Why have the following items in autos disappeared or become scarce ?
Fully channeled windows and the side vents that came with them. They don’t leak or squeak and are a bitch to break into.
High beam controls on the floor instead of integrated into the turn signal switch.
As a side question, how about a side stick controler to steer the car instead of that stupid wheel ? I suppose that there would not be enough mechanical advantage to steer in the event of a power failure but I sure would like to try one.
Are there any other items that you miss ?
A point in every direction is like no point at all
My first car was a 1967 Plymouth Valiant with three on the tree That was fun, and I did like the dimmer switch being on the floor, except for those moral delimmas that occurred when another car was approaching just as I needed to shift: dimmer switch or clutch? As I’ve lost mobility in my left leg, neither a clutch or a dimmer switch on the floor are a good idea for me now, but that car was a blast while it lasted Perfect for piling a bunch of screaming friends in it, blasting the Bon Jovi, and heading for the beach on a hot summer day. Of course, this is Oregon and the beach is usually cold and grey and shrouded in fog which dampens the mood, but the road trip was great fun
“I hope life isn’t a big joke, because I don’t get it,” Jack Handy
My Mom had a Datsun 510 back in the early '70s…the hi/lo beam switch WAS on the turn signal, but it was well-designed…flick it towards you=hi; flick it towards the dash=lo. Very fast to switch. More recent cars I’ve seen with the beam switch on the turn signal make a mess of it: you have to click it towards yourself then release it to switch it from whatever it is to the opposite setting. Not only that, but they’ve added windshield wipers and washers (even sometimes cruise control) to the thing, to the point I’m afraid to touch it lest I accidentally launch some function I hadn’t intended to.
Oblio writes:
As a side question, how about a side stick controler to steer the car instead of that stupid wheel ? I suppose that there would not be enough mechanical advantage to steer in the event of a power failure but I sure would like to try one.
–Okay, old people like me. Think early 1960’s. Didn’t Ford come out with a concept car with no steering wheel? Popular Science got a test drive. Popular Mechanics got a test drive. Then nothing.
Being a old car restorer I can guess at a few of these most of them are probably cosmetics. But boy were there a few thgat were just cool.
The frigidare cool frost system. It was a stainless steel cylinder that hooked to old 40’s cars. What you did was put ice into the cylinder and then as you drove the wind would blow into a hole at then end and channel into the car. Rode in one and man could that thing blow cold! Then freon cam along and that was it
Hood channels that drew the wind into your engine (see the hemi barracuda and early Z’s) the channels would push into the scoop and go into the engine…cooling it.
Hurst shifters. They used to be the best now its hard to find any racer with one. Personally I am looking for the one with the pull up blower engage and the flip up thumb button to unhook it. Watch beginning of road warrior and you will see it.
Edellbrok intakes sticking out of hoods
95 octane fuel (jet fuel being pumped into cars) and leaded gasoline
And the thing I miss most is…The lovely lovely sounds of a v-8 rumbling at the intersection
A great big ashtray and industrial-strength lighter for toasting roaches. At least one convenient hole in the floor for easy beer can disposal. 5-body trunk for smuggling friends into the drive-in. An engine you can tune yourself for about 50 bucks, including new plugs & wires. A real spare instead of a go-kart tire. Argh… I’m gonna be sick.
“My grampa’s old Comet had one of those knobs on the steering wheel that enabled the driver to make sharp turns one-handed.”
—Torgo
“Suicide knobs” we called 'em. And with good reason. Occasionally they would break off or slip on the steering wheel while making sharp turns one-handed.
Mine was too pretty to throw away so I installed it on the pole lamp in my living room. Went well with my lava lamp.
Peace,
mangeorge
Work like you don’t need the money…
Love like you’ve never been hurt…
Dance like nobody’s watching! Source???
They’re also called “squirrel knobs,” though I don’t know why. My sister has one because, evidentally, they’re legal as long as you’re disabled and you can prove that it really does help you steer. At least she hasn’t gotten busted yet.
“I hope life isn’t a big joke, because I don’t get it,” Jack Handy
I forgot to mention, that, besides the problem mangeorge mentioned, they’re also illegal because, if you’re in a wreck, it’s not too healthy to have one of those things imbedded in your head or body.
