What do you miss most about an old car...

[beekeyknee]

I hate those cast aluminum wheels with the stupid tire pressure monitor batteries in the valve stems. The battery goes low and they want $180.00 to change the batteries. That's getting close to the price of one of the lovely new low profile tires. I told them just to leave it alone. The damn thing can just flash at me. I don't care at that price.

That's really not what I miss about old cars, but I'm leaving it anyway.

 

[moparwash]

crappy Thermoquad...

Yep, Washman....the thermoquad is not the greatest...never could get it to work on my 73 Imperial...and the starter sure got a workout!

 

[frigilux]

Kevin-- We had the same '64 Dodge (same color, even!) with the pushbutton transmission when I was a kid. Thanks for posting the photos---what a trip down memory lane. Cool!

 

[moparguy]

Kevin, what a BEAUTIFUL Dodge!!! I love it!!! My grandfather had a 64 Polara sedan, and my parents had a 64 Savoy sedan... I loved the way the dashes lit up at night, with the soft green glow of the pushbuttons. Yours looks to be in beautiful shape, it must be a great drive, I hope you get it out more this summer!

 

[alr2903]

I think today's kids are cheated,  anyone remember how the glove box lid opened down and and had little indentations to hold drinks on 60's Chevrolets.  Your mom would take you to A&W.  You could not make a mess everybody had those plastic seatcovers that would "brand" that 5 point star on your legs if you had on shorts, of course the floor mats were rubber.  Scrub them with a broom and hose them off.  You also got to take home some A&W root beer in that cardboard  wax  container shaped like a traffic cone.  Norgeway, we must of been tougher kids, how many of us banged our head on all those knobs,  I think the multi switches on the steering column, were to get rid of the dangerous knobs.  Some of us were raised in new cars with no seat belts and we lived. Of course as kids we were not strapped in seats appropriate for space travel.  Seriously though the metal beefy knobs on the dash were dangerous in an accident. alr

 

[countryford]

Riding around in the back of a station wagon with no seat belts.

 

[firedome]

real atomic age Jetsons styling:

yes, FINS! aka "aerodynamic stabilizers", ala <<----- my "new" car or former car:

 

[ken]

The Good Old Days ?

These were recently sent to me by a friend.

NO Heated Seats, NO Heaters!

Before I complain the next time I get into that COLD car, I’ll try to remember what it was like for my grandparents and their contemporaries.

 

[ken]

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[ken]

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[hydralique]

alr2903 . . .

Did your mother have the pre-seatbelt "mom-o-matic" reflex action where during a sharp stop her right arm would pop out to catch any unbelted kid in the passenger's seat and keep him from hitting that dashboard full of sharp knobs? Mine did, still remember it. Would have been totally useless in a real wreck but guess it made her feel good!

 

Love the reminder of the patterned plastic seat covers that burned your legs in the summer; to keep the heat off any car with those should really have rear venetian blinds as well (like our neighbor's '66 Delta 88 four door hardtop)!

 

[philcobendixduo]

Interior Color Choice

Another vote for something I SORELY miss from "the old days" - choices of interior colors. Not only are most cars today made with black interiors, but on top of that, if there IS a choice of another interior color, it is usually available only if you choose certain exterior colors (for example - Acura has a tan interior but only if you choose a white exterior). I know - it's all about "cost effectiveness" and "bottom lines" but I am one of those that REFUSES to purchase a car - even a car I really like - if I don't have some choice in what the interior color will be. My 2003 Passat was ordered by me from the factory. Even then, there were LOTS of exterior color choices and most all of them could be had with any of the 3 interior color choices (black, gray or tan).
There are now many cars that come with NO interior color choice - just black.
THEN, there are some cars out now (Chevy Impala) offering some "interesting" colors inside but only on the seats and the door panels while everything else is - BLACK. Looks awful to me! For as much as cars cost these days, how much would it really add to the sticker price to offer more interior color choices?
Picture below is my family's 1977 Ford Granada Ghia in Dark Jade Green metallic with two tone green interior.
(Interior shot in next post)

 

[philcobendixduo]

1977 Ford Granada Ghia two-tone interior

What happened to beautiful interiors like this?
Two-tone leather - interesting stitching pattern and matching door panels, too!