One extinct feature you would revive?

[daveamkrayoguy]

Doesn’t THIS take you back?!

Let’s once again see Incandescent Lamps become the norm, even in a vintage lamp at the antique store which will probably never get made again maybe while something like this plays:

— Dave

 

[iheartmaytag]

Most have talked about washing machines

Which I agree with many of the wants. Would gladly wash with a 1980s Filter Flo again.

I would like to have the Hobart/Kitchenaid dishwasher back. With a powerful, short wash.

 

[lakewebsterkid]

What would I bring back?

QUALITY PARTS

 

[foraloysius]

I would love to see a more differentiated design for appliances. Nowadays everything looks alike. It would be nice to recognise appliances again from a large distance instead of putting on your reading glasses to read the label on it.

 

[kevin313]

How about just making things that can be repaired? So many things - especially small appliances - are not intended to be repaired but thrown away. More junk, more plastic, in our landfills and water.

People used to earn a living by repairing all kinds of things: shoes, TV/radios, small appliances, yard equipment, clothing, etc. Now we are all about consuming as much as we can.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

Bench seat on cars—that’s right a BENCH FRONT seat! Ditto for trucks and SUV’s…

— Dave

 

[qsd-dan]

Bench seat on cars

Loved my bench seat vehicles. I guess they got a bad rap and disappeared because they weren't considered "sporty" by car enthusiasts.

 

Soft suspensions got the same treatment and I miss those, too.

 

[ea56]

I miss bench seats and soft suspensions too.  I liked the feel of driving and riding in a true “Detroiter”.  I also prefer column shift for the transmission too.

 

Eddie 

 

[maytag85]

I feel like my spine is going to come apart one of these days since I can literally feel every single bump in the road in my mother’s 2006 Honda Accord and the 2004 Honda Odyssey is a bit softer on bumps but has a wollowy ride since the shocks are worn out after 174,000 miles of being driven on roads that looked like they haven’t been touched since the 70’s and 80’s.

Only conclusion I could come up with is unibody construction isn’t as solid as body on frame construction and sure not everyone will agree with me but I just find that unibody cars don’t soak up bumps as well since they tend to pitch when hitting certain bumps and tend to throw you back in the seat as well.

 

[pulltostart]

Bench Seats

The last car my parents bought was a 1999 Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight Anniversary Edition, with leather bench seats.  She would never discuss a new car because she didn't want anything to do with bucket seats.  Why - because, according to her, there was no place for her purse.

 

lawrence

 

[wilkinsservis]

It always seemed in the old advertisements ...

Wearing heels and a nice frock to do laundry!

 

[fan-of-fans]

I found those Maytag 100th Anniversary set on AJMadison.com

https://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/MTW5807TQ.html

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

What's Appropriate/Inappropriate Bahavior:

The days when we were weren't so hurried and rushed at the expense of being rude and ill-mannered, and maybe recognizing the names of things and calling them by their proper names, according to the label, not some generalization....

Yes, work at where I work at or even shop there, you'll see some examples, I can't properly describe...

Good grammar, too...

-- Dave

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

So Patient/So Impatient

Yes when we had patience, not impatience…

But does any range top nowadays have even one Temperature Sensor-ed Burner?

That is one creature that needs a comeback…

That and while I sometimes appreciate and use the fifth burner on my stove, the grates that spread out entirely over the top of my stove make the wide, uniformed surface under it hard to clean…

So a conventional stove top without those burner caps would also be welcome in being much easier to clean!

— Dave

 

[sudsmaster]

I sometimes drive a 50 Plymouth with a three speed manual transmission (they didn't come with automatics back then). I've never run into a problem shifting my foot from clutch to dimmer switch and back. Normally when one is tooling along, the need to dim the lights (as for oncoming traffic on a two lane road) happens when the clutch is not needed. Same for my '67 Chevy Van with a three speed tranny. Not a problem.

 

 

[kenwashesmonday]

Not only was the dimmer switch on the floor convenient, having one eliminates the need for all the relays and nonsense in the headlight dimming circuit found in a modern car.

 

[rp2813]

As long as we've driven this discussion way off course .

Rich, didn't Plymouth at least offer Fluid Drive transmission (AKA "semi-automatic" in layman's terms) in 1950?  I know Dodge did.  I think I've only driven a Fluid Drive once, and that was a friend's 1950 Dodge pickup.  I'm sure it was a super rare option on their trucks back then.

 

[ea56]

Ralph I don’t believe the Fluid Drive was offered in the 1950 Plymouth.  It wasn’t until ‘53 that Plymouth offered Hy-Drive a version of Fluid Drive as a forerunner to Torque-Flight in ‘55, the first fully automatic transmission offered for Plymouth.

 

Fluid drive was originally offered in Chrysler’s and I believe also in DeSoto’s ‘39, then in ‘40 Dodges too.  I’ve never personally driven a Fluid Drive, but rode in many owned by family members in the 50’s.  When I took Drivers Education in the 9th grade the textbook contained info on how to drive a Fluid Drive equipped car as there were many still in service in ‘65.  I think Fluid Drive was really a very ingenious idea, I would love to get the opportunity to drive a car with Fluid Drive one day.  Fluid Drive was also used in some USA tanks during WWII, and Hydramatic was used in the other tanks.

 

Eddie

[this post was last edited: 8/23/2021-13:47]

 

[vacerator]

Re; Floor mounted headlight dimmer switch

NOoooooooooooo! Picture it: Troy Michigan, January 1986 on I-75 at night. My ex was driving his 1978 Pontiac Phoenix home from work. We had recently put a new engine in it. The Buick 231 V6 spun a bearing ad threw a piston rod. We found a low mlileage Olds 260 V8 and swapped it out. While not quick, it ran great and was smooth and quiet. The dimmer switch suddenly shorted out from salty water from snow or ice. All the wiring burned up under the dash and into the main harness behind the firewall. So his brother the mechanic yanked that Olds V8 out and scrapped the car.

 

[gizmo]

Fluid drive

Is the Fluid Drive a manual gear change with a torque converter instead of a clutch?

I used to have a 1974 Citroen GS 1220 with convertisseur transmission - a 3 speed manual with torque converter and an automatic clutch. It was fabulous to drive. When you pressed on the gear lever, it would electrically declutch the tiny wet clutch inside the torque converter, to make gear changes easier. When you released the gear lever, it would re-engage the clutch. You still had to release the accelerator pedal to change gears. When stopping, you would brake to a stop, change to first gear, the torque converter would slip to allow you to sit still with engine idling, just like a fully auto car. (clutch still engaged.) When you pressed the accelerator, the car drove just like an auto, till you had to release the accelerator and change to second gear. It was a lovely smooth car to drive, and despite having only a 1.2 litre, air cooled flat 4 engine, it could eat six-cylinder Holdens at the traffic light Grand Prix. I haven't owned that car since the 1980s but I'd love to own one now. My sister liked my car so much she bought one the same, though hers was a manual gear change 4 speed and was in much better condition than my car.

The video below (gizmo's link) shows the model I had, with the convertisseur transmission. The video is in French, you can select auto-generated English subtitles but they are very bad translations. Explanation of the convertisseur auto begins at 9.00 minutes. My car was right hand drive, so it had conventional round dials on the dashboard, not the amazing display in the French car.

The boot (trunk) you can see about 12:30 can hold a Hoover front load washing machine - just! - I speak from experience... it was a tight squeeze.

 

This  link is to a technical explanation of the convertisseur transmission: http://www.citroenet.org.uk/passenger-cars/michelin/gs/gs-18.html

 

This link is a better video of driving a GS convertisseur: