What are things that has faded away on modern cars and trucks..

[Little Timmy]

Actual bumpers.

Now if you just tap the plastic bumpers they shatter and cost $600 to replace.

I sure miss my old Cadillac,  ...you could hit a train and still drive away.

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

Rational design and engineering, simplicity, serviceability, ease of repairability, quality materials...all interrelated.

KISS is dead.

And yes, I can defend my opinions because I've been hands-on in the car business off-and-on for over 50 years, under hoods and in body shops.

Some of the stupid beggars belief, but if you don't get under the skins of the mo-gooder-rolling-living-room-disposable-status-symbol-appliances, you'd probably think all the insane complication and ridiculous bells and whistles are just dandy excellent greatness.

Ignorance is bliss.

Edited June 3, 2023 by Ace-Garageguy

[RSchnell]

4 hours ago, Dave Van said:

There is a Hudson, I forget what year has a normal vent window that opens but you can roll it down too giving a 'modern' all open window.....WAY ahead of it's time!! 

Chrsyler was doing that in the '30s and I think some GM designs did as well. 

[JollySipper]

That new car smell.............

[Greg_W124]

What I miss, is that the front of the cars were more or less visible. And the sight out of the driver's seat without the thick pillars, ascending beltlines & Co.

[Lunajammer]

[tbill]

3 minutes ago, Lunajammer said:

Anti theft device now a days….

[BlackSheep214]

47 minutes ago, JollySipper said:

That new car smell.............

Amen to that. Until the farts ruin it all. LOL!

[BlackSheep214]

[Ace-Garageguy]

2 minutes ago, BlackSheep214 said:

Amen to that. Until the farts ruin it all. LOL!

Yeah, and they're everywhere. Old and young alike.

[Calb56]

23 minutes ago, Lunajammer said:

Today's anti-theft device. 

[62SY4]

20 minutes ago, BlackSheep214 said:

That’s where the had operated, air cooled, ratcheting chrome peeler attaches! 

Before these appeared, you just had bumper twisters….

[Calb56]

38 minutes ago, tbill said:

Anti theft device now a days….

Okay, I'm redundant...

[stitchdup]

good quality citroens, peugeots and renaults. Now they are poorly designed with critical components in the most exposed places, eg. most renaults have the computer positioned where any road grime or salt just rest on top of the connections or having to remove body panels just to swap a light bulb making what used to be a 5 minute job take over 6 hours.

also, bright colours. grey, black, white and silver are dull depressing colours, especially when they are all you see day in and day out. Some days the only colourfulvehicles i see are the post mans vans. bring back colours!!

[1972coronet]

Basic interiors in WORK vehicles; rubber mats, vinyl seats, climate controls (analogue), and radio (analogue). 

Another mention of ashtrays and lighters (yes, I'm one of those horrible people who still enjoys tobacco !).

Basically, options ! 

Maybe a heavy duty cloth seat with rubber mats (think: F-Series 'Custom' and or 'XL' trim levels); A/C without the Mr. Wizard bollocks. Power windows with manual locks. Tilt wheel without cruise control. Cruise control without the "convenience" package. 

I hate feeling like I'm starting a Lear Jet just to go to the market !

[Ace-Garageguy]

25 minutes ago, 1972coronet said:

Basic interiors in WORK vehicles; rubber mats, vinyl seats, climate controls (analogue), and radio (analogue). 

Well, see...nobody native-born actually works in the US anymore.

All the new pickups are bought by soft-hands can't-change-a-lightbulb yups trying to look macho. The real work trucks are aging out of the fleet, and are all on their tenth owners by now (still running, because they were built like...wait for it...trucks).

AN ASIDE: ALL the electronic gizmology in my '89 GMC is now toast. EFI died, radio died, HVAC controls died...but all the hard mechanical stuff still works fine, so I've retrofitted all the dead electronics with...GASP...old-school switches and a carburettor.

And try actually working out of one of the ridiculous mile-high modern pickups. It's one royal PITA unless you're 8 feet tall.

25 minutes ago, 1972coronet said:

Another mention of ashtrays and lighters (yes, I'm one of those horrible people who still enjoys tobacco !).

OMG!!! OMG!!! OMG!!! I'm gunna hafta put you on ignore sos I don get no seconhan smoke death over the internet. OMG!!! OMG!!! OMG!!!

Edited June 3, 2023 by Ace-Garageguy

[Rob Hall]

Speaking of basic work vehicles, I've got a Ford Transit high roof rental from Penske this weekend (3rd one I've rented recently), and it's pretty decent inside for a basic work van... power windows, a fob to lock/unlock the doors, etc.  Power mirrors, back up camera, etc.  Manual seats, but decent level of adjustment.  Tilt wheel and cruise control, cold A/C, only an AM/FM radio though.  But it does have several USB plugs and power ports. 

Edited June 3, 2023 by Rob Hall

[Ace-Garageguy]

3 minutes ago, Rob Hall said:

Speaking of basic work vehicles...

Yeah, we have several fleet accounts, and semi-basic vehicles with a reasonable level of ease-of-use features like you mention only seem to be available to fleet purchasers...or maybe you can get a stripper if you wait months, but I really don't think dealers have any interest in selling individual vehicles that aren't optioned-out.

[Dave Van]

2 hours ago, RSchnell said:

Chrsyler was doing that in the '30s and I think some GM designs did as well. 

Pretty sure the Hudson I saw was a 30's era car too

[Calb56]

[stitchdup]

3 minutes ago, Calb56 said:

they still exist but mostly as a t shirt company, or you get 120 pages that say see your dealer which i assume is who they saw before putting out such useless help books.

[Rob Hall]

I did have a Haynes manual for my '00 Grand Cherokee, actually used it a few times about 15 years ago, esp. when I had to replace a broken seat frame.  Haven't bought one for my more recent vehicles. 

[1972coronet]

50 minutes ago, Rob Hall said:

Speaking of basic work vehicles, I've got a Ford Transit high roof rental from Penske this weekend (3rd one I've rented recently), and it's pretty decent inside for a basic work van... power windows, a fob to lock/unlock the doors, etc.  Power mirrors, back up camera, etc.  Manual seats, but decent level of adjustment.  Tilt wheel and cruise control, cold A/C, only an AM/FM radio though.  But it does have several USB plugs and power ports. 

Last place I worked had a then-new 2014 Transit (is that okay to say these days ?) with everything you've mentioned (steering column was telescopic, too), including cruise control (a godsend when travelling hundreds of miles a day). 

Unlike my fellow coworkers, I actually kept that thing clean (I wasn't its only operator... unfortunately). I used to "shop use" a can of Armor-All cleaning wipes to keep in the van. I'd clean the steering wheel and its centre , the door panels. and the vinyl seats a couple of times a day; I'd scrub the rubber floor once a month. Glass was always clean, inside and out. 

The manager let me smoke in it ! That's happened every place I've worked : "You keep your vehicle so clean, that I'm going to permit you to smoke in it." 

That model didn't have a back-up camera, and that's fine. It did have backlights (colloq., "rear windows"), and they were big enough for me to see out of when backing. I only wish that It would have had quarter lights (colloq., "side windows") on the right-rear at least. That was its only blind spot -- but I never backed-into nor on to anything immobile. 

I love my 2004 P71 Crown Vic for its simplicity. NO asinine buzzers, blinkers, lamps, TPMS, etc. Nice and simple and to the point.

[ewetwo]

Floor high beam button.

[NOBLNG]

Proper bottle openers.?