Car Accessories That Used to be Options But Are Now Standard

[cornutt]

Sorry for the long-winded title... but the first-air-conditioned car thread got me to thinking about other accessories and things in cars that used to be extra-cost options (or aftermarket add-ons), but are now standard. Here's a few things I came up with, in roughly the decades when they first became available:

'50s
Automatic Transmission
Power Windows
Power Brakes
Power Steering
Safety Glass
Back-Up Lights
Radio
Air Conditioning
Windshield Washer
Cigarette Lighter

'60s
Seat Belts
Bucket Seats
Disc Brakes
Radial Tires
FM Radio
Radio Station Scanner
Cruise Control (proper systems, not the throttle cable locks)
Tilt Steering Wheel
Interval Wipers
Movable Headrests
Inside-the-car trunk lid opener
Hazard Flashers
Automatic Interior Temperature Control
Automatic Headlights

'70s
Electronic Ignition
Antilock Brakes
Tape Players (OK, these are not in cars anymore, but in the '90s they were more or less standard)
Telescoping Steering Wheel
Seats with Lumbar Adjustment
Door Lock Remote
Maintenance-Free Battery
Coolant Recovery Tank

'80s
Electronic Fuel Injection
Clear Coat Paint
Electronic Tuning Radio
Electronic Dash / Instrumentation

'90s
CD Player (disappearing now)
Variable Effort Power Steering

'00s
GPS (will probably be standard about five years from now)
Back-up Camera (will soon be mandatory)

 

[yogitunes]

Digital Instrumentation.....

when I bought my 85 Chrysler Laser XT Turbo.....it had the full digital dash, on board monitoring and it TALKED!.....I freaking loved every part of this car, and one of the best vehicles I ever owned....Silver exterior, black corinthian leather, 5 speed manual....

CR and Car and Driver gave these vehicles very low ratings for all this useless, annoying childrens toys as they called them......

and what do we have today, that gets high ratings from the same reports.....Digital and voice commmands....best interactive units for todays car and driver....reports like this tick me off.....reporters who can't see past their ass of how functional this stuff was back then....a vehicle before its time!

WTH!....

 

[retropia]

Built-in internet access is just beginning to be a standard feature in high-end cars or an option. I suspect it will eventually become standard, either because everyone will want it, or the government will mandate it, as a way of monitoring or controlling traffic, accident avoidance, theft deterrence, and so on.

 

[NYCWriter]

Yeah THAT'S all we need ...

... is to make it easier for government to monitor our actions.

 

[rp2813]

Even a plain old heater was an option on some vehicles.  The one on my '50 GMC is an after-market add-on.

 

I can remember reading the classifieds when I was old enough to drive and wanting an old (aka '30s or '40s) car.  Instead of A/C it was "R&H" for radio & heater.

 

[fan-of-fans]

In the 80s some cars added the auto dimming mirror that is on a lot of cars
Dual airbags became standard in the 90s, now I think all cars have side and curtain airbags standard
Bluetooth and USB in the 00s will soon be standard I think
Steering wheel audio controls are standard in many cars

I remember a relative having a Chrysler LeBaron that would say phrases.

Also I don't get the internet access in cars, so may places have wireless internet now, you can just sit in the parking lot and use it, and it's just another pointless bill each month to have it in your car, especially if you already have all the gadgets with mobile data plans.

 

[scoots]

Internet access in the car?

It's for THEIR convenience, not ours.

 

[wayupnorth]

So many fancy gadgets now it is hard to figure out how to run them, because the owners manuel is not alot of help. My new Silverado came with On Star. You cant just buy the crash response and auto unlocking and diagnosis. You have to buy a package with stupid stuff, like directions and connections (phone). Like I need On Star to direct me to the grocery store for almost $400 a year. I'll keep AAA for $49.

 

[foraloysius]

Electronic ignition and electronic fuel injection were quite a blessing for mankind IMHO. It made cars much more reliable.

Overhere TV is the latest gadget. It only works when the car isn't moving.

 

[supersuds]

Just some corrections to the time line...

Power brakes were available on luxury cars in the Thirties, power windows, fully automatic transmissions, and signal seeking radios in the Forties, and laminated safely glass became available in the late Twenties. It was standard on most cars by the mid-Thirties. "Cigar" lighters were certainly on the market by 1920.

