune to repair. For them it is simply an easy cash grab and robs you of a few thousand you otherwise would not have spent. Unfortunately, this practice reduces the car choice options for tall people since headroom is a major concern.
This. With the last car we purchased that had one, it was optioned that way by the dealer and we didn’t have time to order from the factory after a previous order with a different dealer was screwed up. A convertible is a much better option for an open-air experience. I never did have any problems with sunroof leaking, though.
Agreed with the sunroof, except on my 83 SAAB 900, that roof is used often as it really has a nice airflow, its a manual roof BTW.
As far as power seats, I hate them. I can have my manual seat adjusted in about two seconds. I find power seats slow and I’m always fidgeting with them.
No! Memory electric seats are good.
Especially if your wife is shorter than you are and both drive each others cars!
Yes get rid of the sun roof.Bring back the T-Tops
I recently attended an event at my kids elementary school where the city brought out fire and police vehicles for the kids to check out in the parking lot. The star of the show however, was my 1973 BMW 2002. Kindergarten through 5th grade lined up for one reason: they each got to crank a door window up and down! Each kid watched in amazement from the line down both driver’s and passenger’s sides, anxiously awaiting his or her turn to use this ancient technology!
I like to do my part.
Try E-Bay Or Amazon
@Binksman Yep, seems many types of CB accessories are getting harder to find at local stores, but can still be had online. Best place I’ve found for CB stuff, including whip antennas, is Walcott Radio. They are a mom and pop shop in Walcott Iowa on I80. They have TONS of stuff. Try here: https://www.walcottradio.com/all-cb-antennas-c-377_352.html
Fold-down armrests. Let’s me do the lean on my ’59 Coupe deVille.
The HI beam switch on the floor where it belongs
No kidding. I have 3 vehicles with hi-lo on the stalk (yuck), and no two of them operate the same way. I have to stop and remind myself how each functions before setting out (and this affects lights and wipers, too). In the “old times”, all I had to remember was to stomp on that foot pedal to change hi-lo lights. I think I kind of still do it sometimes – muscle memory, I suppose…
My “oldie-but-goodie” vehicles still, thankfully, give my left foot some satisfaction when the lights are on!
I think most people have forgotten how to lower their high beams anymore. I constantly see inconsiderate drivers with extremely bright LED lighting just keep on truckin’ as if there is no way that they could be wrong blinding the oncoming driver. When I learned to drive the tap on the floor button would signal others to lower their light brights. Not anymore, they just turn in front of you without signaling because they can’t figure out that steering wheel stalk either!
My ‘22 Chrysler Pacifica has automatic Hi-Lo.
Same with my w3 Subaro
So does my 88 Lincoln lsc
My 88 LSC also has the automatic dimmer but with the new reflective traffic signs, the headlights “read” the reflection and keep changing up and down until you pass the sign. Very annoying.
My 2022 Silverado has automatic hi-lo and works surprisingly well.
Its ok the other half of people drive at night with their lights off! New cars have digital dashes that light up and people assume if they can see the dash their lights must be on and also the DLR’s put out some light and they think its the headlights!!! I have to tell some person almost every time I’m out at night to turn on their lights!!!!
I grew up driving with it on the floor as well, but here in Canada the buttons would corrode from the salt that came into the car from your snowy boots. For that reason I was happy to see it relocated to the stalk.
You are right about that; lots of strange electrical problems came from those floor-dimmers when the car got old. And, I bet a lot of them were due to salt and corrosion.
Had to have several floor repairs done in NL thanks to floor mounted dimmer switches. I also was happy to see them lifted off the floor.
I’ve had it on the floor on several cars. I’d hit the brights when going for a hard second gear. Gimme a stalk control every time.
@TG. Absolutely the worst thing they ever did was to remove the floor mounted dip switch. Now you have to take a hand off the wheel and then find the switch!
Do you have to take your hand of the wheel to signal a left or right turn?
Oh, wait … you’re probably THAT GUY that doesn’t use his signals.
The high beam on the turn signal stalk is better. With you left hand still on the wheel you can use one finger to flick the stalk up to signal a right turn, down to signal a left turn, push forward to turn on the high beams, or pull towards you to “flash” the high beams.
With the foot mounted switch you can’t do a momentary “flash” of the high beams. You have to press and release to turn them on and then press and release to turn them off.
I actually prefer the stalk as I use my left foot for braking when driving an auto.
That’s a bad habit that you should “brake”. Right foot only or you’ll have a very unhappy moment.
It’s NOT a bad habit. Left foot braking with an automatic is actually smarter.
