The gas cap behind the license plate had one great advantage. When you went to a gas station, you did not need to decide which side of the gas pump unlike the under the tail light cap.
That is true. I still have a car like that. A 1985 chevy caprice classic. And No Trudeau, I did not take it in to get a meesaly $200.00 under your retire your ride program. I still got it.
I do remember my folks having a car with the gas filler can gas cap behind the license plate probably was the car we first had around the time would I be aware of such thing after I was born this would have to be sometime in the late 70s more than likely not sure if it was after this but not likely it was and yes we had that car a very long time apparently
Out of all the really dumb takes on every feature they've brought up, this is seriously braindead. I'm still watching for the video of all the great cars. The commentary, while frustrating at times, is somewhat entertaining for it's stupidity.
@@jakederoy2715 A lot of 'content creators' intentionally include 'boners' in their dialogue in order to raise 'interaction' that increases their revenue from YT.
Right. You are not using the clutch during highway driving, immaterial for automatic drivers. Those old time automotive engineers weren't as stupid as the millennials pointing out their perception of stupidity of the past. I hope to live until a time when the youngsters of that time are pointing out the vapidity and stupidity of the Tik Tok generation. They really have it coming. Remember the windshield washer pump that was next to the dimmer switch? I had a Fiat that incorporated a windshield wiper switch into the washer pump pedal. Tap the pedal and the wipers did one cycle. Fully depress the pump and you got washer fluid along with wiper activation. Slick for rallying. If it had had more than 42 horsepower I could have gotten into lots more trouble.
Heck, I remember my mom’s 85 Caravan and my dad’s 1990 Dakota had a vent lever under the dash that you could pull to let outside air in if you either didn’t want to or couldn’t roll down the window if it was raining, and I understand that used to be fairly common back in the day.
“Many people found the buttons confusing…” If that were true, how did the same tech find a resurgence in the 2010s? When I was a kid we had two 1960s Chryslers that had the buttons instead of a lever. They weren’t confusing to operate.
I worked at a gas station after school in 1968-1969. Instead of holding the plate down while filling it up with fuel, we would wedge the gas cap into the spring to hold the plate down and we could stand up and watch as the tank filled. We felt we were quite smart to figure that out.
@@jakederoy2715at 70 years old I cannot remember it not being illegal to smoke while fueling a car, even before self-service. But if you're dumb enough to have an open flame in the vicinity of gasoline fumes you deserve what you get.
In automatic cars where your left foot is doing virtually nothing, the dimmer switch was a practical and logical feature. It moved the dimmer operation away from stalks that should have been reserved for wipers and signalling. The only benefit is the flasher operation which you didn't have with the floor setup.
It really looks like America Before gets most of their info from Wiki's and didn't actually live any of these features. It shows in their lack of understanding how these things were actually used.
True story. Some teens stole a '56 chevy convertible from a car show. Joyriding, low on gas, stopped to put in a few bucks worth, couldn't find the filler (inside left tail light), busted.
Fender skirts, if built correctly, can affect wind resistance and make the car use less gas and also make it go marginally faster. That is why, among other things, Citroen used them right into the 90s
taking the dimmer switch off the floor and adding it to the already complex turn signal lever was a very dumb idea. the left foot isn't doing anything anyway,, where did you get the idea about taking your foot off the gas pedal to dim the lights,,,,, have you even ever driven a car???
Trouble was,the dimmer switch in the floor would get full of water,dirt. mud,snow, ice salt,etc. Would get corroded and quit working and have to be replacws.
@@stevielease7952 Yeah,not so much. I am sure those who were pigs and wore shoes in the house were also the ones who tracked mud, snow, ice(?) salt etc. into the vehicle causing premature replacements necessary. I had a starter peddle on the floor also. Nothing is inconvenient when you learn to use it. Correct, I am old
I can't wait until they get car phones like this. I have been waiting ever since I was a little boy for them to come out with shoe phones like they had on Get Smart and frankly I'm getting sick of waiting.
Those early car phones were hugely expensive when you consider what was required for duplex audio communication in those days. Often more than half the price of the car itself. And you lost half your trunk space.
@@ThatOldDude-wtf the phone I had in my car years ago was not as big as you think. The whole thing fitted in the console between the front seats of my car, and was also portable. The only things I did with it when I was setting it to car use was plug in the microphone, and plug in the external power plug to the lighter socket.
@@christophermarshall5765 You had one of the newer ones. The original ones they showed in the video were a UHF receiver/transmitter pair with a duplexer to allow simultaneous receive and transmit. These took up at least 4 square feet of floor space in the trunk and generated a lot of heat due to being filled with vacuum tubes. There was a control head in the passenger compartment that had the handset and other controls. You selected a channel that was not in use and made the call through an operator at the phone exchange who connected you to the land line you wanted to talk to.
I owned a few cars with floor mounted headlight beam switch & my LEFT foot was used to operate it. I never took my foot off the accelerator to switch headlight beam from low to high, or vice versa. I know one piece of tech in a make of car that will have most people screwed. A manual transmission, otherwise known as a "standard", but NO clutch pedal. Yes, such cars were built. I drove one a few times.
My 69 Camaro with the 250 straight 6 had a torque drive transmission which was the Powerglide transmission without the automatic shifting between first and second. You started off manually in low and then shifted it to drive and the transmission would make the rest of the shifts on its own.
@@ThatOldDude-wtf no, the car I speak of is a Mercedes Benz 220Sb. Some of those cars have a “hydrak” clutch. It worked from the gear stick on the steering column. When you moved the stick to change gears, the hydrak clutch system would operate. It had a fluid coupling bolted to the flex plate, and that had a clutch fitted to it. The switch in the gear shift operated a solenoid, that controlled a vacuum valve, which operated the clutch. There was also a control switch that was adjustable for release and engaging of the clutch. It was a complicated system, but very effective.
