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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So does our 2022 Ford Edge.
Bench Seats so my honey can snuggle up next to me!!
Bench seats and Drive-in movies is something I really miss. They went together like a cheap pizza and a soda fountain between the double-feature break. Made it feel more like a couch and popcorn at home, especially when you have your partner in crime with you.
My 62 year old vintage sports car was fully analog. I am not an early adapter. Do not care for technology at all, however, I could not deny the real benefits that some of it brings. I have adopted all LED lights for safety. My 6 Volt system in now on a lumen par with a 12 volt system. All electronic ignition. Threw away the timing light, points and distributor advance weights. Once you tell the distributor what the car originally came with and set the static timing , your good for life. Went to electronic flasher. More reliable and less drain on the 6 volt system. Platinum plugs, they are self cleaning and new copper plugs every 7-10 thousand miles are a thing of the past. All of these updates can be easily removed if originality becomes an issue. The radio is original, however, that’s only because Blaupunkt radios had a jack in the back to plug in an auxiliary audio input. That tech was already 4 years old when my car was built. I do use it for my I-Pod. In retrospect, its a bit hypocritical for me to say I’m tech adverse. I do hate touchscreens and will always have at least one car with a third pedal. There is a loss of standardization between makes now. The wipers work opposite between my wife’s Honda and my Cayenne. I have yet to figure out her speed control. The power seat buttons have different functions. Maybe if I was 40 years younger I wouldn’t be as lost. Last summer I had the opportunity to drive a new Taycan on an autocross course. Got in it and was lost, couldn’t figure out if it was on, or to turn it on if it wasn’t or how to turn it off, or what gear it was in, or if that even mattered. Had to get help. Yea, I admit that I need help. The world has passed me by.
An accessible engine bay. These days you have to remove 5 plastic covers, pull the engine and lift the body off the frame to change an air filter. And don’t get me started about replacing a headlight.
Maybe just a lot less plastic in general
I must agree with the mention of bench seats. When I was much younger we called them SOB seats. This of course referred to Slide Over Baby which is exactly what happened if you took the corner properly and your girl would slide right over to your side. Only lap belts in those days and no regulation requiring their use.
I’m all in for going back to analog gauges, knobs and toggles. The back up camera are a good thing and the GPS, but the the flatscreen contols suck big time. Trying to work them is as bad as scrolling a phone while driving or worse.
Back up cameras are now needed because too many people are, let’s say, too robust, to be able to turn around and look back behind them. One good safety item I have on my Toyota Tacoma is a rear cross traffic warning. Not sure how it works, but that warning will pick up moving stuff you might not be able to see without lots of effort. It is a good thing
Buttons and switches for things so I don’t have to touchscreen everything. I don’t want turbo 4 cylinder everything. $70k cars with 4 cylinder motors does not feel premium.
For 364 days I owned a 1966 Ford Thunderbird Landau without A/C, it was built with Flow-Thru ventilation and power wind-wings along with two power windows, open the vents while driving over 15 mph and a gentle, quiet breeze flowed in the floor vents and out below the rear window, open the wing windows and the force of ram air could be amazingly refreshing!
All good posts. I miss the chrome bumpers. Looked good and could take a hit without an expensive body shop visit. My ‘64 Impala SS stopped a friend’s car rolling down a driveway no problem. Any car today would have to have new plastic and paint.
The one thing I miss is the front window wind deflectors. I used to blow mould them in their hundreds for both left and right windows. They were made from Perspex and were attached on the outside of the door frame starting at the bottom trailing edge of the vent window then up to the just under the gutter and then back to the rear of the door. They were affixed using double sided 3 M tape and were very effective in allowing fresh air into the car while not getting your head blown off. This was in South Africa back in the 70’s and only the very expensive cars had air conditioning..
I’m another one firmly in the camp of less electronics…My go-to everyday ride? My 1989 Dodge Daytona ES Turbo with T-tops… Simple enough to work on, but fast enough to be fun. I have 6 vehicles in my drive to choose from, and given the choice, the Daytona wins hands down every time… A blast on road trips, and 32 mpg makes it economical…
Reference riding kids in the front seat I used to haul both of my young daughters in a car seat strapped in the cab of my ’61 Chevy pickup. My older daughter was around 3 years old and one day I had her strapped in next to the right door instead of the middle of the cab. At about 55 mph she reaches over, pulls the door handle, opens the door, and the wind blew it closed. I told her that I hoped she had fun, because she was not riding there again. Riding in the car seat in the middle she found out that it she put her foot on the gear shift she could kick the transmission out of gear when I took my foot off the gas. When our other daughter came along and had to ride in the middle our older daughter taught her how to kick the truck out of gear. My older daughter is now 43 and she still laughs about doing it.
I would like to be able to buy a SUV with an Honest-To-Goodness top loader 4 speed stick, not one with all sorts of limp linkage !!
My wife’s car is a 2020 MB GLC 300. Its a nice car with far too much electronic stuff. I have imagined that car without all the gizmos and a manual transmission, an actual dipstick, real tires (not run flat), real leather. I am thinking the cost could easily be reduced by 15-20% and it would be a really nice car. I am impressed with the turbo 4 banger, 2 litre engine. Amazing performance and ride but too much stuff that no reasonable person needs.
The CB radio is alive and thriving at the site The Radio Garage so please check it out on you tube for all of your CB needs…. Thanks Al dude
Want analog?
As others have said, there are plenty of useable, practical 70-80s cars out there.
If you need an occasional SUV, buy a Jeep Wagoner or square body Suburban. Unlike a new Escalade or Tahoe, it won’t depreciate.
You won’t have touchscreen but it will get you to where you want ago in comfort.
I once crossed the continent with just paper maps…no, it was after Lindbergh.
If you want a theft proof car in modern cities (our state’s top crop is now vagrants) get a car with a floor starter button. Between that and a 4-speed, you’ll be safe.