It has its goods and bads. I used to use the left, until I experienced one of the bads. No more!
Two pedals … two feet …. zero problems.
Unless you don’t know how to drive or you regularly mixup your left and right feet.
If you train yourself to always brake with your left foot, you never accidently press the accelerator by mistake in a panic stop situation.
I’ve been driving that way for nearly 40 years and never had a problem.
The only downside is if you jump back and forth between automatic and manual cars.
Agreed on the manual seat with lombard support. My ’99 Saab has most of desired and ‘useful’ features of newer cars, without big screen distraction. Its turbo 4 still matches 318 Bimmers performance (ask me how I know:-).
I have two old cars that still have the floor switch. My first car, in 1973, was a 1969 Beetle, and the stalk-dimmer was so much handier that my dad’s 1968 Buick’s floor button. I can use either, but would never want to go back to the rather primitive floor dimmer for a daily-driver car. And, many electrical gremlins surface over time that can be traced to that dimmer switch. I know that from personal experience, as well as friends with tired old cars when I was younger.
Everyone has his or her own opinion on the placement of controls. I for one LOVED the floor mounted dim bright switch on my grand dads old Buick and it felt so natural in my 1963 Spitfire. I really disliked when the switch was moved to the column, let alone the Jag XKE which had it on the dash.
The automatic high beams are awesome. They work perfectly. I haven’t turned on/off headlights for years since all of our cars have that, and now I don’t even mess with high/low beams. That said, I never had a problem with stalk-mounted switches. Usually, it’s just push forward for high beam and bring back for low beam. I really don’t see an advantage with the floor button. It’s just a different way of doing it.
too damn many gray cars. Everything is black, white, or some shade of gray silver. BOORRING
Truth! Out here in the PNW every car seems to be white, black, or some sad variant of silver. My wife and I just bought a new F-150 in bright “Race Red”. We stick out like a sore thumb on the road and maybe that’s not such a very bad thing.
Read somewhere that in the past 10-12 years, over 3/4 of the new cars sold were either grey, white, black, or silver. White is about 35% of new cars in that timeframe. Someone above was complaining about red, and it is somewhat more common than others, especially in collector cars, but those four colors are most of what you see out there anymore. I have a green Firebird. Not very common to see green or yellow vehicles. You almost never see purple.
White paint is the cheapest cost when you buy a new car. At least it is here. Fleet vehicles are also often white as it is cheaper. Very boring indeed.
I have 4 cars, 1 red, 1 white, 1 blue, and one green, kinda patriotic and kinda cool.
I have a “dark plum” PT Cruiser sitting in my garage.
I bought new and still own a 2011 Dodge Journey SUV, v-6, 5 passenger vehicle. I specifically wanted an Orange/Copper one with the paint name ” Mango Tango “. A beautiful colour with lots of compliments.
I also own for the last 7 years a 1954 Ford Customline Coupe finished in ” Candy Organic Metalic Green” with a paint depth of 35 mild. It sparkles in the sunlight and looks dark green to black on a cloudy day. Beautiful paint job and I LOVE COLOURS !!
With all of the technology being shoehorned into cars these days, I do miss the simpler analog gauges, toggles, switches, etc. GPS has made me extremely lazy – I used to take pride in getting where I needed to go – by map if I’d never been there before. With all of these nanny devices, one of the greatest things about driving on the open road was the sense of adventure it came with. Now its just A to B and that’s that.
BTW, AAA is starting to phase out “paper maps”, check it out.
Sadly, most people can not read a map, let alone the idea of what north, south, etc means.
Do you remember when maps were FREE at gas stops and AAA offered foldable trip ticks ( maps )
I can do without the “adventure.” IMO MapQuest is one of the greatest things that ever went into a car. There’s enough things to do when driving in today’s traffic without trying to be on the lookout for a new destination address at the same time.
Vent wings went away not just because of air conditioning, but because of air conditioning being commonplace, aerodynamics, and cost. Cost is the overwhelming factor.
Without vent wings there’s the glass, channel, lift mechanism, and 3 seals, all of which are on a car with vent wings, too. With vent wings the number of (fairly expensive) parts goes up quite a bit and it takes longer on the assembly line, which is why they unfortunately won’t return. 🙁
Take a drink every time she says “vent wing”.
I don’t really miss them, at least if the car has A/C. Even the best-sealed ones were somewhat noisy closed – and a LOT noisier open.
I agree with you. Vent windows made some sense back when people smoked cigarettes.
