Old Auto Tech That You LIKE?

I miss hand crank windows and single DIN radios with cassette players.

My first car was a 1991 Ford Explorer Sport. AC was an option. The front windows were hand crank and the rear windows were pop out. At the time, I remember reading the JC Whitney magazine and highly considering getting the power window conversion. 😀
 
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Colors! Cars today are not very colorful, and some paint schemes are very dull and muted. I remember the two-tone paint jobs of the fifties, and Chrysler's move to three-tone schemes ... pink, grey, and black ... pastels with greens, blues, yellows ... perhaps culminating in the VW with its harlequin paint scheme.

Several families in our neighborhood made their monotoned cars into two-tones by painting the roof of their vehicle, usually a lighter color. My dad bought a dark green '51 Buick and before too long it, too, had a lighter-colored roof (kind of a cream color).
 
Swivel seats, manual transmissions, suicide doors, t-tops, bladed bodies (Cadillac). Plush velour seats, tufted or loose leather, bold, heroic car names.
 
Here’s something about hand cranking. I think I’d prefer electric start. Seems it’s possible to break one’s thumb or wrist trying to start a car by hand cranking?

I have a 9 HP (prolly a lie but that’s what it said back in 2003) snowblower and the Tecumseh starter burned out pretty quickly. Would have costed over $200 to fix, when I only spent $650 on it. So been pull starting a rather large engine for maybe 17 years.

Hand cranking a large engine is no big deal. I have a McCormick Deering tractor with a 284ci 4 cylinder engine. Crank start only. No broken body parts yet, proper technique prevents that. ND 30 oil, usually starts on the 4th pull.

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Here’s something about hand cranking. I think I’d prefer electric start. Seems it’s possible to break one’s thumb or wrist trying to start a car by hand cranking?

I have a 9 HP (prolly a lie but that’s what it said back in 2003) snowblower and the Tecumseh starter burned out pretty quickly. Would have costed over $200 to fix, when I only spent $650 on it. So been pull starting a rather large engine for maybe 17 years.

I find engines with electric starts have a hand or kick start however the design is typically not optimal because it’s simply a backup not the main method of starting. This includes small engines in yard equipment and motorcycles.
 
I love the new tech. I do miss the thick cushy upholstery seats. It's good that they are starting to bring back some colors two tones.
 
I miss good old eye saving dimmer incandescent lighting, especially the tail lights. You know back when DOT had reasonable candle power rules for lights. LED's are likely a major contributor to Macular degeneration.

I really miss the days when the only electronic device in a car or truck was a tube radio.

More for the list, leaded paint, and fuel proof lacquer.

How about when soy based wire insulation was not used?

And the most important of all, the eye pleasing styling, till that went down the toilet starting in the 60's.
 
This is obscure, but I miss mechanical odometers. I loved seeing the 9s line up before a thousand-mile rollover.

I also miss tenths on the odometer - I guess they figure it's not needed because the trip meter has them.
 
Hand cranking a large engine is no big deal. I have a McCormick Deering tractor with a 284ci 4 cylinder engine. Crank start only. No broken body parts yet, proper technique prevents that. ND 30 oil, usually starts on the 4th pull.

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That's a nice tractor...off the top of my head, I think my dad's was 17 HP diesel and 3 cyl....Kubota. I could be wrong it was a very long time ago....
 
And here is some old auto tech that I'm glad no longer exists:



I remember when some of the new safety features mentioned in the video were introduced and the resistance they faced by the driving public. Would you be willing to go back to the absense of these safety features?
 
Port fuel injection
Real buttons
Single wiper blade size for both sides
Cars that do what I want when I tell it to/less intrusive nannies. Ex goes into park if I open the door in gear....
The Old Techs that I miss the most are the competent Boomer and X parts and repair guys that have retired or slowed down.
 
I bought a 2020 BMW a year a ago and I still haven't learned all its capabilities. It has AWD, which I have yet to learn how to engage. I don't drive in snow anymore.
 
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