Removal of the spare tyre and mechanical handbrake was also cost saving for the manufacturer. The mechanical handbrake is better as it is separate from the rest of the vehicle systems, and can be used if the electronics are malfunctioning, or are programmed to engage the handbrake on a dead vehicle and you need to tow it.
I have a friend with no spare? Where is it? The car came with an air compressor. New one on me. Emergency brake? It's electric, how the heck is that even supposed to work. I need that cable brake for safety when hydraulics or electric goes out.
@@d3str0i3r Oh my gosh! Do you mean if somehow the power was suddenly cut (both alternator and battery) while driving, a mechanical system then trips and locks the back wheels while the vehicle could be at any rate of speed? I am a mechanic but this electric E brake on a car has baffled me thus far.
I had a Trans-Am with the fuel filler behind the license plate. It may have been dangerous, but it was nice because it didn't matter which side the gas pumps were on. My father had a car phone. It was this huge thing that went across the center hump. I think there were 11 radio channels, and you had to go through an operator. The nice thing was with the radio frequencies used, you could place a call using an operator in the Bay Area from way up in the Sierras. For many years before cell towers became ubiquitous you were often out of range. My first couple of cell phones were huge bricks that pulled out of the dock in the car, so you could use them as portable.
24:30 When you mention push-button shifting, Chrysler is always cited, but Packard introduced electric push-buttons the same year as the Chrysler mechanical system came to market, 1956. 1957-'58 Mercury and notoriously, the 1958 Edsel also used electric push-buttons, and Rambler 25:15 used mechanical buttons from 1958 through 1962.
I was so happy when fuel injection replaced the carburetor. Also when electronic ignitions replaced distributor, points, and coil wires. Having to change spark plugs evey 100,000 miles is great.
@@TheSchmed But that is every 100,000 Miles NOW back in the muscle car days it was FAR more often- For a 1971 Plymouth Road Runner, NAPA recommends replacing the spark plugs every 30,000 miles, which is similar to most manufacturer recommendations.
As a horny teenage boy, I loved bench seats! Center consoles discourage sitting close. A hand brake saved my life when the regular brakes failed. Many studies have shown that analog guages are easier to read than digital ones.
My pickup has an optimal combination of analog and digital displays. It has the usual analog displays for the few things you always want in view, and a small digital screen with selectable displays. Normally, I have MPH on the screen, because that is easier to read than the analog gauge, but other screens can show fuel economy in near real time, tire pressure, battery voltage, etc., plus alerts when necessary.
Cars with electric starters also had manual crank starters up into the 1960s. Electric starters came into their own when bigger high compression engines and twelve systems come into being.
I have two MGBs that I use as my only cars. A '64 and a '77. The changes in those thirteen years are suprising. Having said that, I still have the vent windows, floor mounted high beam switch, the center parking brake, carburetors, a choke and the full size spare.
You also have a really cool looking car. The 77's bumpers were ugly as sin but I will take those over anything made in the 21st century as far as looks...which you also get alot more of with those older rides🙂
Vent windows combined with kick panel vents helped me survive the late ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s without AC. They were very effective as long as the humidity wasn’t stifling and the vehicle was moving….if it wasn’t you were toast! It always amazes me how much less we complained about hot weather when our homes, transportation, work areas, hospitals, government buildings, entertainment, dining, and drinking facilities weren’t nearly universally maintained at our desired temperature.
Pop up head lights! I ❤ them! I owned two cars from the 1980s with them. A Honda Integra and a Eunos Roadster. I especially loved the look on the long nosed Honda Prelude. Also ❤ how they looked on 1960s and 1970s American muscle and luxury cars
My 1985 Firebird had pop up headlights. So cool. My mom’s 1970 Ford Country Squire wagon had hidden headlights. The headlight covers matched the grill. They opened up like a garage door.
I liked the manually adjustable rear view mirror on the drivers door. If someone was behind you with their high-beams on, you could grab the mirror and adjust it so it would reflect back at the driver behind you, and blind him with his own light. 😃
At least if the driver's side of your car is on the left, your "armrest" hopefully has a circle or diamond shape with arrows and a switch. This controls the mirrors these days, so the more things change, the more they stay the same, amirite? Also, 25 features and no steam engine, Constantinesco transmission, transmission panel with just 3 manually accessible gears or a clutch that's designed to tell you weather you are engaging it too fast or slow!
