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

[Rob Hall]

On 6/21/2023 at 8:53 PM, sfhess said:

My 2023 Outback does not have an in-dash CD player (my 2019 OB did), but there is one available as an accessory.  It goes in the center console.

My '14 Grand Cherokee is like that...single disc CD player in the center console...awkward location, but I use it once in a while..

[slusher]

On 6/21/2023 at 9:34 AM, Lunajammer said:

...Add chrome roof rack and AM-only radio and you're describing our old '73 Pinto family truckster.

Man, I would love to have that pinto today…

[Dpate]

IMO..The overall style & appeal. Every time I see older vehicles on the road I always break my neck to look. Same with music the old days did it right. But with modern least it has 10 air bags I suppose ?‍♂️.

[peteski]

16 minutes ago, Dpate said:

IMO..The overall style & appeal. Every time I see older vehicles on the road I always break my neck to look. Same with music the old days did it right. But with modern least it has 10 air bags I suppose ?‍♂️.

All this means that you're getting old!  Welcome to fartdom!

[Rodent]

On 6/12/2023 at 9:40 PM, Raoul Ross said:

I don't know if it's been mentioned, but floor mounted (foot operated) high beam switches are now on the turn signal stalk.

Ya know, I owned a '68 Mustang J-Code 302-4V with a 4-speed toploader from 1977-2001. It not only had a floor-mounted dimmer, it had a floor-mounted windshield washer pump pedal. Way too much for your left foot to attend to if you were driving in the dark and in the rain. Shift, dim, or wash? Which one first? You also couldn't reach the parking brake handle with the shoulder belt installed.

[peteski]

6 minutes ago, Rodent said:

Ya know, I owned a '68 Mustang J-Code 302-4V with a 4-speed toploader from 1977-2001. It not only had a floor-mounted dimmer, it had a floor-mounted windshield washer pump pedal.

LOL! You just brought back a memory.  One of my beaters (early '70s Dodge Dart or Plymouth Duster) had a foot-operated windshield washer pump.  I totally forgot about that.  That also reminded me that back when I lived in Poland, the tiny Polish Fiat 126p also had a rubber button mounted on the dash which you had to pump to squirt the fluid.

[Rodent]

8 minutes ago, peteski said:

LOL! You just brought back a memory.  One of my beaters (early '70s Dodge Dart or Plymouth Duster) had a foot-operated windshield washer pump.  I totally forgot about that.  That also reminded me that back when I lived in Poland, the tiny Polish Fiat 126p also had a rubber button mounted on the dash which you had to pump to squirt the fluid.

Yeah, I don't know why Ford used that type of washer pump on the 67 and 68 Mustangs. If they died, your carpet insulation was soaked with WW fluid. 65-66 and 69-up had normal electric washer pumps.

[Muncie]

ignition points and condenser - replace at what? 15,000 miles?

shock absorbers that are past worn out at 25,000 miles.

manual steering, bias ply tires,

could be a long list...

Edited June 24, 2023 by Muncie

[KMcc]

Hmmm.... faded away on modern cars? how about young girls wearing halter tops and hot pants. Joking aside, I had a 73 Nova in the early 80's that I changed motor oil and lubed the front end (remember grease fittings?), checked the plugs, ignition breaker, and front wheel bearings every 3K miles. Didn't realize it then, but I loved every minute of it. Sold it when it had 80,000 miles on it for $1200. The odometer didn't have a digit for 100,000 miles like everything does now, but I recently sold a 2006 Chevy pickup with 250,000 that never needed a spark plug change. I miss most of the nostalgia of older vehicles, but modern vehicles are very solid compared to years ago.

My neighbor, when I was a kid, had a 67 GTO with air shocks, and he would open the trunk and pump air into the 'tire valve'  to raise it up for race night. I thought that was cool stuff!

[Rodent]

On 6/5/2023 at 7:16 AM, Rob Hall said:

I miss CD players also.  My current Jeep has one, but it is awkward to use since it’s inside the center armrest.   I mostly stream my music from my phone now. 

