Today's market, of course, is substantially different from that of decades ago, and it may be impractical to try to use them today. Or, they may not pass Govrnment-regulations today. But, nevertheless, there are at least ten notable features that automakers once offered that I'd like to see on today's cars, that would help to make owning, driving, or riding in them easier.



1. Ceramic Exhaust Systems.

The ceramic-coated exhaust systems used by American Motors (AMC) in the 1960s, which were far more impervious to excessive heat, moisture, rust, and corrosion than even the best galvanized or stainless steel ones used today. They were guaranteed, in the warranty, for the life of the vehicle under its first owner. They were dropped, I believe, because of cost.




2. Built-in Child Seats.

The built-in child seats once offered in Chrysler Minivans that folded right up into the setbacks when not in use. Absolutely brilliant idea...pull the seatback out and down, set Junior in it, click the buckle, and Presto....you're good to go. The person that came up with this idea should get an award. The seats were DOT/NHTSA-approved at the time, although it is questionable if they would be today....we have had some discussion about that in previous threads.






3. Swing-Away Steering Column.

The swing-away steering column used in the early 4-seat Ford Thunderbirds, in the late 50s well into the 60s. When the driver's door was opened, it released a locking-pin in the column, and the whole column swung away to the right so that Joe Six-Pack and his big beer-belly could easily get in and out without contorting ones' self under the column. Although today's tilt/telescope-columns allow this to some extent, IMO, that older feature was even better in some ways.

My Dad's 1965 Thunderbird, which our family owned from 1968 to 1971, had this feature, and it was very nice, even for me in the relative slimness of my youth.





4. Swiveling Front Seats.

The swiveling front seats used by several different vehicle models that swung 90 degrees to the right or left to help drivers and front-passengers get in and out easier...they served some of the same function as the swing-away steering-column just above. Here, it is shown, partly-swung, on a Chrysler Imperial convertible.




5. Whitewall Tires.

I know some of you will laugh (go ahead, of it makes you feel better LOL). And, yes, they could be (and often were) a PITA to keep clean, particularly in sloppy weather or road conditions. I don't know how many SOS and Brillo sap-pads I went through keeping mine clean....but, once clean, IMO they really looked nice. As they aged, though, many of them had a tendency to form little spider-like cracks in them that made them harder to keep clean and looking nice. In general (IMO) the later, more subdued whitewalls in the 60s and 70s looked better than the overly-wide, garish ones used in the 1940s and early 1950s, which, (again, IMO) looked more worthy of a pimp than a typical car owner.




6. Underhood hold-up-springs.

I know I make a lot of comments, in my reviews, about underhood gas-struts vs. El Cheapo manual prop-rods, especially for relatively heavy hoods. And I still am of the opinion that, for many people, the gas-struts are the better of the two...but the hold-up springs that were used on most American cars decades ago (particularly on Chrysler products) were even better...they didn't wear out as often and have to be replaced like gas struts, and they had no fluids inside them to leak.




7. REAL Spare Tires.
Something else we have often-discussed in Car Chat. Yes, I know the reasons that temporary spares, donut-spares, run-flats, Fix-a-Flat air-bottles, etc......are used in most of today's on-pavement vehicles, though true spares are still sometimes found on trucks and of-road-capable and/or truck-based SUVs...it is done for reasons of cost, weight, and space-saving. But, even so, IMO, there is nothing like a REAL spare tire on a REAL spare wheel, that can be used for regular tire-rotation...it will, on average, when rotated properly, add about 20% to the tread-life of the other four tires on the vehicle....which temporary spares and run-flats won't do. Not only that, but small-diameter donut spares are very hard on some components of AWD vehicles.






8. 10-MPH-increment speedometers

I've never liked the tendency of most of today's analog and analog-style speedometers to show the readings in 20-MPH increments (20, 40, 60, etc...) instead of 10-MPH (10, 20, 30, 40, etc....). Maybe it's just me, but to my eyes, its easier to instantaneously read and comprehend the 10-MPH increments....which can be very important in and close to speed-traps and in other areas (like military bases) where the posted speed-limits are rigidly enforced. All speedometers, decades ago used to be in 10-MPH increments (for MPH speedometers, not necessarily KPH)...then the manufacturers, for some reason (still don't now why), decided the 20-increments were better. I disagree, except maybe for some exotics where the speedometer has to go up to very high readings to match the car's top speed. GM, for some time, used an unusual 5, 15, 25, 35, 45, 55, etc...speedometer back in the days of the national 55 limit, but that was done for obvious reasons....and it was still in 10-MPH increments.



9. An emergency hand crank for a stuck sunroof.

Perhaps the lack of one just reflects the better reliability of today's electric motors, but, for peace of mind, I think that the little cranks that automakers used to give you to manually crank the roof-panel closed was an excellent feature.....particularly if the sky is all of a sudden getting very dark, a Severe Thunderstorm Warning is issued, and the power-system for the roof decides to go out to lunch. Not a very pleasant scenario...particularly if you can't get the vehicle under a roof.