My family had a 1959 Austin A40 Farina that had a crank start. It DID have an electric start, too, but the hand crank was useful in case of a flat battery! Had to use it a few times...
Electronic parking brakes.... Yuck! I am happy my 2014 Mazda 6 still has a traditional handbrake lever. And I miss the time, when cars had full size spare wheels in the boot.
@@rickcole6990 Here in England we have a few fords that need to be driven through, taken to fast and electric handbrake's will 'fail safe' and lock on because of water ingress to the electrics. aaarrrggg!
Curb feelers probably were just common in north America. In Europe, especially Germany they are totally unknown. I really heard of them for the first time in this video
Headlight wipers and washers were a solution to a problem that didn't exist. However now we have a serious problem called led headlights that dont generate enough heat to melt the snow and ice that build up as you drive so maybe they might actually be useful today, or we could just go back to a lightbulb that gets hot. I had to "downgrade" my car from LED to aftermarket HID headlights because you couldn't make it 1000 feet before the headlights were completely covered in snow and absolutely useless.
I don't miss pop up headlights. I had them on my old T-Bird and they never worked right, one would always put itself in a half open position when the car wasn't running and it looked like the car was always winking. I'll take fixed position headlights any day.
I LOVED when CD's came out, I very quickly replaced my cassette player (you needed to rewind or FF to hear your favorite song!!). I noticed CD's were better in sound quality as well, without that "TAPE HISS" that would distort the music!
Electronic fuel injection started in the 1950's. Chrysler developed one using vacuum tubes and later transistors as the tubes had to have time to warm up and stabilize.
I miss the Mach 5, 5000HP, jumpers, front blades, amphibious swimming, hub blades, parachutes, wings, smoke screen, runflats, and every other impossible feature. Speed Racer sparked my 3yo imagination.
My car has an ashtray ( storage for house keys etc. ) ciggy lighters ( 12v outlets ) manual handbrake, full spare ( steel wheel ) proper gauges, CD/radio/aux/bluetooth audio, manual transmission. Apart from ABS TC & ESP, no computer taking driving out my control.
I really liked bench front seats and learnt to drive in the UK in a Vauxhall (GM) Victor which also had a three speed column gear change. I remember driving a Ford LTD Crown Victoria in the US which had a split front bench - it was fantastically comfortable!
Pop up lights were used to provide aerodynamic front. US requirements made sealed beams mandatory and pop up lights were the only way to get the aerodynamics. Relaxed light requirements allowed other light systems that provided aerodynamics.
The Isuzu Impulse was unique. The sealed beams were fixed in place, but partially obscured by the hood. When the lights were turned on, two hinged panels in the front edge of the hood over the headlights were raised out of the way of the beam.
Hood ornaments originally were part of the radiator system so you could add coolant to the radiator they were functionally necessary. Later they remaind only as a vestige piece.
The storyteller mistakens the decade where the driver could choose their own kind of music. The 60's had the 4 and then 8 track stereo players that lasted well into the 70's
One feature they've discontinued is the tenth's digit on the odometer. I want it back. When you see a distance on a road sign for an exit or business, it's almost impossi9ble to tell how close you are to the destination. Bring back tenths on the odometer.
That wasn’t smart getting rid of ash trays, now people just throw the cigarette butts out the window and cause more litter. Brilliant idea! Like “ let’s get rid of the ash trays and no one will smoke anymore “!
My 1938 Buick came with two ashtrays in the dash ,one at each outer armrest in the back , and one in the top center of the bac of the front seat. It is lacking one in the middle of the dash lol.
Smokers just need to get an accessory kit: an ash receptacle that fits the cup holder, and a lighter for the 12v receptacle, which has been retained in today's cars.
Unfortunately, some legislator's relative probably stepped on the clutch instead, and got sued for hitting another driver because they couldn't see them, so they sued the manufacturer.
Most of the pop-up headlights you show, on the Italian exotics, were put there because, as originally designed by Bertone, Pininfarina, Ghandini, etc., they had covered headlights. These were illegal in the US, but popups weren't, so they grafted them on, ruining (IMHO) the appearance.