Curb feelers are needed today for many low profile designer wheels. One gadget that went away years ago was a small prism that was attached to the top inside of the windshield, to allow the driver to see the color of the traffic light without having to crane one’s neck forward. Those would be handy today!
Love the video however the high beam low beam switch belongs on the floor period. It's only foot gymnastics if you don't know how to operate a motor vehicle. My 85 ford f150 standard shift has it on the floor and I found it very practical to be on the floor. For me its easier to switch from high to low by pushing the switch with my left foot. Not supposed to use the right foot like the video said lol. Anyone agree?
totally correct. My (UK) 1965 Austin Cambridge had a foot pedal dimmer with a manual transmission. Left foot busy with clutch brake and dimmer but so easy
I still miss my first Cellnet phone. It was a carphone that I carried around in a rucksack and ran off a 12v battery (I was 17, didn't have a car. Still don't!) and worked pretty well for me, given many places I went to had such poor signal a handheld phone just wouldn't work. Think I could _just about_ get 30 minutes talk-time (~9h standby) from a fully charged battery, so probably just as well calls from it were about 50p/min! ☎💸🤣 Wish I still had it to this day. Damned solid piece of equipment, that was... ❤
I liked the fuel filler behind the license plate, it was great and was better when trying to fill up in busy gas stations and trying to get your vehicle on the same side as an available gas pump. The swivel seats were also great. The seat turned and would be good for some older people or people with physical limitations. The automakers did away with them to save money, don't believe anything else. The dimmer switch (hi/low beam) on the floor was much better than the systems we have today, you never had to take either of your hands off of the steering wheel. "Playing a game (25:00) of Twister while driving"?? Really? It was simple and safer than taking your hand off the wheel. It was not difficult to find the switch at all and you didn't have to take your foot off of the gas pedal, the button was on the other side of the floor, not on your gas pedal side.
In my old jeep you filled the gas tank by tipping the driver's seat forward and taking the cap off the tank underneath it. Easy to see when it was getting full except at night...
@@ThatOldDude-wtf That's great. It reminds me of my VW Bug having the battery under the backseat on the passenger side. Of course the seats had metal coils, what could ever go wrong, lol??
The Cyclops Eye light system reminds me of the Ford Tri-Motor and Ju 52 airplanes having three engines. However, there it made sense as it added important redundancy.
My 91 Saturn had the motorized shoulder belt, what a pain they were. When it was cold...i live in Michigan...they would often bind up and refuse to move!
Worked on foreign cars that the motors had no circuit breakers. We were having customers get their scarfs caught on the belts when opening doors almost choking them. American cars would kick back is resistance felt.
I once had a 1993 Chevy Caprice and it had the gas cap behind the license plate. Convenient when there was a long line at the gas pump because I could quickly pull into the first spot that opened up and it didn't matter which side. The problem is that many cars of the early 90s and older with this feature have steel bumpers and a rear end crash could cause a spark and sever the fuel filler resulting in an explosion.
Late 1980's in Australia. I had a couple of cars with this. The mandatory shifting of the fuel tank to the front of the rear axle, preventing fires from rear end collisions, was probably responsible for killing off this feature.
You guys left out the best feature not found in todaze vehicles, the magnificent vent windows that were mandatory in cars without AC! My wonderful Dad had a couple that had powered vent windows, I’m too young to remember the first two I know were big Chryslers, but the one I remember fondly was the most amazing car Dad ever owned, a 1964 Imperial Crown Coupe! Before I had more than two siblings and there was plenty of room in those big cars, Dad chose two doors. The Imperial had powered everything including vent windows, his next car he ordered special when forced to trade in the Imperial was an awesome 1968 Chrysler Town&Country three row Beach Wagon! That had vent windows but were not powered.
Unfortunately push button transmissions are back in 2024 - many cars have them. I personally prefer the old school automatic shift lever - the only button is used to go from park to reverse
My 76 cutlass 442 had swivel seats, great for a teenager at the drive in. The one thing you didn’t mention which I don’t think ever came back was the auto headlights dimmer that would charge when on coming car would approach. I worked more pop up headlights vacuum and electric than you can imagine.
Pop up headlights were actually banned for pedestrian safety, which opened the opportunity to use different headlights (besides the ubiquitous sealed beam unit, which was the only option available by law in the US). Later on, Xenon and LED shifted the whole design of headlights rendering pop-ups actually useless. Notice all headlights are sealed in these cars.
Hide away head Lites were a good idea if they were made right, the 1969 and 70 Cougar had a Vacuum cylinder that opened the headlights if vacuum dropped! There were real poor headlight covers like the ones on the 1967 to 69 Camaro that only opened half the time. Drove a 1969 Camaro and every time i turned on the lights I had to get out to open one headlight or the other.
My Dad And I both had 1979 Thunderbirds with Hidden Headlamps. Another feature Ford Had was the Quadrasonic Sound a Step above Stereo with Different sounds from all 4 Speakers! May have been during the 8 Track Era!
RCA Victor made a car record player that played the disc upside down, held a stack of discs in an automatic changer mechanism that dropped the played disc down, played the next and used standard 45 RPM discs.
they were a real pain to get off to change the tire they had a mechanical slide mechanism to remove them..the mech was always full of dirt snow etc... the concept for fender skirts in the 1950s and 60s was to make the rear look lower than the front like a jet taking off..
I remember being in a car in the 1970’s that had those curb feelers, the driver was demonstrating them to us. I’d forgotten all about it until watching this.