I still think of power windows as a luxury, but it's hard to find a new car without them.

 

[jeffg]

"Also I don't get the internet access in cars, so may places have wireless internet now, you can just sit in the parking lot and use it, and it's just another pointless bill each month to have it in your car, especially if you already have all the gadgets with mobile data plans."

One reason is to have access to your radio/music/etc internet sites while driving. And GPS sites. Etc. It certainly relegates Sirius and other satellite radio companies to "yet another pointless bill each month".

All of my favorite car options have been mentioned, but my least favorite "feature" is the one that automatically shuts your engine off if you exceed 100MPH. Or maybe it's 90MPH now. Apparently your local police have the constitutional right to go faster. You do not.

 

[cuffs054]

Way, are you sure about that? I think OnStar has a basic package w/o nav. That being said I've got the big package and use it a good bit. I even got a good deal on the car phone feature and love the built in caller ID.

 

[wayupnorth]

I have a Trac Phone for emergencies so phone service is not needed in the truck and I refuse to talk anyways when driving. On Star kept bugging the s**t out of me both in the vehicle and home phone to spend this huge amount for stuff I dont want or need and finally, I had enough and said shut the damn thing off. The truck just turned 1 year old and has less than 5000 miles on it. Joys of being retired. Not driving 45,000 a year for work.

 

[whirlcool]

OnStar would call you in the car to sell you more service? Ha! You get enough of that crap on the phone in the house let alone the car. I would have told them to never call me again. Period. But you did the right thing. OnStar is expensive for what you get.

Now that I think about it, I haven't seen an OnStar commerical in a very long time.
Does GM still put it in their cars?

 

[wayupnorth]

Yes Allan, On Star is free for 3 months in most GM cars bought new. Then they bug you to sign up for more. Nope, aint gonna happen. I know my way to the store. On Star did use a zipcode to find your address. GPS etc sends them 10 miles away. Our town shares a zip with the neighboring town that also has many of the same road names as mine. And default goes to the wrong place. Lot of good that does finding your way home...lol. Now, if I could only get rid of Credit Card Services scam on my home phone. Hijacked a neighbors phone# and caller id. Got 2 calls so far today.

 

[warmsecondrinse]

Supersuds, I agree that many of these things were invented and/or available on the one or two makes that invented or owned the rights to them years, if not decades, before available on the more popular cars.

I believe Cadillac introduced electric start in 1904 and that a/c and automatic transmissions were at least piloted in the '30's.

Just a guess, but I think Cornutt is referring to when they became widely available options on the cars John Q. Public bought.

Jim

 

[jmm63]

New Car ad's

You know your dealing with a dinosaur of a dealer when they list
Power steering
Power brakes
Rear defroster
Power windows
Power Locks
Air Conditioning.
I don't think you can even get a car today, even the most basic inexpensive ones, without the first 3, and honestly, even most all cars come with all 6 as standard

 

[whirlcool]

I had a friend who had a stripped down 71' Ford Mustang Boss 302. He bought it new. It had power disc brakes with manual steering. He ordered it with only air conditioning being the only option. It didn't even have a radio. It was a brute to drive. But I have never seen a car with manual disc brakes. All disc brake equipped cars I have seen have a brake booster on them.

I remember as a little kid on local dealer television commercials they would mention that the car does come with radio & heater.

As for cars with electronic indicator panels, back in the early 90's Karen had a Buick Reatta. Great car, it actually felt kind of heavy and it drove very nicely.
Quiet too. But after about three years the electronic dashboard started to act up.
And act up and act up some more. The dealer repaired it the first time, but it was usually $400 or so whenever it acted up. And since the heating/air conditioning/radio controls were all part of the electronic display if it was out you couldn't use any of those items either. Then the hidden headlights wouldn't stay hidden. After you shut the car off the headlights would slowly start to rise out of the fenders again. After five years of this we said goodbye to the car and sold it on. We never did have any other troubles with it except for the dash and headlights.

 

[scoots]

"... because the owners manuel is not alot of help"

"Wayupnorth" hit the nail on the head with this one. I have bought exactly one new car in my life, a 2005 PT Cruiser. The book is three-quarters of an inch thick and consists of nothing but warning boxes and lawyerese. The amount of truly useful information could be put on an index card.