“I hope life isn’t a big joke, because I don’t get it,” Jack Handy
Thanks, Gr8Kat, Didn’t know about the illegal bit.
Squirrel knobs, eh. Probably because of the mentality of the people who used them by choice.
Peace,
mangeorge
When I bought my new VW Jetta, I was describing it to a friend over the phone, and I said it had a “two-cadaver trunk”. I thought I made it up, but I guess not.
Other than this remark, I can’t identify half the stuff being mentioned in this thread. It makes me feel either young or stupid-- I can’t decide which.
Or maybe you people are just old. Yeah, that’s the ticket… =B^)
{{How about the old “3 in the tree” design, where the manual shift stick (usually on pick-ups) is located on the steering wheel?
}}
The only car I’ve driven that had any kind of transmission control on the steering wheel was an automatic, but my experience with that made me sure I wouldn’t want a manual stick there. I’m so short that the cross bracing on the steering wheel totally blocked my view of the thing. Anyway, it seems like it wouldn’t be the most ideal place for a manual stick, unless the stick moved really soft… seems like you might be bracing yourself with your other arm to get torque and make your steering funny.
In my experience, once you throw out the clutch, the car wants to shift and it’s pretty easy to push the stick up into second or pull it down into third. It moves a lot smoother than an automatic transmission lever. Also, again based on personal experience, when you’re driving one ton of Detroit steel sans power steering, it takes a lot to mess up your steering.
“I hope life isn’t a big joke, because I don’t get it,” Jack Handy
My Dad had a '58 VW bug for about 30 years. Air cooled engine - we’d pass station wagons full of bummed out campers on the way to the Sierra watching their radiators leak, high beam switch on the floor, choke on the dash to get started or for that extra on-ramp kick, spare gallon flip switch when you mis-calculated and ran out of gas because the tank indicator had given out 20 years ago, reverse right next to first gear to keep your friends alert, spare kid compartment behind the rear seat. He tuned it himself with his Swiss Army knife and it ran like a dream.
My brother inherited it and that was the end of it.
Re:“Three-On-The-Tree” - The truck I have now used to have one of these. It is (was, that is,) arranged the same as if it was on the floor: on the column, close+up is rev., close+down is first, far+up is second and far+down is third. When I bought the truck used, the shifter was all worn out - Chevy didn’t even make parts for my 1982 vehicle shifter anymore. The repair shop said that they can make the parts new from scratch, but they won’t last a year in normal driving. I took their advice and had them put a floor shifter in instead.
Technically, it seemed like a good idea at the time for the manufacturers because they could put manual and automatic shifters in the same locations inside the vehicles and use the same interior pieces, but there isn’t enough room around the steering column for the manual shifter parts to be as big & strong as they should be. (The actual mechanism is on the steering column inside the engine bay, it has two connecting rods running off it towards the transmission. If a manual column shifter jams up, dump oil here.)
Automatics’ shift levers last as long as they do because they aren’t actually moved around near as much as a manual shifter is. - Slug
I should also say that I liked it better on the column because the person sitting in the middle of the front seat didn’t have to maneuver their legs around the shift lever. - MC
I had always thought suicide knobs were illegal because you could turn the car way to fast and tip it over (although on something like a forklift where lots of manuvering is neccesarry it is very nice and very needed)I never thought about it breaking off and going straight into another car (hmmm). Also I’ve heard the terms "3 in the tree) and "4 on the floor, what are the meanings of these sayings.
In some instances “Suicide knobs” are legal for handicapped people without the use of their legs. They have to steer with one hand and control gas & brake with the other. - “3-on-the-tree” is a three (forward speed, reverse ain’t counted) speed manual shifter on the column, “4-on-the-floor” is a four (forward) speed manual shifter installed on the floor. At one point most all shifters were on the column and most all transmissions were three-speed. Hot-rodders liked floor shifters because they “feel” more solid, and four-speed trans’s improve performance (over three’s). - MC
That was fun, and I did like the dimmer switch being on the floor, except for those moral delimmas that occurred when another car was approaching just as I needed to shift: dimmer switch or clutch? As I’ve lost mobility in my left leg, neither a clutch or a dimmer switch on the floor are a good idea for me now, but that car was a blast while it lasted