I had a 1953 Kaiser Manhattan that had fender skirts. Problem I had was when I went to car washes, the skirt on the driver’s side would be removed by the car wash brushes.
And when angled correctly, sucking out the cigarette smoke. It was handy to be able to flick the ash out the quarter window, then the butt, when done! 😅 PS I stopped smoking 24 years ago.
Remember a white n gold Laguna SS 454 Cu In with swivel buckets that tooled around town in the early seventies. Can’t recall exactly what year it was? 70-72 I’m pretty sure. Sweet ride!
In 1964 mom and dad bought a new Electra 225 Buick it had a button on the floor you could step on and change radio stations and a buzzer on the speedometer you could set so it would buzz when you got to that speed
I hate when they dont so their research when doing these Videos. the worst offender is the dimmer switch statement on how its operated. You always knew where it was, and you did not have to remove your foot from the gas pedal!!!
My 1948 Mk.6 Bentley has none of this rubbish but is a delight to drive. Super comfort and much faster than the law allows. Utterly reliable and servicing I can do myself. My mother used to practice her regal wave from the back seat as I drove her to the local supermarket.
My 1st car was a '64 Dodge Dart. Loved flipping down the lever to put it in Park. And the neutral button went in simultaneously. Then just flip the lever up, push a button, and go!
I didn't see Chevy's 1959 cruise control. I bought a 1959 Impala that was loaded in the late 1970s. It had a circular dial on the dash with numbers ranging from 20 to 80, if I remember correctly. You would set the dial at 50, for example, and when you reached or exceeded that speed an extremely annoying buzzer would fill the passenger compartment. That meant you either slowed down or shut off the buzzer, usually, it was the later. I only saw this device in this one Chevy and never again, understandably.
At 25:00 he mispoke or doesn't know what hes talking about! He said taking your foot off the gas pedal to change the highbeams. The foot mounted dimmer switch is on the left side of the floor below the parking brake on old American cars and is conveniently operated by your LEFT foot which just sits there near it doing nothing. It would be very awkward to try and use the switch with your right foot as you would literally have to cross your legs assuming one could even do that with the steering wheel in place! LOL
There is so much more: Triangular glass vents, dashboard vents, fender vents, automatic antennas, engine hand cranks, carburetor chock, chrome or stainless hubcaps, headlight vipers, cassette players, even cd players are gone! Sunroofs are not popular anymore, ashtrays, bumerang antennas, pads on bumpers, headlamps, bench seats, that will transform into a bed, and much more
Yeah, like hood ornaments, analog clocks, T-Tops, Gull Wing doors, Suicide doors, Rumble seats, the station wagon's Way-back seat, exposed engines, backseat TVs, "Corinthian Leather" and crushed velour with buttons, rubber static straps, center hub spinners, and Super Pursuit Mode.
Pop up headlights disappeared about the time that daytime headlights became mandatory. No use hiding them when every time the car moved, they had to pop up.
I'm surprised the video left off the early 1970's seatbelt safety feature of an annoying buzzer going off until you attached your lap belt. This was an attempt by car manufacturer's to delay the shoulder strap introduction. Of course. most people just secured the lap belt in advance and simply tucked it under crevices of the front seat.
The standardization of gearshift patterns killed the push button transmission. I never knew a 16 rpm record was designed for "highway hifi". And country musician Tom T Hall getting into a mid 70s GM A body with swivel buckets....
Why just older people? They don't teach parking skills in driver's ed anymore and I've seen some pretty sketchy examples of parking by some pretty young people.
I used a car phone in my house. Calling from where I lived to the city of Edmonton (where most of my family lived) was long-distance. But not with the car phone. Therefore, it was much cheaper to pay the car phone bill than any long-distance charges.
The wheel curb sticks faded out also because they generated more accident claims than prevented because they'd frequently scrape on other vehicles. I'm beginning to understand why my grandmother was opposed to seat belts her whole life because until the late 90's they were actually deemed unsafe to use by drivers. The gas tanks in the back of the vehicle were a safety hazard because it took one rear-ender to send it up into flames. The safety boards discontinued these models because they were a road hazard.
The wheel curb sticks faded out also because they generated more accident claims than prevented because they'd frequently scrape on other vehicles. why would be within 6-9 inches from another car??? "actually deemed unsafe to use by drivers." but not by " safety boards "
I still own my 1971 Chevy Nova SS 350. The gas cap is behind the license plate. The automatic shift lever is on the steering column. The high beam switch is on the floor and I have wing windows. I’ll never sell that car. I’ve owned it for 53 years.
Adding a compass to your dash as an installed manufacturing feature seems to have faded. I even remember the days when you would buy one in the auto parts store and attach it to the front windshield or even the rear view mirror.
It's so important to know your magnetic course when following a winding road in the mountains. Seriously though, the mounting position was the same as in light aircraft so it added a certain panache'.
I heard a different story about push button transmissions. [ BTW I owned a '62 Chrysler and '64 Plymouth. Both worked fine. ] I read that the rental car companies were getting complaints and threatened not to buy anymore p.b. cars. I brought my '64 p.b. Plymouth to NYC in 1990 and left it at a parking lot with the valet. I had to go back to show the young immigrant how it worked. :-) Our new Honda doesn't have a PRNDL , and its a pitb.
Cornering lights is one feature you left off that looked cool on the car. However, it probably didn't really help that much in the driver seeing any better.
