Harry P. Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 Before the government began to tell the auto designers what they can and cannot do, that is. Can you imagine a car with a feature like this coming out today? Man, the ambulance chasers would have a field day!
Danno Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 Indeed! And no mandatory backup video cameras, either!
chunkypeanutbutter Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 You focused on the road more back then. Power steering and power brakes were luxury options, and there were giant helmet points in the steering wheels - you didn't want to crash, or that was going right into your chest!
Harry P. Posted March 30, 2016 Author Posted March 30, 2016 Indeed! And no mandatory backup video cameras, either! Right! Back then a driver was actually expected to turn around and look where he was going when backing up! My God, what a ridiculous expectation!
Eshaver Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 Harry, YOU ignited a political "Firestorm " here and I will NOT take the bait as any comment I make will be deemed "Political " . if you want to know my stance , look me up on Face Book .
MrObsessive Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 I was talking about this very thing to a young coworker the other day. How cars once upon a time did not have to bow down to the aerodynamic gods that cause their shapes to be so similar. Especially the windshields.Unfortunately, I don't know how or if we can put that Genie back in the bottle. I see a lot of designs out there as a symptom of society-------we've become too politically correct, and car designs reflect that IMO. We can't be too "offensive" lest we hurt someone's feelings............same goes for the way too many vanilla shapes plaguing the roads today.
Ramfins59 Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 Those were the days when cars actually had style and were not little rolling eggs like we have today.
Ace-Garageguy Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 People then were obviously smart enough to avoid pointy things attached to two-ton vehicles coming towards them. Further proof of the devolution of human intelligence.
CometMan Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 An 18ft. long, 6ft. wide steel box that weighed 2-3 tons was the only "safety device" you needed back then!
Harry P. Posted March 30, 2016 Author Posted March 30, 2016 Harry, YOU ignited a political "Firestorm " here and I will NOT take the bait as any comment I make will be deemed "Political " . if you want to know my stance , look me up on Face Book . Sorry, Ellen... didn't mean to stir up any political firestorm... But you have to admit, as a society, in some ways, were were smarter in the 1950s than we are today.
Deathgoblin Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 Although, as soon as someone mandates self-driving cars as standard will be the last time I buy one.
Craig Irwin Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 (edited) Two comments, first there were only about a quarter of the cars on the road back then as there are today, and have you ever tried to look over your shoulder and back up a new car? With the wide pillars, headrests on all seats, high deck lids and belts hanging everywhere you can't see, the back up cameras are a must. I'll drive my old ones as long as I can. Edited March 30, 2016 by Craig Irwin
MrBuick Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 I was certainly born in the wrong generation. There are very very few modern cars I like. Sure, many of them are mechanical and technical marvels, but they're all a bunch of silver blobs driving around. Even the modern cars with "style" don't touch cars from the 40's-60's.
1972coronet Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 Two comments, first there were only about a quarter of the cars on the road back then as there are today, and have you ever tried to look over your shoulder and back up a new car? With the wide pillars, headrests on all seats, high deck lids and belts hanging everywhere you can't see, the back up cameras are a must. I'll drive my old ones as long as I can....not to mention the radically-angled backlights ! My daily driver is a 2013 Civic Coupe (which I absolutely love , btw) . Its view out-through the backlight --when backing-up-- is marginal at best ; as you've pointed out : headrests and other gimmicks . I look not only at the Back-Up Camera , but also over my shoulders as far as I can crane my neck . Never had a problem ! Heck , check out the backlight angle on the '71-'73 Mustang Sportroof , '70-'76 Duster , '71-'72 Demon , and '73-'76 Dart Sport ; not as bad as the Sportroof 'Stang , but definitely right up there !Some mandates were "necessary" . For an instance : Anti-Glare Interior Parts ( i.e. , bright instrument panels , steering wheel horn rings / hubs , window cranks , A-Pillar mouldings , various dials and switches ) . I believe that 1966 was the last model year for gobs of brightwork in interiors . Shoulder restraints were another necessary item , imo . Lap-only restraints SUCK . 1968 model year mandated shoulder restraints .How about the exhaust tip on the 273 HP V8's ( 1965-1967 Barracuda and Dart ) ? Talk about shin slicers !Aerodynamics came into play by c.1979 when then-President Carter signed "C.A.F.E." Standards into legislation .
High octane Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 I still drive an old car during the summer months and I love it. Yes, I do have to LOOK where I'm going and I don't have 50 knobs and buttons on my dashboard either. I can even work on the engine if I choose to just like I did in the 60's & 70's.
1972coronet Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 Although, as soon as someone mandates self-driving cars as standard will be the last time I buy one.Those things worry me a bunch . To me --and many others-- operating a motor vehicle is a true skill . Am I a perfect driver ? No ! How-ever , I am cognisant of my surroundings , either as far ahead as I can see , as far-back as I can see , and even how far-off to my left and right that I can see (i.e. , checking underpasses for potential emergency vehicles that may enter the highway , etc.) . To me , those [explaitive] self-driving vehicles should be reserved only for the brain-dead masses ! Let those of us whom respect the machinery and our fellow [gag] drivers keep driving / operating real vehicles !
angelo7 Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 Although, as soon as someone mandates self-driving cars as standard will be the last time I buy one.Compared to the way most people drive now, maybe those self-driving cars will make our roads safer.