Then again, the early Toronados, Lincoln Mk3s, 68 corvettes, and many more looked better with the flip headlights. My 86 928 and others were even christened 'sharks' because of their similarity to the ocean cruiser animal's appearance. I still miss my 928.
20 the Century? Get a real person to do the voice over. And most of the features discussed were replaced by something better so how are they gone too soon?
Automatic chokes were common even in the 1950's; I had a 1967 Catalina that I removed the choke from the carburetor completely...that 400 cubic inch engine could 22 miles per gallon on the highway. I miss dash mounted ignition switches; they were phased out when laws requiring locking steering columns went into effect..
The first car phones were actually dangerous, because they were specialized two way radios. Highway patrol cars were fitted with larger fuel tanks so State Troopers could give stranded motorists a bit of fuel to get them to the nearest gas station without having to carry separate cas cans. I read an article back in the 1970s that pointed out that a powerful radio could cause fuel tanks in cars to explode. Unfortunately the article just pointed out the danger without providing andecotal evidence. Supposedly the powerful radios in Highway Patrol cars or the car phones under the right conditions could cause the fuel tank to explode.
Oh how I miss the wing vents and the high beam switch on the floor.
\
The best part of the bench seat is that your girl could slide right up next to you.
Especially in hard right cornering.
Removal of the spare tyre and mechanical handbrake was also cost saving for the manufacturer. The mechanical handbrake is better as it is separate from the rest of the vehicle systems, and can be used if the electronics are malfunctioning, or are programmed to engage the handbrake on a dead vehicle and you need to tow it.
I have a friend with no spare? Where is it? The car came with an air compressor. New one on me. Emergency brake? It's electric, how the heck is that even supposed to work. I need that cable brake for safety when hydraulics or electric goes out.
@@Flea-Flicker same way a train's airbrakes work, the electric is used to disengage the brake, if the electric fails, the brake engages
@@d3str0i3r Oh my gosh! Do you mean if somehow the power was suddenly cut (both alternator and battery) while driving, a mechanical system then trips and locks the back wheels while the vehicle could be at any rate of speed? I am a mechanic but this electric E brake on a car has baffled me thus far.
I would love it if they brought back wingwindows.
I had a Trans-Am with the fuel filler behind the license plate. It may have been dangerous, but it was nice because it didn't matter which side the gas pumps were on. My father had a car phone. It was this huge thing that went across the center hump. I think there were 11 radio channels, and you had to go through an operator. The nice thing was with the radio frequencies used, you could place a call using an operator in the Bay Area from way up in the Sierras. For many years before cell towers became ubiquitous you were often out of range. My first couple of cell phones were huge bricks that pulled out of the dock in the car, so you could use them as portable.
24:30 When you mention push-button shifting, Chrysler is always cited, but Packard introduced electric push-buttons the same year as the Chrysler mechanical system came to market, 1956. 1957-'58 Mercury and notoriously, the 1958 Edsel also used electric push-buttons, and Rambler 25:15 used mechanical buttons from 1958 through 1962.
I was so happy when fuel injection replaced the carburetor. Also when electronic ignitions replaced distributor, points, and coil wires. Having to change spark plugs evey 100,000 miles is great.
Chrysler/Plymouth were the FIRST to introduce Electronic Ignition in 1973, it was a BIG change in terms of technology!
@@TheSpritz0 I think also the electronic voltage regulator.
@@UQRXD YES basically anything that became transistorized in cars helped, even radios! My father remembers when radios had TUBES...
Well, except most engines now need to have the upper end taken apart to change spark plugs, 3.6 PentaStar anyone ?
@@TheSchmed But that is every 100,000 Miles NOW back in the muscle car days it was FAR more often- For a 1971 Plymouth Road Runner, NAPA recommends replacing the spark plugs every 30,000 miles, which is similar to most manufacturer recommendations.
As a horny teenage boy, I loved bench seats! Center consoles discourage sitting close. A hand brake saved my life when the regular brakes failed. Many studies have shown that analog guages are easier to read than digital ones.