Curb feelers were a good way to reduce tire sidewall damage. but because they were flimsy they would become bent rendering them useless. but that was mostly due people getting sick of straightening them. and eventually removing them. the push button automatic transmission was first available in the Ford Edsel. and it was located in the center of the steering wheel. and it often failed and was difficult to repair. and the Edsel itself was a total flop. How about that swivel seat ad? with Tom T Hall a popular Country musician in the sixties. Those automatic seat belts were common on Ford and Honda vehicles. but they were a pain in the ass because the tracks in the doors would fail. and were expensive to repair leading to the end of their use. The Tucker wasn't the only vehicle to have the third headlight. Studebaker also had the third headlight but was short lived. Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln, vehicles commonly used opera windows. but they fell out of favor. The Chrysler Lebaron also a foot operated button. for controlling the analog dial on the stereo. but it didn't last long. nothing to do with the subject of this video. but what is with YT and all the boner ads. jesus christ.
I once heard an anecdote about a guy who upon spotting a driver next to him talking on his phone at a red light during the 80s, proceeded to remove his shoe and yell into it like a wanker/yuppie buying shares and abusing his imaginary stockbroker.
The gas cap behind the license plate had one great advantage. When you went to a gas station, you did not need to decide which side of the gas pump unlike the under the tail light cap.
😊right, or left, as the case may be
You mentioned a 1964 T-Bird, but showed a 1958 model. What gives?
and the center worked well also because fuel spillage went on the ground not running down the paint
That is true. I still have a car like that. A 1985 chevy caprice classic. And No Trudeau, I did not take it in to get a meesaly $200.00 under your retire your ride program. I still got it.
I do remember my folks having a car with the gas filler can gas cap behind the license plate probably was the car we first had around the time would I be aware of such thing after I was born this would have to be sometime in the late 70s more than likely not sure if it was after this but not likely it was and yes we had that car a very long time apparently
There are many features added to cars today that are freaking worthless and cost a fortune to fix.
I always like the floor mount dimmer switch you just use your left foot.
Cadillac,Pontiac Buick ,Lincoln and Chrysler had the auto dimmers when another cars lights were detected. I’ve yet to see that on new cars these days.
Out of all the really dumb takes on every feature they've brought up, this is seriously braindead. I'm still watching for the video of all the great cars. The commentary, while frustrating at times, is somewhat entertaining for it's stupidity.
Why are you comparing car curb feelers from 40 plus years ago, to vehicle cameras of today?😮 I can't wrap my head around this gigantic leap😮
@@jakederoy2715 A lot of 'content creators' intentionally include 'boners' in their dialogue in order to raise 'interaction' that increases their revenue from YT.
1941 Chevrolet had one. left foot.
The left foot was used for the headlight dimmer, no reason to lift your right foot off the gas pedal.
this guy has never seen a floor mount light dimmer switch .Ask him about vacuum wipers??
Right. You are not using the clutch during highway driving, immaterial for automatic drivers. Those old time automotive engineers weren't as stupid as the millennials pointing out their perception of stupidity of the past. I hope to live until a time when the youngsters of that time are pointing out the vapidity and stupidity of the Tik Tok generation. They really have it coming.
Remember the windshield washer pump that was next to the dimmer switch?
I had a Fiat that incorporated a windshield wiper switch into the washer pump pedal. Tap the pedal and the wipers did one cycle. Fully depress the pump and you got washer fluid along with wiper activation. Slick for rallying. If it had had more than 42 horsepower I could have gotten into lots more trouble.
No mention of the small triangular vent windows in the driver and passenger side front windows?
Before AC was popular.
Heck, I remember my mom’s 85 Caravan and my dad’s 1990 Dakota had a vent lever under the dash that you could pull to let outside air in if you either didn’t want to or couldn’t roll down the window if it was raining, and I understand that used to be fairly common back in the day.
They were called quarterlights
They were talking about useless features. Vent windows and such were actually good features.
The purpose of the side vent windows was to let cigarette smoke out of the cabin. Today, smokers are few and far between.
If your AC ever dies, you will wish you had wing windows.
TRULY I TRULY REMEMBER A LOT OF THOSE SPECIAL FEATURES WHEN I WAS A KID .
“Many people found the buttons confusing…” If that were true, how did the same tech find a resurgence in the 2010s? When I was a kid we had two 1960s Chryslers that had the buttons instead of a lever. They weren’t confusing to operate.
I was recently in some GMC SUV. 19,000 miles on it. Push buttons and that was it.
No mention of the history of automobile air conditioning ☹️
How do know, were you driving the family car ”as a kid”??
@@zeebest1004 he was paying attention
@@BartlettTFD That doesn't quite fit under the scope of the title, does it? "14 USELESS Old Car Features That FADED Into History!"
I worked at a gas station after school in 1968-1969. Instead of holding the plate down while filling it up with fuel, we would wedge the gas cap into the spring to hold the plate down and we could stand up and watch as the tank filled. We felt we were quite smart to figure that out.
And when the guy had a smoke in his mouth, he would turn his head slightly so as not to ignite the fumes, I think.
@@jakederoy2715at 70 years old I cannot remember it not being illegal to smoke while fueling a car, even before self-service. But if you're dumb enough to have an open flame in the vicinity of gasoline fumes you deserve what you get.
Some fold down plates had a designated spot to place the cap to hold the plate down while fueling. I think it was mid 70s gm vehicles.
@@jakederoy2715 cigarettes will not ignite gas fumes, it takes a spark or open flame.
@ronchatex2867 sure
In automatic cars where your left foot is doing virtually nothing, the dimmer switch was a practical and logical feature. It moved the dimmer operation away from stalks that should have been reserved for wipers and signalling. The only benefit is the flasher operation which you didn't have with the floor setup.
The Flasher operation in all of my vehicles is on a dashboard switch.
