I had them on a '59 Volkswagon Beetle I owned in Germany when I was in the service. That was in '68. They didn't work anymore, so my turn signal was my left arm!
Posted on 05/12/2015 8:37:20 PM PDT by DemforBush
The automotive industry has seen many changes over the years. Some once commonplace features in cars are now relics of the an almost forgotten past. Some less expensive cars sold today may offer some of these on their base models, it is becoming more and more difficult to find these features. So you wish any of these were still around...?
(Excerpt) Read more at odometer.com ...
I have a truck with a clock. Even has the second hand. Runs the battery down even when it is off.
I LOVED THOSE THINGS
The car I drove in college was a 1954 Plymouth Savoy, a big round green car. Everyone called it “Watermelon” I loved that car and it had all of the things that are now missing on new cars. But would I trade my dashboard GPS on my new VW for all the old things...
Yes. As do doctors.
Once the crank kicked you could say hello to an instant radial/ulnar break.
There's even a name for it; a "chauffeur's fracture".
suicide knob? They were GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!
What about bench seats in front?
How about gas cap under the license plate?
My car didn’t have AC, neither did our house. Built in 1880s it had no AC and no heat. I was told that the kitchen was added on many years after the house was built.
Our 1996 Caddy has bench seat in front.
I had them on a '59 Volkswagon Beetle I owned in Germany when I was in the service. That was in '68. They didn't work anymore, so my turn signal was my left arm!
I lost my virginity (thank you Cheryl) on the bench seat of a 54 Ford.
Butterfly windows were great for smokers.
Crank windows didn’t break, costing big bucks to repair. And you could control them to millimeter accuracy.
Some of them barely have cupholders anymore.
Now you can get another watermelon car and use your smart phone GPS.
I just remembered the windshield or dasboard compasses that guys would put in their cars and some were factory options.
How about the gas cap behind the left taillight in the '56 Chevy Bel Air? That was odd.
1. Wing vent windows. Nothing like it when you opened them all the way and the air gushed into the car.
2. Fender skirts on Dad’s ‘66 Bonneville
3. Holley four barrel carb with the accelerator pump dumping a huge slug of fuel when you mashed the go pedal
4. Floor vents. Even bigger volumes of air pouring through the car.
5. Sticky vinyl seats on hot summer days.
6. Four doors without a pillar between front and rear windows — the whole side of the car was open!
7. Mechanical buttons on the radio that gave a satisfying mechanical “ka-chunk” when you pushed them.
8. Headlight dimmer switches on the floor — you never had to take your hands off the wheel when beaming up or down.
9. A trunk the size of Yankee Stadium.
10. Simple heater controls that man-size hands could grab and operate, even in a bouncing car. You didn’t have the tip of your index finger bouncing up and down trying to jab a dancing pinhead button.
11. Two speakers! One in the dash and one in the rear deck. That was heaven — getting a “fade” button to control sound front-to-rear.
12. AM only radio. Who needs FM?
13. Drum brakes front and rear fading on long downhill runs out of the Rocky Mountains. Nothing like glazed linings to scare the bejesus out of you.
14. No radiator water overflow reservoirs so your overheated car can dump boiling coolant on the ground. Who needed that extra fluid, anyway?
15. Vinyl tops. Those were cool!
16. Bench seats so your sweetie could sidle right over to be next to you.
Wow, I could go on and on. I’ll end here.
My car still has a radio controllable by dials.
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