Were I grew up, bucket seats were referred to as birth control seats 😂
A lot of Digital displays remind me of a Video game
My pickup has an optimal combination of analog and digital displays. It has the usual analog displays for the few things you always want in view, and a small digital screen with selectable displays. Normally, I have MPH on the screen, because that is easier to read than the analog gauge, but other screens can show fuel economy in near real time, tire pressure, battery voltage, etc., plus alerts when necessary.
Shocks me how early some of these features were released
at least make the buckets bigger like they were in the 60's
fuel inlet behind rear numberplate was a good idea. Parking your car on the left or the right side didn't matter.
I love the hood ornaments, I had one on my 1977 Monte Carlo
I remember when kids loved hood ornaments so much that they would steal them and make necklaces with them. 😮
@glennso47 rotten, mean kids who should be locked up and fined $$$
Had a hood ornament on our 85 Olds Calais..
Cars with electric starters also had manual crank starters up into the 1960s. Electric starters came into their own when bigger high compression engines and twelve systems come into being.
Kinda liked the headlight wipers ideas. Just wish they could get windshield wipers right.
I have two MGBs that I use as my only cars. A '64 and a '77. The changes in those thirteen years are suprising. Having said that, I still have the vent windows, floor mounted high beam switch, the center parking brake, carburetors, a choke and the full size spare.
77 mgb roadster 4 speed manual with the ugly huge black bumper??
You also have a really cool looking car. The 77's bumpers were ugly as sin but I will take those over anything made in the 21st century as far as looks...which you also get alot more of with those older rides🙂
I really miss the vent windows, they were cool 😎 (pardon the pun)
properly adjusted, they helped defog the windshield
Vent windows combined with kick panel vents helped me survive the late ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s without AC. They were very effective as long as the humidity wasn’t stifling and the vehicle was moving….if it wasn’t you were toast! It always amazes me how much less we complained about hot weather when our homes, transportation, work areas, hospitals, government buildings, entertainment, dining, and drinking facilities weren’t nearly universally maintained at our desired temperature.
Pun accepted
Problem is, usually resulted in my dads hot cigarette ash landing on my lap.
Does anyone remember how we used to make out on the front couch seat? Bucket seats made that a lot more difficult 😅!
I thought the tail fins were awesome and gave style to the vehicle
I would still rather have the dimmer switch on the floor. Also radio volume buttons use to be on the floor in some upscale cars.
Pop up head lights! I ❤ them! I owned two cars from the 1980s with them. A Honda Integra and a Eunos Roadster. I especially loved the look on the long nosed Honda Prelude. Also ❤ how they looked on 1960s and 1970s American muscle and luxury cars
My 1992 3000GT SL had pop up headlights. I loved them! Never had a problem with them either, always worked.
My 1985 Firebird had pop up headlights. So cool.
My mom’s 1970 Ford Country Squire wagon had hidden headlights. The headlight covers matched the grill. They opened up like a garage door.
Ash trays and lighters have been replaced with Power plugs and "candy dishes" lol
Cup holders
@@johnp139 For small bottom cups, lol
@@patriot9455 EXACTLY, right?
I have a 2003 Chevy Trailblazer which has a stereo which can play CDs or cassettes!
I liked the manually adjustable rear view mirror on the drivers door. If someone was behind you with their high-beams on, you could grab the mirror and adjust it so it would reflect back at the driver behind you, and blind him with his own light. 😃
At least if the driver's side of your car is on the left, your "armrest" hopefully has a circle or diamond shape with arrows and a switch. This controls the mirrors these days, so the more things change, the more they stay the same, amirite? Also, 25 features and no steam engine, Constantinesco transmission, transmission panel with just 3 manually accessible gears or a clutch that's designed to tell you weather you are engaging it too fast or slow!
That is easily done with the power mirrors.
You can do that with the mirror over the center of the dash.
My family had a 1959 Austin A40 Farina that had a crank start. It DID have an electric start, too, but the hand crank was useful in case of a flat battery! Had to use it a few times...
My 1966 Sunbeam Imp has a hole in the bumper for a crank.
@PatrickBrannonSr. Given the build quality at Linwood, it'd be certain to need it at some point...!
Electronic parking brakes.... Yuck! I am happy my 2014 Mazda 6 still has a traditional handbrake lever. And I miss the time, when cars had full size spare wheels in the boot.