When you are driving on an open road, the floor mounted dimer switch worked great, even on a manual car. I would prefer it there.
It really looks like America Before gets most of their info from Wiki's and didn't actually live any of these features. It shows in their lack of understanding how these things were actually used.
Very well put.
The flip up gas filler cap on the back fender was too cool.
True story. Some teens stole a '56 chevy convertible from a car show. Joyriding, low on gas, stopped to put in a few bucks worth, couldn't find the filler (inside left tail light), busted.
Fender skirts, if built correctly, can affect wind resistance and make the car use less gas and also make it go marginally faster. That is why, among other things, Citroen used them right into the 90s
transport trucks are using them now
The curb feelers basically for tires with huge lrg whitewall tires
We never had curb feelers here in Denmark. I ordered some for my wife's car right away.
🤣
The curb feelers were more about not scuffing the whitewalls on the tires. Can't have that happening.
Another feature of the Tucker 48 was its engine, a Franklin engine which actually was a helicopter engine that was used in the Bell 47.
How can anyone forget the window wings. Often when all windows were closed they would whistle a happy tune until another wing or window was opened.
I think you mean "wing windows".
Some had a rotary handle, similar to raising and lowering the main window. With careful control you could sometimes play a tune like on a theramin.
@ThatOldDude-wtf What is a theramin? Is it anything like a theremin?
taking the dimmer switch off the floor and adding it to the already complex turn signal lever was a very dumb idea. the left foot isn't doing anything anyway,, where did you get the idea about taking your foot off the gas pedal to dim the lights,,,,, have you even ever driven a car???
My first car had this feature; it was set beside the clutch pedal so you operated it with your left foot.
@@tomhaskett5161Obviously your left foot WAS already doing something, unlike implied by the original comment.
Trouble was,the dimmer switch in the floor would get full of water,dirt. mud,snow, ice salt,etc. Would get corroded and quit working and have to be replacws.
@@stevielease7952 Yeah,not so much. I am sure those who were pigs and wore shoes in the house were also the ones who tracked mud, snow, ice(?) salt etc. into the vehicle causing premature replacements necessary. I had a starter peddle on the floor also. Nothing is inconvenient when you learn to use it. Correct, I am old
yes awesome. the dimmer switch belongs on the floor like it is on my 85 ford f150
Thanx for the video. I like the pushbutton transmission. Had one on an early 1960s Plymouth Valiant.
I have a push button transmission in my 2024 Ridgeline right now
Vehicle I drove in Driver's Ed. 1964.
I can't wait until they get car phones like this. I have been waiting ever since I was a little boy for them to come out with shoe phones like they had on Get Smart and frankly I'm getting sick of waiting.
@@Thomas-yr9ln I had a car phone similar to this one.
Those early car phones were hugely expensive when you consider what was required for duplex audio communication in those days. Often more than half the price of the car itself. And you lost half your trunk space.
@@ThatOldDude-wtf the phone I had in my car years ago was not as big as you think. The whole thing fitted in the console between the front seats of my car, and was also portable. The only things I did with it when I was setting it to car use was plug in the microphone, and plug in the external power plug to the lighter socket.
@@christophermarshall5765 You had one of the newer ones. The original ones they showed in the video were a UHF receiver/transmitter pair with a duplexer to allow simultaneous receive and transmit. These took up at least 4 square feet of floor space in the trunk and generated a lot of heat due to being filled with vacuum tubes. There was a control head in the passenger compartment that had the handset and other controls. You selected a channel that was not in use and made the call through an operator at the phone exchange who connected you to the land line you wanted to talk to.
I owned a few cars with floor mounted headlight beam switch & my LEFT foot was used to operate it. I never took my foot off the accelerator to switch headlight beam from low to high, or vice versa. I know one piece of tech in a make of car that will have most people screwed. A manual transmission, otherwise known as a "standard", but NO clutch pedal. Yes, such cars were built. I drove one a few times.
yep, my 85 ford f150 has it on the floor and I rather have it there.
My 69 Camaro with the 250 straight 6 had a torque drive transmission which was the Powerglide transmission without the automatic shifting between first and second. You started off manually in low and then shifted it to drive and the transmission would make the rest of the shifts on its own.
The VW with an electric clutch operated by the shift handle knob?
@@ThatOldDude-wtf no, the car I speak of is a Mercedes Benz 220Sb. Some of those cars have a “hydrak” clutch. It worked from the gear stick on the steering column. When you moved the stick to change gears, the hydrak clutch system would operate. It had a fluid coupling bolted to the flex plate, and that had a clutch fitted to it. The switch in the gear shift operated a solenoid, that controlled a vacuum valve, which operated the clutch. There was also a control switch that was adjustable for release and engaging of the clutch. It was a complicated system, but very effective.
@@christophermarshall5765 The VW one was also complicated and only available for a short time.
Curb feelers are needed today for many low profile designer wheels.
One gadget that went away years ago was a small prism that was attached to the top inside of the windshield, to allow the driver to see the color of the traffic light without having to crane one’s neck forward. Those would be handy today!
Yes. The large wheel, low profile tyre sidewall unintentionally created a new automotive service. Repairing kerb damaged alloy wheels.
Properly set side view mirrors eliminate the need for curb feelers.
1:17 When wide white tire disappeared demand for curb feelers decline. Always an accessory.
Love the video however the high beam low beam switch belongs on the floor period. It's only foot gymnastics if you don't know how to operate a motor vehicle. My 85 ford f150 standard shift has it on the floor and I found it very practical to be on the floor. For me its easier to switch from high to low by pushing the switch with my left foot. Not supposed to use the right foot like the video said lol. Anyone agree?