My 2016 Mazda 3 is an S Grand Touring. I believe that was the only trim level to have a CD player that year. Spousal unit has a 2018 Focus Titanium with a CD player as well. We almost never use them. We still buy CDs, but they get ripped and loaded onto USB drives. Between that and Pandora via Android Auto, that is how we listen to music on the road. That little USB stick in the 3 has around 60 CDs on it and can easily be controlled by the MMI joystick.

[Rob Hall]

6 hours ago, Rodent said:

My 2016 Mazda 3 is an S Grand Touring. I believe that was the only trim level to have a CD player that year. Spousal unit has a 2018 Focus Titanium with a CD player as well. We almost never use them. We still buy CDs, but they get ripped and loaded onto USB drives. Between that and Pandora via Android Auto, that is how we listen to music on the road. That little USB stick in the 3 has around 60 CDs on it and can easily be controlled by the MMI joystick.

I do the USB drive thing also, though I find I mostly stream from my phone or use Sirius XM channels. 

[TonyK]

8 hours ago, KMcc said:

My neighbor, when I was a kid, had a 67 GTO with air shocks, and he would open the trunk and pump air into the 'tire valve'  to raise it up for race night. I thought that was cool stuff!

Gabriel HiJackers! Used to pump them up before I'd go cruising to give it more rake.

[Bills72sj]

I do not know if it has been mentioned, but rain gutters above the windows with or without trim. They allow you to drive at speed with the windows down. Modern cars and their slippery shapes let the the wind buffet your ear drums. It is so unpleasant, you roll the windows up.

[Brudda]

A inexpensive price. 

[mchook]

How about a real spare tire, or any spare tire. My mother in law's Jeep Compass only has an air compressor you plug into the cigarette lighter, I mean the phone charger socket or whatever they call it today.

[sfhess]

3 hours ago, mchook said:

How about a real spare tire, or any spare tire. My mother in law's Jeep Compass only has an air compressor you plug into the cigarette lighter, I mean the phone charger socket or whatever they call it today.

An inflator can, along with a sympathetic note.

[sfhess]

Paint.  Clear coats don't last as long as former enamel finishes.

[Tabbysdaddy]

Yea, no more cigarette lighters. They're called power ports.

[Doug 1061]

Points.  How can you forget that?  I would have to think about if I ever had to change them.  And the screw starter to make it a bit easier to install them.    The good ol daze.

[slusher]

Some  car companies was to start doing away with spare tires and jack because of weight but it’s cheaper for them..

[peteski]

8 minutes ago, slusher said:

Some  car companies was to start doing away with spare tires and jack because of weight but it’s cheaper for them..

You might be onto something.  My 2019 Kia Soul has a well under the rear storage area for a spare tire, but as delivered, it was filled with a styrofoam nest which housed a fix-a-flat-spray and small air compressor.   But complete spare wheel was also available from Kia, so I bought it at extra cost.  It is a space-saver type of wheel, but it is better than a can of fix-a-flat.

[espo]

13 hours ago, peteski said:

You might be onto something.  My 2019 Kia Soul has a well under the rear storage area for a spare tire, but as delivered, it was filled with a styrofoam nest which housed a fix-a-flat-spray and small air compressor.   But complete spare wheel was also available from Kia, so I bought it at extra cost.  It is a space-saver type of wheel, but it is better than a can of fix-a-flat.

If you think it would fit the wheel well, get and old wheel and tire from a wrecking yard instead. 

[peteski]

42 minutes ago, espo said:

If you think it would fit the wheel well, get and old wheel and tire from a wrecking yard instead. 

Well I already bought it, back in 2019. It is a space saver (not a full size wheel and tire).  The well is made just for that size wheel (not for full size wheel).  It also included the hardware necessary to tie it down, and a jack.

[Ace-Garageguy]

10 hours ago, peteski said:

...and a jack.

When you consider that as of 2017, only one in five drivers could operate a manual gearbox, it's kinda interesting to imagine what kind of damage to themselves or the vehicle low-T dweebles could do with a jack.

Edited June 29, 2023 by Ace-Garageguy

[Tabbysdaddy]

I like to consider myself pretty good with a jack nowadays, but I did manage to drop a car or two off of one in my youth.