6 Disappearing Car Features

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mjohns2

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Interesting article I read this morning. What caught me off guard was the fact that the author selected features that I personally would rather keep on my future vehicle.

6 Disappearing Car Features

1. Manual transmissions
2. Keys
3. Crank windows
4. Antennas
5. Handbrake
6. Bias-ply tires
 
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I'm glad to see the mast antenna going away. It just looks out of place on todays vehicles. The only thing I've seen bias ply tires on in the last 10 years are rock crawlers and trailers. Personally, I wouldn't run them.
 
i hate this whole keyless thing. My mom's BMW X3 has it and it' really dumb.

Are we as a society that lazy that we can't put a key in a lock?
 
I have it.

mjohns2 said:
Interesting article I read this morning. What caught me off guard was the fact that the author selected features that I personally would rather keep on my future vehicle.

6 Disappearing Car Features

1. Manual transmissions
2. Keys
3. Crank windows
4. Antennas
5. Handbrake
6. Bias-ply tires
Click to expand...

I have all of this in 2 of my vehicles minus the bias ply.i love old school,keep it simple and last a long time.

I hate the new vehicle features just because if your battery is dead or lost the remote you have no choice but take it to the dealer.they will charge you an arm and a leg just because they can and there is nothing you can do about it.
 
You forgot to mention ground clearance. It seems newer SUVs are closer and closer to the ground. They sit the same as a car now.
 
Manual Shift T-Cases (Or T-Cases at all) and Manual Hubs are big ones too, they've been slowly disappearing since like 2000.

I'm kind of glad to see Bias plys go, they are pretty crappy to drive on.

I personally don't like Keyless entry, let alone the stupid Keyless start features.

The thing I will miss the most though, is definitely the simple stereo, it seems like every car made after like 05 just has this huge dash-integrated complicated 12 speaker stereo, and that makes it a PITA for people who like aftermarket sub/stereo setups (like me).
 
UnderFire said:
The thing I will miss the most though, is definitely the simple stereo, it seems like every car made after like 05 just has this huge dash-integrated complicated 12 speaker stereo, and that makes it a PITA for people who like aftermarket sub/stereo setups (like me).
Click to expand...

Amen to that! I HATE the way they're always trying to force you to buy whatever they offer--they integrate so much of the vehicle's functions into their giant do-all radio that you can't change to something you want without a major hassle. I pick up rental cars and bring them back to our shop all the time, and trying to learn all the junk on them is a royal pain.

The disappearance of most manual trans is a big loss, too--I prefer to control the car, instead of having some "sort-of-automatic" constantly hunting for the best gear for the situation, which I would've already been in, without all the downshift-lurch-upshift-lurch. I can't stand much of ANY of the new features that give the VEHICLE control of its functions, because it just sets you up for situations where it's going to go against your wishes and screw things up.
 
I have a '77 chevy pickup i use as an extra vehicle. My 7 year old niece ame over and wanted to sit in the truck and pretend to drive it. I said ok hop in, she was in the drivers seat looking around and then said, "whats that"? I looked over and she was pointing at the crank windows, she had never seen crank up windows before. I felt so old ha.
 
Really don't like the "Start" button. Silly status feature. Wind wings were great and also provided windows with a straight track so they wouldn't rattle when half open. Are we so lazy we have to have a self lifting/closing tailgate?
 

Carburetors are long gone. I realize that fuel injection is cleaner, more efficient and less troublesome over the long haul.....but there is just something about a huge 750 cfm Holley four-barrel with mechanical secondaries that makes me choke up a little bit.

It makes me feel GREAT that we have not seen those "mouse" motorized seat belts in twenty years or so. I HATED those darn things. You also had to buckle the lap belt or they were useless......and you'd risk getting decapitated if you stopped to open your mailbox.

As far as something NEW I might like to see, I suggest that a major car maker (say Ford or Chevy) would build a lightweight (close to 3000 lbs), rear-wheel-drive (preferably with a live axle) two-door sedan or small coupe with a small-block V8 - upward of 300 horsepower. {Think of the old Chevy II Nova, Dodge Dart GT, etc.}

Offer it with manual windows, a six-speed MANUAL transmission, no power steering and true dual exhaust! Let the only options be A/C, anti-lock brakes, rear defrost and an audio system. Keep it well under 30 grand and that car maker will sell all they can build!! If it is a Ford, call it a Falcon. For Chevy, refer to it as the Biscayne. Wax nostalgic because it will sell like hotcakes! :-)


P.S. Sorry if this is a bit off topic. I got carried away. :infidel::guitar2:
 
You know what...i like all the modern features! :) Once you guys go to keyless entry/START (status symbol? Really?! Kia has this feature standard on their cars!!), you won't go back. My wife hate it initially, but after LEARNING and LIVING with it, she hate going back to pulling out the key etc.. Me too frankly. So, easy to approach a car and just get in and drive. When i am done, i just get out, touch the door handle and walk away.