90% of new drivers today don't have the mental ability to understand how awesome this feature was and still is.
totally correct. My (UK) 1965 Austin Cambridge had a foot pedal dimmer with a manual transmission. Left foot busy with clutch brake and dimmer but so easy
Try it in heels !
They also broke frequently, very expensive to replace. I think $25.00 😳
They always siezed up. Hated them. We would rewire them to the dash. They may be ok in southern states that seldom see snow but no good in the north.
I had a bag phone with the magnetic antenna you put on your car roof and carried the actual phone in a shoulder bag! 😂😂😂 We got it from Cingular.
I still have two in my garage, if anyone is interested.
I still miss my first Cellnet phone. It was a carphone that I carried around in a rucksack and ran off a 12v battery (I was 17, didn't have a car. Still don't!) and worked pretty well for me, given many places I went to had such poor signal a handheld phone just wouldn't work. Think I could _just about_ get 30 minutes talk-time (~9h standby) from a fully charged battery, so probably just as well calls from it were about 50p/min! ☎💸🤣
Wish I still had it to this day. Damned solid piece of equipment, that was... ❤
@@jimtownsend7899 I like the idea... ❣
...But I anticipate shipping and importation to the UK might be a _bit_ of a headache! 🇺🇸📲🛃🇬🇧😋
I liked the fuel filler behind the license plate, it was great and was better when trying to fill up in busy gas stations and trying to get your vehicle on the same side as an available gas pump. The swivel seats were also great. The seat turned and would be good for some older people or people with physical limitations. The automakers did away with them to save money, don't believe anything else. The dimmer switch (hi/low beam) on the floor was much better than the systems we have today, you never had to take either of your hands off of the steering wheel. "Playing a game (25:00) of Twister while driving"?? Really? It was simple and safer than taking your hand off the wheel. It was not difficult to find the switch at all and you didn't have to take your foot off of the gas pedal, the button was on the other side of the floor, not on your gas pedal side.
In my old jeep you filled the gas tank by tipping the driver's seat forward and taking the cap off the tank underneath it. Easy to see when it was getting full except at night...
@@ThatOldDude-wtf
That's great. It reminds me of my VW Bug having the battery under the backseat on the passenger side. Of course the seats had metal coils, what could ever go wrong, lol??
@@notsosilentmajority1 At least you weren't likely to have a real heavy person in the back seat of that car.
If you see a car with curb feelers you’re probably driving through the hood
still have push button transmissions
Piano drive system.
And more reliable than ever
I think there are touchpad transmissions now
I doubt there's any mechanical connections even with a shift lever these days.
yes my 2022 Lincoln has them
I would love those curb feelers back. It would help me to parallel park much better lol
The Cyclops Eye light system reminds me of the Ford Tri-Motor and Ju 52 airplanes having three engines. However, there it made sense as it added important redundancy.
Opera windows always remembers me to the pimp mobiles.😂
My 91 Saturn had the motorized shoulder belt, what a pain they were. When it was cold...i live in Michigan...they would often bind up and refuse to move!
Worked on foreign cars that the motors had no circuit breakers. We were having customers get their scarfs caught on the belts when opening doors almost choking them. American cars would kick back is resistance felt.
A half deployed shoulder belt is better than no shoulder belt. NOT!!
Many modern cars have push button automatics hyundai kia etc all have them
The gas cap behind the rear license plate lasted into the 80s...
dont like gas behind t
rear lamps😮almost impossible to find if using someones car or rentals
I once had a 1993 Chevy Caprice and it had the gas cap behind the license plate. Convenient when there was a long line at the gas pump because I could quickly pull into the first spot that opened up and it didn't matter which side. The problem is that many cars of the early 90s and older with this feature have steel bumpers and a rear end crash could cause a spark and sever the fuel filler resulting in an explosion.
Late 1980's in Australia. I had a couple of cars with this.
The mandatory shifting of the fuel tank to the front of the rear axle, preventing fires from rear end collisions, was probably responsible for killing off this feature.
now every vehicle has electronic push button & dials.....not outdated!
But the buttons are attached to silicon, not a mechanism. Much more reliable.
@@Tipman2OOO as long there is voltage present. Chrysler push button system was very simple and reliable
Touch screens don't count. Not really vehicle controls, more like fly by wire, plug and pray.
Push button autos may have gone the way of the Dodo but has been reborn in modern cars that have a dial on the console.
You guys left out the best feature not found in todaze vehicles, the magnificent vent windows that were mandatory in cars without AC! My wonderful Dad had a couple that had powered vent windows, I’m too young to remember the first two I know were big Chryslers, but the one I remember fondly was the most amazing car Dad ever owned, a 1964 Imperial Crown Coupe! Before I had more than two siblings and there was plenty of room in those big cars, Dad chose two doors. The Imperial had powered everything including vent windows, his next car he ordered special when forced to trade in the Imperial was an awesome 1968 Chrysler Town&Country three row Beach Wagon! That had vent windows but were not powered.
My 2017 COntinental (as well as other current Lincolns) have push button drive.
My 2017 Lincoln MKZ has push button granny also.
Same here with a 2023 Cadillac. It's called an "electronic precision shift", but it's really just an old school push-button.
Unfortunately push button transmissions are back in 2024 - many cars have them. I personally prefer the old school automatic shift lever - the only button is used to go from park to reverse
Excellent video. Thank you
My 76 cutlass 442 had swivel seats, great for a teenager at the drive in. The one thing you didn’t mention which I don’t think ever came back was the auto headlights dimmer that would charge when on coming car would approach. I worked more pop up headlights vacuum and electric than you can imagine.
my 2024 Honda CRV has the auto headlight dimmer
I miss the fiber optic indicators in in the fenders indicating that your headlites are on.