I can't find a sole that cares for the electronic brake system! I wouldn't trust em
2024 Hyundai Tucson has push button shift.
@@rickcole6990 Here in England we have a few fords that need to be driven through, taken to fast and electric handbrake's will 'fail safe' and lock on because of water ingress to the electrics. aaarrrggg!
Hand cranking a Lada was in cold conditions a necessity, nothing weird about that.
Right!
Style and character!!!
Curb feelers probably were just common in north America. In Europe, especially Germany they are totally unknown. I really heard of them for the first time in this video
Also worse than useless in snow climates
Headlight wipers and washers were a solution to a problem that didn't exist. However now we have a serious problem called led headlights that dont generate enough heat to melt the snow and ice that build up as you drive so maybe they might actually be useful today, or we could just go back to a lightbulb that gets hot. I had to "downgrade" my car from LED to aftermarket HID headlights because you couldn't make it 1000 feet before the headlights were completely covered in snow and absolutely useless.
I don't miss pop up headlights. I had them on my old T-Bird and they never worked right, one would always put itself in a half open position when the car wasn't running and it looked like the car was always winking. I'll take fixed position headlights any day.
AGREED!! I had to pay an exorbitant amount to get my 1982 Firebird pop-up headlight fixed, I would NEVER have them again- they were UNRELIABLE!!
My Cougar had a foot operated windshield. Basically a foot pump. You could vary where it hit on the windshield by varying the pressure
I LOVED when CD's came out, I very quickly replaced my cassette player (you needed to rewind or FF to hear your favorite song!!). I noticed CD's were better in sound quality as well, without that "TAPE HISS" that would distort the music!
My 2018 2 Series has a gear stick, manual hand brake, and analog instruments.
Electronic fuel injection started in the 1950's. Chrysler developed one using vacuum tubes and later transistors as the tubes had to have time to warm up and stabilize.
I miss the Mach 5, 5000HP, jumpers, front blades, amphibious swimming, hub blades, parachutes, wings, smoke screen, runflats, and every other impossible feature. Speed Racer sparked my 3yo imagination.
I❤ when electronic ignition replace carburetors. More efficient in fuel economy and power etc
I would like to see an electronic ignition replace a carburetor, I really don’t think it could!
Fuel injection was in Mercs in the 1950s!
My car has an ashtray ( storage for house keys etc. ) ciggy lighters ( 12v outlets ) manual handbrake, full spare ( steel wheel ) proper gauges, CD/radio/aux/bluetooth audio, manual transmission. Apart from ABS TC & ESP, no computer taking driving out my control.
My MGA 1500 had a hand cranked starter. When it kicked back you knew it.
I really liked bench front seats and learnt to drive in the UK in a Vauxhall (GM) Victor which also had a three speed column gear change. I remember driving a Ford LTD Crown Victoria in the US which had a split front bench - it was fantastically comfortable!
Fender mirror. I had a late 90s Honda with it.
Push buttons shifters are back, on the steering wheel column, now that shifting is electronic.
Please bring back the pop-up headlights.
Pop up lights were used to provide aerodynamic front. US requirements made sealed beams mandatory and pop up lights were the only way to get the aerodynamics. Relaxed light requirements allowed other light systems that provided aerodynamics.
The Isuzu Impulse was unique. The sealed beams were fixed in place, but partially obscured by the hood. When the lights were turned on, two hinged panels in the front edge of the hood over the headlights were raised out of the way of the beam.
Hood ornaments originally were part of the radiator system so you could add coolant to the radiator they were functionally necessary. Later they remaind only as a vestige piece.
My dad still has a trash bag that was mad to fit over the knob of those lighters. Our cars has ones still so we use the bag.
Interesting 🧐😃
I remember crank starting a Land Rover
Land Rover, Morris Minor, Renault Floride and Sunbeam Rapier in my case.
The storyteller mistakens the decade where the driver could choose their own kind of music. The 60's had the 4 and then 8 track stereo players that lasted well into the 70's
Oh, the joys of an ashtray fire on the interstate :D
Although it had electric starting, in 1942, our 1942 Plymouth had a crank and the ability to start it manually if the occasion should arise.