And for those who don't know, there is a FAIL-SAFE method if your key battery is out. And if your car battery is out, then well, you're stuck with any technology!

Actually, the ONLY thing that i miss is the HANDBRAKE. But even then, i like the automatic handbrake on my Subaru. I press and it engages positively. And if i forget when i drive away, then it automatically disengages. Now, sports car fans may miss it when they are trying to copy Fast & Furious movie. Off-roading, the handbrake "trick" is no longer needed in the age of ATRAC.

Manual tranny? I had SMG on my old BMW M3 and that thing would shift so damn fast! How many of us are really good at manual shifting to REALLY take advantage of it?? I doubt more than a handful on this forum. How many do toe-heel braking into a corner on a consistent basis? Look at Porsche. Their dual-clutch automanual is damn good...and is the preferred tranny. Porsche Cayman going from 0-60 in 4.1 seconds! Wow.

Nostalgia is great...but nah, i prefer my A/C, power windows, status symbol (aka START), ATRAC, factory high-end audio system, and my dual-clutch tranny.
 
BucknutBob said:
I can't stand much of ANY of the new features that give the VEHICLE control of its functions, because it just sets you up for situations where it's going to go against your wishes and screw things up.
Click to expand...

I would bet that most (if not 99.9%) of the time, a computer will outperform human reaction on the road. See VSC. See ABS. See ATRAC. When something fails, it is usually the idiot behind the wheel that is the problem, not the car's computer.
 

That is true, sir; but it appears as though our cars are getting a lot 'smarter' and the drivers are getting dumber and dumber with every new feature.

Perhaps I am just old-school. Grrrrr!!!!!:whoo: :crazy:

 
Thai said:
I would bet that most (if not 99.9%) of the time, a computer will outperform human reaction on the road. See VSC. See ABS. See ATRAC. When something fails, it is usually the idiot behind the wheel that is the problem, not the car's computer.
Click to expand...

then save that stuff for when it fails...

i hate how everything is computerized. My mom's BMW that i was talking about before has everything on a stupid screen controlled by a little knob selector thing and it's a pain to scroll through menus to lower a window or something. :ybrick:
 
I will miss manual transmissions!!!! Like others said, I like the control of my vehicle.

All this computer run crap is ridiculous. Soon enough it will require an 8 year computer programming masters degree just to work on an engine.
 
Jeff Kleb said:

That is true, sir; but it appears as though our cars are getting a lot 'smarter' and the drivers are getting dumber and dumber with every new feature.

Perhaps I am just old-school. Grrrrr!!!!!:whoo: :crazy:
Click to expand...

Are you saying that there weren't bad drivers in the old days? Stupid drivers will always be stupid drivers...they don't need a computer to make them that way!! Why do you think these technologies evolved? Because we are all Formula 1 drivers? Or is it because a good proportion of our society suck at driving! I bet the latter.

And here is a video of old school technology vs. modern:
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/joMK1WZjP7g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

zopperman said:
then save that stuff for when it fails...

i hate how everything is computerized. My mom's BMW that i was talking about before has everything on a stupid screen controlled by a little knob selector thing and it's a pain to scroll through menus to lower a window or something. :ybrick:
Click to expand...

Footofgod said:
I will miss manual transmissions!!!! Like others said, I like the control of my vehicle.

All this computer run crap is ridiculous. Soon enough it will require an 8 year computer programming masters degree just to work on an engine.
Click to expand...

Although I agree with you guys on some points, please note that modern engines have such high output while being extremely clean and fuel efficient. How do you think that this was accomplished? Carburetors? Hand crank?? We demand a high output engine that also sips fuel...but we want good old engine design...kinda impossible, don't you think?!

As for BMW computer, yeah, it can be daunting at first...but do you guys throw out your home computer or your smartphone too when it first came out? God gave us a brain to learn new stuff. Remember, BMW iDrive controls numerous aspect of the car that were simply not possible before, such as steering wheel assist depending on mode, suspension stiffness, transmission shift speeds, etc.. Don't you want this in a sports car? I do. It makes a HUGE difference in performance! Now, if you say that new technology is unreliable, then was BMW unreliable before I-Drive? Hell yeah! Is Lexus still reliable after the intro of the mouse system? Yup.

Complicated or not depends on the manufacturer AND the user's intelligence/ability.
 
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