Pop up headlights were actually banned for pedestrian safety, which opened the opportunity to use different headlights (besides the ubiquitous sealed beam unit, which was the only option available by law in the US). Later on, Xenon and LED shifted the whole design of headlights rendering pop-ups actually useless. Notice all headlights are sealed in these cars.
Hide away head Lites were a good idea if they were made right, the 1969 and 70 Cougar had a Vacuum cylinder that opened the headlights if vacuum dropped! There were real poor headlight covers like the ones on the 1967 to 69 Camaro that only opened half the time. Drove a 1969 Camaro and every time i turned on the lights I had to get out to open one headlight or the other.
You had me at 'curb feelers'
My Dad And I both had 1979 Thunderbirds with Hidden Headlamps.
Another feature Ford Had was the Quadrasonic Sound a Step above Stereo with Different sounds from all 4 Speakers! May have been during the 8 Track Era!
RCA Victor made a car record player that played the disc upside down, held a stack of discs in an automatic changer mechanism that dropped the played disc down, played the next and used standard 45 RPM discs.
I have always hated fender skirts. They look so stupid.
they were a real pain to get off to change the tire they had a mechanical slide mechanism to remove them..the mech was always full of dirt snow etc...
the concept for fender skirts in the 1950s and 60s was to make the rear look lower than the front like a jet taking off..
I have owned one car with fender skirts. They stayed firmly planted in the trunk as the hangers had rusted off years before.
I remember being in a car in the 1970’s that had those curb feelers, the driver was demonstrating them to us. I’d forgotten all about it until watching this.
Glad to see The front bench seat is good to go
Slide the front seat back and there's no need to stop to move to the back seat.
Istill like the foit switch for high beams, the only problem is water and in the winter salt corrodes the switch.
I had a 1953 Kaiser Manhattan that had fender skirts. Problem I had was when I went to car washes, the skirt on the driver’s side would be removed by the car wash brushes.
~13:11 I'm pretty sure that's Tom T Hall. 😊
City busses at least in Europe very commonly have pushbutton controls for their 4-, 5- or 6-gear automatic transmissions.
Yes the triangular directable vent windows did a great job of sucking air into the car
And when angled correctly, sucking out the cigarette smoke. It was handy to be able to flick the ash out the quarter window, then the butt, when done! 😅
PS I stopped smoking 24 years ago.
Fender skirts had no function. They were just bling.
Remember a white n gold Laguna SS 454 Cu In with swivel buckets that tooled around town in the early seventies. Can’t recall exactly what year it was? 70-72 I’m pretty sure. Sweet ride!
74 I believe
In 1964 mom and dad bought a new Electra 225 Buick it had a button on the floor you could step on and change radio stations and a buzzer on the speedometer you could set so it would buzz when you got to that speed
I hate when they dont so their research when doing these Videos. the worst offender is the dimmer switch statement on how its operated. You always knew where it was, and you did not have to remove your foot from the gas pedal!!!
Maybe a right hand drive car?
@@lrich8181put all the cars in this video are American
I miss the pop up head lights, as a kid I was always amazed as a kid when my aunt had a car with one
My 1948 Mk.6 Bentley has none of this rubbish but is a delight to drive. Super comfort and much faster than the law allows. Utterly reliable and servicing I can do myself. My mother used to practice her regal wave from the back seat as I drove her to the local supermarket.
OK, you win.
Rubbish? Seek help…
I STILL use a curb-feeler at the right front fender. I ordered a set online. There is no practical use to have one on the left side in the USA.
I never had a problem with the floor mounted dimmer switch, though I am tired of the turn signal lever operating the windshield wipers.
Had one when I had a 1964 Dodge Dart. I love it and would get another one.
My 1st car was a '64 Dodge Dart. Loved flipping down the lever to put it in Park. And the neutral button went in simultaneously. Then just flip the lever up, push a button, and go!
@@jimtownsend7899 I also had a 1964 Dodge Dart. Had a broken shoulder at the time, could not have driven without the push button trans.
Also, indicators that you used to show other motorists that you were gonna turn left or right
I didn't see Chevy's 1959 cruise control. I bought a 1959 Impala that was loaded in the late 1970s. It had a circular dial on the dash with numbers ranging from 20 to 80, if I remember correctly. You would set the dial at 50, for example, and when you reached or exceeded that speed an extremely annoying buzzer would fill the passenger compartment. That meant you either slowed down or shut off the buzzer, usually, it was the later. I only saw this device in this one Chevy and never again, understandably.
My parents had that feature on a 1960 Buick station wagon. That buzzer being annoying does not accurately describe that buzzer.
My father's 63 and 66 Imperials had push button gear shift. Ironically my 2024 Hyundai Palisade also has push button!
At 25:00 he mispoke or doesn't know what hes talking about! He said taking your foot off the gas pedal to change the highbeams. The foot mounted dimmer switch is on the left side of the floor below the parking brake on old American cars and is conveniently operated by your LEFT foot which just sits there near it doing nothing. It would be very awkward to try and use the switch with your right foot as you would literally have to cross your legs assuming one could even do that with the steering wheel in place! LOL
An action capable only by 18 year old yoga instructors.
I always thought curb feelers were a good idea.
The fender skirts were still available on Pontiacs late into the 80’s.