I’ve seen a few of these type of videos and none mention the trans am when mentioning the T-top.
Bench seats were wonderful, your girlfriend could rest her head in your lap when you were driving, and she was tired.
Better for a date at the drive-in movie, too.
Someone should launch a "flirty vehicle" rental service to haul love birds around like in old movies.
Nice i one a toyota celica ta23 from 1977 and it hase a sony cassette player now
They just don't make them anymore. the old ones are the best
MCGA..Bring back curb feelers.
One feature they've discontinued is the tenth's digit on the odometer. I want it back. When you see a distance on a road sign for an exit or business, it's almost impossi9ble to tell how close you are to the destination. Bring back tenths on the odometer.
That wasn’t smart getting rid of ash trays, now people just throw the cigarette butts out the window and cause more litter. Brilliant idea! Like “ let’s get rid of the ash trays and no one will smoke anymore “!
My 1938 Buick came with two ashtrays in the dash ,one at each outer armrest in the back , and one in the top center of the bac of the front seat. It is lacking one in the middle of the dash lol.
@@PatrickBrannonSr. my 1978 Lincoln has 3 ashtrays and each one has a cigarette lighter
Smokers just need to get an accessory kit: an ash receptacle that fits the cup holder, and a lighter for the 12v receptacle, which has been retained in today's cars.
"Increased functionality" of digital? Oh? Try increased profit margins for car companies.
Oh man, don't get me started
18:31 - The best place for seat belts ever.
Function isn’t everything. There’s a LOT to be said about ascetics. Something modern cars LACK!!!!!!
You must mean aesthetics.
Funny because on most American and Canadian city buses the dimmer switch is still on the floor
Buses have a lot more room on the floor for the switch, unlike modern cars.
Very true
My 1958 morris 1,000 that I owned in the 60s hit a pothole and fell to bit's.
The dimmer switch should of stayed on floor.
On the column they're easier to reach and you can flash them by hand faster.
Unfortunately, some legislator's relative probably stepped on the clutch instead, and got sued for hitting another driver because they couldn't see them, so they sued the manufacturer.
The issue with the floor switch, is the cars are so much smaller, there is no room on the floor anymore.
Most of the pop-up headlights you show, on the Italian exotics, were put there because, as originally designed by Bertone, Pininfarina, Ghandini, etc., they had covered headlights. These were illegal in the US, but popups weren't, so they grafted them on, ruining (IMHO) the appearance.
Then again, the early Toronados, Lincoln Mk3s, 68 corvettes, and many more looked better with the flip headlights. My 86 928 and others were even christened 'sharks' because of their similarity to the ocean cruiser animal's appearance. I still miss my 928.
@@d.e.b.b5788 - I agree that if the car was styled from the outset with popups, then yes, they look cleaner...until the lights pop up.
Cheaper is the reason for most of these
I have a 2002 Ford F-150 with a cigarette lighter in
@005 Ford E250 van has the lighter and an ashtray.
Bench seats.....Aussie still had cars in the 1990s. Japan still had cars in the 2010s
20 the Century? Get a real person to do the voice over. And most of the features discussed were replaced by something better so how are they gone too soon?
Automatic chokes were common even in the 1950's; I had a 1967 Catalina that I removed the choke from the carburetor completely...that 400 cubic inch engine could 22 miles per gallon on the highway.
I miss dash mounted ignition switches; they were phased out when laws requiring locking steering columns went into effect..
The first car phones were actually dangerous, because they were specialized two way radios. Highway patrol cars were fitted with larger fuel tanks so State Troopers could give stranded motorists a bit of fuel to get them to the nearest gas station without having to carry separate cas cans.
I read an article back in the 1970s that pointed out that a powerful radio could cause fuel tanks in cars to explode.
Unfortunately the article just pointed out the danger without providing andecotal evidence. Supposedly the powerful radios in Highway Patrol cars or the car phones under the right conditions could cause the fuel tank to explode.
AKA LOSS OF FREEDOM
Think about. Your mam hand crank starting a v16 ohv 30s Cadillac with that accesory handle 🫣🤐
Column shifters! I had a early 90s Nissan witth one and a late 90s Honda with one.