10. A manual override button for a stuck shift-lever.

Again, it may just reflect the better reliability of today's electronics (or just the movement away from traditional shift-levers, period). As with the emergency-sunroof-crank, auto manufacturers used to have a small button next the the shift lever that would allow it to come out of PARK if the usual means (foot on brake, ignition on, etc...), didn't work or jammed. Later, automakers replaced the release-button with a small cap that you pried off with a screwdriver-blade and pushed a small pin under it....which did the same thing and unlocked it. Then they stopped providing emergency-release mechanisms altogether.

 

Ha. Good thread marshall

What about a CD player...lots of cars are omitting them.

 

Thanks. I think that some of the people who once actually used these features would appreciate them the most.

A lot of people simply don't listen to CDs any more, but, yes, good idea.....perhaps it could be an option.

 

There's a reason for that. The last time I purchased a CD for myself was 2006, and the last time me or anyone in my household purchased one for anyone was 2009. There's just no good reason for a MY2021 car to have a CD slot taking up valuable dash space.

Our Q7 hides it in the glovebox, which is fine. It is technically present, for people who refuse to accept change but doesn't ruin the center stack for the 99.9% of people who will never even think about it. Even my 80-year-old father-in law has only ever used the CD slot in his car a couple of times to rip songs to it's "Music box"--which he doesn't actually use, instead playing Pandora from his phone.

 

The ceramic coated exhaust is a nice touch but I wonder how it fared in real world usage. Exhaust systems can rust from the outside in, and also from the inside out. That’s why I really prefer stainless.

The full size spare thing is real. My Lexus LS cars all had (and currently has) full size alloy spares which I’m thankful for. A can of fix a flat inspires no confidence whatsoever.

 

same with my g90 but impressively it's a dvd drive and i can play movies on the center screen when parked. I used it once just to see if it does in fact work.

The person i bought the used camry from left some cd's in it, barbra streisand, mario lanza, bee gees, lol...

 

yeah ours is the same. I haven't actually used it, but read the description in the manual.

 

It's up to you, but, if it was me, I'd offer to give them back.

 

This is something that you wouldn't think was so brilliant if you had kids yourself. Putting the safety issues aside, the problem is that kids are never one size for very long, and their car seats have to adapt. Kids today stay in a rear facing car seat for much longer than they did then, its recommended all the way up until they're like 4. The baby in the picture you posted would never be in a front facing carseat today. So, a built in car seat can't be rear facing. Then you go front facing with a 5 point harness, which would work with a built in, and then you go to a booster seat with the regular lap belt with a full back, and then eventually a backless booster.

In the modern era having one built in wouldn't satisfy every stage. No reason you couldn't have a built in booster seat, and I've actually seen this in some modern cars. But, you can't really use a backless booster until your kids are say...7? So limited useability of a non adaptable built in seat.

This I agree with. I dont use them in tire rotation but it is nice to have a matching spare, or at least a spare thats a real tire so you can continue your trip.

They're more and more going to be digital readouts anyways. In a couple years you wont see analog speedometers anywhere.

Pretty unlikely scenario given how reliable these power motors are now.

Every car with a traditional shift lever still has this (my LS460 does). With electronic shifters they aren't necessary because there's a computer override which shifts it out of park so it can be moved.

 

It wouldn’t hurt to at least have it as an option or on top spec trim. The slot doesn’t take up much room...and you can still have all the ports for streaming or CarPlay. CDs are still of value for some people

 

Adding a CD slot in the dash is more costly than you think. You have to design multiple bezels and multiple headunits just to have that option, which is cost prohibitive. An option in a glove box or console storage area makes more sense, but the demand just isn't there.

 

My old IS250 didn't come with Bluetooth audio so I was burning my own CD mixes until around 2014, lol. It would be nice to have a CD player in the glove box, or even a pop-up/stowable unit built into the dash of my current car, because some people (like my wife) don't store music on their phones or use any streaming services.


I too would like a full size spare wheel, but having a smaller diameter spare really doesn't bother me so much. I mean, I'm only using it to get to the tire shop after all.

 

Lets say though you were on a 350 mile road trip, and you had a flat halfway through. With a full sized spare wheel you can get where you're going and then figure out the tire shop. On a temp spare, run flat, or can of fix a flat you have to stop travelling and deal with the flat immediately. Which may mean staying in a hotel, etc if you're traveling at night.

I don't do it so much now, sometimes, but when I was younger we would leave to visit family and all at night, and arrive like 1-2:00 in the morning. If I had a flat at 11:30 and I have no full sized spare I'm hosed, can't drive another 2, 2.5 hours at 80MPH on a temp spare, run flat, or a tire held together with fix a flat. I've got to stop and stay someplace until the next morning when a service center opens.

 

I'm surprised the oft-minused MMarshall Door Ding strips wasn't on this list.

 

Quarter vent window on front doors and the VERY nice AC vent underneath the steering column that older Toyota's had