There is so much more:
Triangular glass vents, dashboard vents, fender vents, automatic antennas, engine hand cranks, carburetor chock, chrome or stainless hubcaps, headlight vipers, cassette players, even cd players are gone! Sunroofs are not popular anymore, ashtrays, bumerang antennas, pads on bumpers, headlamps, bench seats, that will transform into a bed, and much more
Yeah, like hood ornaments, analog clocks, T-Tops, Gull Wing doors, Suicide doors, Rumble seats, the station wagon's Way-back seat, exposed engines, backseat TVs, "Corinthian Leather" and crushed velour with buttons, rubber static straps, center hub spinners, and Super Pursuit Mode.
am radio is fading away
Curb feelers were not useless. They compensated for not having features like power mirrors that are easily moved or a rear camera.
Pop up headlights disappeared about the time that daytime headlights became mandatory. No use hiding them when every time the car moved, they had to pop up.
I'm surprised the video left off the early 1970's seatbelt safety feature of an annoying buzzer going off until you attached your lap belt. This was an attempt by car manufacturer's to delay the shoulder strap introduction. Of course. most people just secured the lap belt in advance and simply tucked it under crevices of the front seat.
Or unplugged the switch under the seat that activated the buzzer
My 2022 Lincoln has pushbutton gears
The standardization of gearshift patterns killed the push button transmission. I never knew a 16 rpm record was designed for "highway hifi". And country musician Tom T Hall getting into a mid 70s GM A body with swivel buckets....
well push button transmissions are coming back in many cases although in electronic way.
Loved the Triumph Spitfire video with Chrysler audio 😂
These would still be helpful for older people
Why just older people? They don't teach parking skills in driver's ed anymore and I've seen some pretty sketchy examples of parking by some pretty young people.
The Pupo in vehicles are coming back honestly for the transmission
I used a car phone in my house. Calling from where I lived to the city of Edmonton (where most of my family lived) was long-distance. But not with the car phone. Therefore, it was much cheaper to pay the car phone bill than any long-distance charges.
The wheel curb sticks faded out also because they generated more accident claims than prevented because they'd frequently scrape on other vehicles. I'm beginning to understand why my grandmother was opposed to seat belts her whole life because until the late 90's they were actually deemed unsafe to use by drivers. The gas tanks in the back of the vehicle were a safety hazard because it took one rear-ender to send it up into flames. The safety boards discontinued these models because they were a road hazard.
The wheel curb sticks faded out also because they generated more accident claims than prevented because they'd frequently scrape on other vehicles.
why would be within 6-9 inches from another car???
"actually deemed unsafe to use by drivers." but not by " safety boards "
I still own my 1971 Chevy Nova SS 350. The gas cap is behind the license plate. The automatic shift lever is on the steering column. The high beam switch is on the floor and I have wing windows. I’ll never sell that car. I’ve owned it for 53 years.
America Before missed the most salient and important ones: Kerosene Lamps and Crank start levers.
Where do you get the images of those incredible looking girls, like the one advertising this video?
Adding a compass to your dash as an installed manufacturing feature seems to have faded. I even remember the days when you would buy one in the auto parts store and attach it to the front windshield or even the rear view mirror.
It's so important to know your magnetic course when following a winding road in the mountains. Seriously though, the mounting position was the same as in light aircraft so it added a certain panache'.
I heard a different story about push button transmissions. [ BTW I owned a '62 Chrysler and '64 Plymouth. Both worked fine. ] I read that the rental car companies were getting complaints and threatened not to buy anymore p.b. cars. I brought my '64 p.b. Plymouth to NYC in 1990 and left it at a parking lot with the valet. I had to go back to show the young immigrant how it worked. :-)
Our new Honda doesn't have a PRNDL , and its a pitb.
Many of these are great ideas I wish still existed
You lost me right away at the pop up headlight comment lmao
Cornering lights is one feature you left off that looked cool on the car. However, it probably didn't really help that much in the driver seeing any better.
Csdillacs had big square corner lites that were bright, really lit up when turn signal was on
Curb feelers were a good way to reduce tire sidewall damage. but because they were flimsy they would become bent rendering them useless. but that was mostly due people getting sick of straightening them. and eventually removing them.
the push button automatic transmission was first available in the Ford Edsel. and it was located in the center of the steering wheel. and it often failed and was difficult to repair. and the Edsel itself was a total flop.
How about that swivel seat ad? with Tom T Hall a popular Country musician in the sixties.
Those automatic seat belts were common on Ford and Honda vehicles. but they were a pain in the ass because the tracks in the doors would fail. and were expensive to repair leading to the end of their use.
The Tucker wasn't the only vehicle to have the third headlight. Studebaker also had the third headlight but was short lived.
Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln, vehicles commonly used opera windows. but they fell out of favor.
The Chrysler Lebaron also a foot operated button. for controlling the analog dial on the stereo. but it didn't last long.
nothing to do with the subject of this video. but what is with YT and all the boner ads. jesus christ.
The push button transmission is now a dial LOL
flip up headlights are useless but oh so cool and impressive.
Pop up headlights were cool until that motor burnt out and the car was just winking at you 😉
Or there was a leak in the vacuum line.
I once heard an anecdote about a guy who upon spotting a driver next to him talking on his phone at a red light during the 80s, proceeded to remove his shoe and yell into it like a wanker/yuppie buying shares and abusing his imaginary stockbroker.
Manufactures these days don’t care what their divers think.
Curb feelers today could prevent wheel rash
A lot of cars can park themselves now
I never understood how could a door be a jar!!
When you're in a traffic _jam?_ 🍓😋
A car door thinking it's a jar shows that psychosis extend to all areas of our lives.😁
3:17 OGS REMEMBER THIS ALONG WITH "YOU GOT MAIL"
The light switch on the floor was easier and cheaper to repair than the switch on the column.
I wish they'd bring back the triangle windows in the front.