Vent windows (or butterfly windows as we called them) should be brought back. But sadly I don’t think they ever will. I believe the reason they were cancelled was that it was more money for the auto makers to produce. It is cheaper with just one piece of glass. SADLY It’s always about the money!
The vent window was dropped from the Camaro for 1968, and in its place came the ultimate Astro-ventilation! Good thing NASA was getting ready to land on the moon so GM had a great name for the ventilation. I think the actual reason for dropping vent windows was that GM was trying to make the cars safer by ventilating exhaust gas away from the interior, hence the development of venting in the doors jams, etc. The early Camaro’s also had a kickboard vent to replace the vent window. My 72 Camaro has that and they work pretty good. Another reason for dropping them might have been to lower theft. It was really easy to pop the latch off of them and that’s how someone broke into my 69 Nova and stole all my 8-tracks! I tended to like the older music like the Beatles and Beach Boys (in 1975) so I suspect that the thief was disappointed when he found out what 8-tracks I had. I remember trying to drill and tap a hole to get a piece of metal back on it so I could keep it locked.
And for that reason alone I’ll keep my 1970 Triumph GT6 as long as I’m able.
I’ve been missing the old days of automobile driving, so I just bought a 1953 Mercury M100 pick up truck. All original, with a flathead V8, drum brakes, and a manual transmission. It has: real turn signals (installed recently), vent windows, bench seat, floor button for high beams, real faded red paint, no seat belts, vacuum driven wiper blades, actual knobs, a choke handle, and thankfully, no electronics, computers, sensors, etc. In other words, it’s as analogue as you can get. Can’t wait to take it to an A&W drive-in, if I could find one. 🙂
I don’t know where you live, but there are still several A&Ws in my area (SW Idaho) – some of which sponsor cruise-ins and even shows. I’d love to see your Merc at one of them when the weather turns! Throw it on a trailer and c’mon out: I’ll treat you to the biggest mug o’ root beer you can drink! 😛
in addition, there’s sonic drive-ins. donno where you live, but some of them have classic, hot rod, & muscle car nites, usually during the warmer months.
btw, do you have any drive-in theatres reasonably close?
In NE Ohio, Kent and Ravenna each have a seasonal A&W with car service. Frosty glass mugs too, I believe. A few miles apart, on Ohio 59…
I have three 1965/1966 Corvairs all with “wind wings”, floor dimmer switches, roll up down windows, two with 4 speed stick shifts, analog pretty much everything but LED lights. None have A/C. They do have lap seat belts. That’s what I learned to drive and nothing wrong with the old stuff. Builds character… A Sonic just down the street, have had “drive in nights” in the parking lot at work.
The clutch pedal.
I pity the kids who never had the opportunity to travel down East Texas red dirt roads while riding on the running board of a 49 Chevy truck. And I never needed a crash helmet when I rode my Schwinn.
Survivorship bias is a hell of a drug.
SO true!
Comment of the day! 😁
I can recall many stupid things I did in my younger years, but that doesn’t mean I’d advocate for doing them! P.S. Never get under a car lifted by a scissor jack!
If it was advocated, it wasn’t fun anymore.
Classic!😆
In 1988 I bought a brand new Jeep Comanche pickup which I still have. I got every single option except for air conditioning. The dealer thought I was crazy. I special ordered it with a sliding rear glass and vent windows. There was absolutely no need for A/C in the small cab. Once the vehicle started rolling it was like a hurricane inside. I clearly remember when GM removed the vent windows in 68 and 69 sitting on vinyl seats. You would roast in the summer if you had no A/C. They forced you to buy air.
I just in inherited my dad’s 88 Jeep Comanche pickup. 4 on the floor, no power steering and drives like a real pickup. 65000 miles. And no AC. A lot of fun to drive. Came out of the bank the other day and five guys were standing around admiring it.
Here’s what I miss: The factory order! Until 1985 or thereabouts, I had great fun picking out the features and options I wanted on a new car… and not paying for what I didn’t want. This was before everything became accessory groups and packages. You could delete things you would never use and there were enough color selections to make your car stand out from the crowd. And the greatest fun of all? Building a sleeper!
HemiBob, order a new C8 Corvette. You can still factory order one. I ordered a ’22. From the day I got in line until I actually ordered was about 3 months. While I waited to percolate to the top of the “time to actually order the car” list, I kept going back to my online build sheet and adding one thing and then another. Very few people paid more for a ’22 C8 than I did!
Last time I ‘ordered’ a vehicle was an ’86 Chevy C20. There were choices of spring rates, heavy duty battery for $5, spare or no spare, actual colors in many combinations, different seat material. Got the windshield antenna and put in my own radio/cassette player…..on and on. Not so much these days. I guess if you find one of the boring colors that does not insult your taste you are lucky
Real headlights.