Harry P. Posted March 30, 2016 Author Posted March 30, 2016 I would have no problem with self-driving cars on the road... as long as driver-driven cars aren't outlawed!
Ace-Garageguy Posted March 30, 2016 Posted March 30, 2016 I would have no problem with self-driving cars on the road... ...because everyone knows that computers are 100% reliable, never ever malfunction, GPS always works perfectly, and mobile information-management systems are perfectly secure and totally invulnerable to malicious or criminal hacking. ... as long as driver-driven cars aren't outlawed! Yeah, so you can get yourself out of the way of an oncoming bus that's running Microsoft-based self-drive systems, built in China, to the lowest bid.
Harry P. Posted March 30, 2016 Author Posted March 30, 2016 Given the quality of drivers I see on the road every day, a self-driving car would be an upgrade.
unclescott58 Posted March 31, 2016 Posted March 31, 2016 In your first post here above Harry, you mentioned ambulance chasers. And right above that mention, is the picture of a '59 Cadillac fin. Which I find ironic that back in the day a lot ambulances were based on Cadillacs with those exact fins!Overall I hate the new products that are designed to protect us from ourselves. Actually protect the stupid from themselves. I want my tail fins, lawn darts, etc. back. I don't need an airbags. I learned to buckle my seat belt back in the 60's. At the same time, I don't want anybody telling me I have wear a seat belt. I'm smart enough to figure this stuff out for myself. I know not to throw lawn darts straight up in the air or at other people. I know a hot stove will burn me. I'm tired of being treated like a idiot. Let the idiots out there get what they deserve. Don't take my fun or freedom away from me.
MrBuick Posted March 31, 2016 Posted March 31, 2016 In your first post here above Harry, you mentioned ambulance chasers. And right above that mention, is the picture of a '59 Cadillac fin. Which I find ironic that back in the day a lot ambulances were based on Cadillacs with those exact fins!Overall I hate the new products that are designed to protect us from ourselves. Actually protect the stupid from themselves. I want my tail fins, lawn darts, etc. back. I don't need an airbags. I learned to buckle my seat belt back in the 60's. At the same time, I don't want anybody telling me I have wear a seat belt. I'm smart enough to figure this stuff out for myself. I know not to throw lawn darts straight up in the air or at other people. I know a hot stove will burn me. I'm tired of being treated like a idiot. Let the idiots out there get what they deserve. Don't take my fun or freedom away from me.Yet we unfortunately live in this timehttp://cdn.smosh.com/sites/default/files/legacy.images/smosh-pit/062011/warning-fails-4.jpg
talon63 Posted March 31, 2016 Posted March 31, 2016 (edited) I would have no problem with self-driving cars on the road... as long as driver-driven cars aren't outlawed! Those things worry me a bunch . To me --and many others-- operating a motor vehicle is a true skill . Am I a perfect driver ? No ! How-ever , I am cognisant of my surroundings , either as far ahead as I can see , as far-back as I can see , and even how far-off to my left and right that I can see (i.e. , checking underpasses for potential emergency vehicles that may enter the highway , etc.) . To me , those [explaitive] self-driving vehicles should be reserved only for the brain-dead masses ! Let those of us whom respect the machinery and our fellow [gag] drivers keep driving / operating real vehicles !Ditto and Ditto. When I hit driving age, I wasn't allowed to begin operating a car until I could perform basic roadside repairs. My solution? First car came out of a junk yard, and in the months leading up to my age to get a learners, I turned a 60 Bel Air into a road worthy machine. Power steering, no power brakes. No seat belts, they were still an option in 1960. No AC. Big STEEL, unpadded dash with all sorts of equally hard or sharp bits sticking out. 283 with a two-speed. Then I learned to drive in it. Every kind of weather, day and night. Over the years I've owned mostly manual shift convertibles. I like cars that make you interact with the actual driving. I was fortunate enough to have an instructor that didn't teach me how to drive. He taught me how control an automobile, and how to regain control when it all goes sideways. It has paid off several times, when those learned skills kicked in during situations that could have resulted in serious damage to the car or even myself. Very little beats the feeling of being one with the machine.A fully automatic, climate-controlled, entertainment center on wheels provides too much distraction to today's attention deficit driver. Make it self-driving, and may as well just be forced into using mass transit. Edited March 31, 2016 by talon63
unclescott58 Posted March 31, 2016 Posted March 31, 2016 Yet we unfortunately live in this timehttp://cdn.smosh.com/sites/default/files/legacy.images/smosh-pit/062011/warning-fails-4.jpgDo I have to?
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