[968Syncro]

Here is an article from Auto Club magazine. Auto features which were once common and now are going away.

• Ashtrays and lighters (I couldn't stand driving in our VW beetle while my Dad was smoking).
• Bench Seats (huh? Then how do I then look like a real man without my babe sitting in the middle of the bench?)
• Mechanical door locks (fine, as long as the replacements aren't vacuum!)
• Manually adjustable outside mirrors (one more thing to break all the time).
• Drum brakes (probably because they just don't look cool behind custom wheels).
• Hubcaps (Then what parts can I steal in the parking lot?)
• Full size spare tire (I thought those were for rear end crash protection?)
• CD Players (Oh, then how do I play my 70's cassettes in the car?)
• Fabric convertible tops (Fine, as long as they keep the soft plastic window that yellows in 2 years.).
• Manual transmissions (Signs are good that modern trans can shift as well as manual).

   

PS: True story. My Dad always got a car with a radio that was manual dial for stations. He always refused the push button radio, since he figured it was one more thing that will break, it cost extra, and my parents basically only listened to one station (classical music). Then later, when all the cars were delivered with push-button radios, eventually they wanted to charge extra to remove the push-button and install a manual dial radio and as a result the manual dial was more expensive. That was when we finally scored our first push button radio!.

Roland

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[stewhatch]

Anyone remember the hi-lo-beam switch in the footwell? You hit it on / off with your left foot.

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[kwikt]

LOL, they also had a tendency to short out and catch the real carpet on fire!

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[Scott Collins]

My '68 Mercury had the footwell hi/low beams switch. I loved it because I did not have to take my hands off the wheel to slip it.

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[rxter]

And don't forget pop-up headlights...

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[Lear35A]

Early windshield washer fluid systems used to be pressurized by a floor button too.

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[SHA-JR968]

I agree on most of the mentioned features will disappear in the near future.

But I think that the fabric convertible top will stay and even is going to regain market shares.

The foldable hardtop might be very practical but the fabric looks much better.

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[craigawoodman]

Horses for courses.

Where we live, I need a full size spare tyre. There is no point having run flats, when no tyre shop has them in stock, nor has the equipment or training to change them. When it is 450km between towns - having a spare that is good for 80km of travel is not a smart idea. (Got to love Australia and how empty it is).

There was an article on fabric convertables versus metal folding roofs over her recently. Name a very good convertable. Most have a fabric roof - it is lighter, cheaper to manufacture and takes up less space in the boot. I just bought my wife an Audi A5 convertable - at least you can still use the boot with the roof down. It is a very good car.

Manual transmissions - define a manual transmission. A lot of the modern transmissions are manual transmissions which are operated through a computer system. So do you have a manual transmission or an auto. If it does not have a torque converter - it is technically a manual. PDK or VW's DSG is manual - it simply has two clutches that are computer controlled. Maserati's auot transmission is a computer controlled manual. A computer controlled manual will have better fuel efficiency through less losses from the torque converter.

How about chrome bumpers, cable operated speedo's, vehicle wiring (it is all going to a computer bus), window winders, distributors (individual coil ignition), globes for lights, carburettors, home servicing (how do you get the plastic bits off), etc.

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[jeff968]

"Full size spare tire (I thought those were for rear end crash protection?"

Not for all, if you looked in the trunk of my new Audi A4 you would find a matching 18" 5 arm Audi wheel with a mich. pilot mounted to it.

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[94SilverCab]

My '83 Rx-7 had a manual choke.

Jay

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[rhudeboye]

bench seats [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img]

I agree that all on the list are either on the way out or already gone. I do take issue with Manual trans and a full size spare though. These are mistakes on the auto makers part.

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[kwikt]

Hold on guys!!!!! How about a manual 3 on the tree shifter. I had this on my 70 Chevelle with a 307.

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[Ryan]

How about the windshield washer fluid pressurized by the air from the spare tire as on my 914. If you washed the windshield a lot you had a flat spare.

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[DaveN]

I miss the gas heater next to the gas tank in the bug all disguised as an impact zone [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif[/img]

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[968kid]

Movable front vent windows which would either rotate or go up or down. The ones which rotated could be turned all the way around so on a summer day you could drive and get a full blast of air( albeit hot) on your chest and face

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[rxter]

Those little vent windows were great for those of us who puffed the odd cig.

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[Langley968]

I remember with fondness the Mercury Monterey my Dad had with the rear window slanted forward, which would drop down into the truck area. Us kids would kneel on the bench and hang out the back window, all without seatbelts - and we survived! [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif[/img]
http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~stanchfi/mycarback.jpg
http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~stanchfi/my-1.gif

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[Scott Collins]

+1 on the wing windows. I would like to have them on my 968 coupel Sometimes on the highway, stones and road junk can nail you because the window extends so far forward.

Also, +1 on the full sized spare.

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