Of course, most of today’s headlights work hugely better than the old sealed beams – or even their somewhat better parts-store halogen replacements.
Except …. I don’t believe they were all tested by DOT. Some are so blinding to oncoming traffic they should be banned. I also have to laugh … in 1970 a NYS Inspection Station made me remove the headlamp covers over my Cibie Z Beams ( lexan ) from my car. Now I dare you to find a car that has true sealed beams and no covers.
I was referring to the old round headlights. They project light forward efficiently because it uses the function of the parabolic dish (the back of the light). All the light coming from the actual source is focused forward. Plus light from LEDs diffuses over shorter distances because LEDs flicker or oscillate. You can’t see it with the naked eye, but if you have cameras on the outside of your house and you use LED Christmas lights, you’ll see it. That’s why slash shaped lighting on the fronts of cars these days is so blinding.
I disagree. When sealed beams were still common, we added driving lights that were very bright for very dark roads (cities are exempt, they are never dark and don’t need bright lights) and the stock lighting was more than adequate for regular driving. The important thing was the design took into account other drivers. I like to refer to today’s lighting as unsafe and narcissistic like our society. The other driver is irrelevant as long as our own lights light up the road like a Broadway premier. Often people add colours like blue to make the lights extra obnoxious. The irony is that we are all the other driver so we drive around (especially in the rain like where I live on the Canadian West Coast) half blinded for the benefit of the other driver.
Dump those styrofoam cooler size consoles. Column control of automatics. The front door vent windows. Colors [one designer tried to claim that green was “hard to do” in an interview… blue+yellow = green, dolt].
Return utility back to a basic sedan rather than pursuing the “four door coupe” nonsense.
Roll down rear windows in two doors.
Two doors.
Transmission dipsticks.
I just ordered a Sanyo radio/cassette player for my 63 Valiant because: 1: I don’t want to cut the dash. 2: it’s nearly identical to the one from his 74 Gold Duster my best friend installed in it 40 years ago. 3: I can use a cassette adapter to use my mp3 player with it.
The old one still works, but AM went out on it, and I suppose FM and the tape player are next.
It just got fresh speakers. Rockford-Fosdick. I’ve heard of them. That’s all I know. Electro Brand would have worked just fine.
Now if I can save the Montgomery Ward Riverside under-dash AC system …
Why? These aftermarket accessories are now period accessories and I want to keep the “upgrades” that were made along the way, back when this was “just an old car”.
Analog all the way, yes. No power brakes or steering. Crank windows. 3 speed on the column. High beam button on the floor, vents under the dash, vents in the front doors, a genuine hardtop. Simplicity lost.
It’s amazingly viable as a daily driver, even at 61 years old.
How about vehicles built to be easily serviced/disassembled/reassembled again without all the plastic internal bits and water pumps buried in the block sorts of ‘engineering wizardry’?
For your AM radio woes there are two solutions, in Hemmings Motor News magazine you can find folks that will repair your radio, even update it to FM, Bluetooth for your cell phone and a USB input. then, you could browse the internet for the USA radios which mimic the appearances of stock radios with modern features.
How about a crank case dipstick? My 2020 MB GLC300 got too many gizmos. And how about a parking brake that is not electric? Or a ‘shift’ that does not look like a blinker stalk. The MB has forward, middle and reverse. And then on the highway, if you don’t do god knows what for a while, the dash lights up and tells you to take a break. No one seems to know what the algorithm is,,,,,,just nonsense like its an attention warning
Yes to two doors! I really dislike 4 doors and all the extra windows and doors to keep track of and locked, and how they make the vehicle look like a cab. Thats why I searched for and bought a single cab truck after having my 99 2-door Tahoe for over 20 yrs. I’ve heard they don’t make them anymore. And a COUPE is a 2-door! There’s no B-pillar! You cannot call a 4 door a coupe – its a sedan. Congratulations to Ford for bucking the trend and making the new Bronco with a 2-door option! Bucking and Bronco in the same sentence! I’ve never owned a Ford , but I’ve started to look at the Bronco. I hoped Chevy might bring out the 2-door Blazer again after that.
Google Restomod Radios … the are several companies who still produce these radios. Modern guts but they fit in the old cutout and have modern features. You can even get them with a volume /base / treble / and tuning knobs
How about a button to double flash the high beams to let a trucker know it’s ok to move into my lane. Teach car drivers trucker etiquette and keep us all safer. (I’m not a trucker but see them mistreated.)