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Food for Thought, Car Timelines

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glemon

glemon

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I don't remember what got me on this track, but think about this: Many of us on the forum grew up or lived in the 60s right? So lets put the year at 1965 or so, at that time the latest model Ts were about 40 years old. fast forward to 2015. TR3s are over 50 years old, and TR6s are over or near 40 years old. So your little British Car is likely older than a Model T was when you were growing up. I don't know about you, but it kind of boggles my mind, do younger kids think of our cars as not just old but totally ancient historical artifacts?
 
Somewhere in the sixties there was a shift to a "modern" car. While my MGB got noticed for its size and RHD, it didn't look *that* different than a Miata, and could keep up in modern traffic just fine. In many ways car layout solidified in the 1960s and the changes have come much slower than they were prior.

I grew up in the 1980s, a time when cars were not particularly fun or special (or all that good) for the most part. There were still some old muscle/pony cars around, though, and those caught my attention. Still would like a '66 Mustang some day. I discovered Led Zeppelin at the same time, so I was looking back at "better" times (rose colored glasses and all that).

But yes, our cars are very old. "Kids these days" will see them as such, but if they remain affordable they will still be interesting at least to some of them -- the ones, like I did, that like those older, more interesting things. I was doing a presentation for a class of 5th graders recently and had a picture of my Bugeye on my screen -- they loved it and thought it was cool. They also asked me what you could do with a computer before the Internet, so I felt appropriately old. :grin:
 
Speaking of cars of our youth; Things you don't see any more in cars:

1. Column shifters
2. Ash Trays
3. Vent Windows
4. Seats without belts (or lap belts only)
5. Full-sized spare
6. Analog dash clock


Anything else?
 
Basil said:
Speaking of cars of our youth; Things you don't see any more in cars:

1. Column shifters
2. Ash Trays
3. Vent Windows
4. Seats without belts (or lap belts only)
5. Full-sized spare
6. Analog dash clock


Anything else?
Click to expand...
RAIN GUTTERS!!!!! Why did we have to lose the one thing that kept all the snow and rain from landing square in the middle of the drivers seat when you open the door? Not to mention how useful they were for mounting roof racks and CB antennas.
I love driving my old cars with the vent windows too.
 
I hate the lack of vent windows on new cars, the lack of gutters, and the lack of a full size spare.
 
OK, not technically a "car":

My '09 Chevy cargo van has a column shift (but you may be referring to manual trans column shift.....yep, they're gone).
My van also has an ashtray (it came off the lot with the optional "Smoker's Package"....I didn't order it, but it's great for storing change).
Van also has a full size spare.
And it has wind-up windows, which is getting pretty rare too.

Do any modern cars have whitewalls?
Or bench seats in the front?
I'm not sure I can think of any current (2014) cars with drums brakes.

I was surprised to read recently that there are NO Ferraris built with a normal, manual trans anymore.

The kids in my neighborhood think my old Brit cars are "cool".
When I was a teenager, we had a neighbor who had a run down Model A that he drove. I was never that fascinated with it.

Last summer, my quadcopter took off on it's own due to high winds. I figured I'd never get it back. But it had a camera onboard. The mother of a teenager found it about 1.5 miles from my house and returned it to me. Her son looked at the camera video and figured out that it came from the house with the "cool little red car" (her words).
 
Anything else kids don't see?

When's the last time you saw a brake pedal that actually said "power" on it?

C5ZZ2457E.jpg


This from a 1966 Ford Mustang. A few years ago I had a student ask "what are power brakes?" He'd never ever seen a car without them.
 
Astro-vents(Foot vents and hood vents)
Powerglide, torqueflights, hydramatic,
key in dash, floor button for high/low beams
 
I believe Infinities still have analog clocks, I suppose the guts are digital, but it has an analog display. I too miss vent windows, was great to be able to get fresh air without getting blasted by it. The comment about "modern" cars is true. Cars were still developing very quickly and in their infancy in the days of the model T. Loved the picture of the power brake pedal, I know whoever I let someone drive my old sports car that isn't familiar I explain the brakes and steering (the TR250 actually has power brakes but they aren't boosted as much as a modern car).

Remember 70s era American cars, especially GM where a the gentlest tap of the brakes was enough to produce full lock up?
 
glemon said:
I believe Infinities still have analog clocks, I suppose the guts are digital, but it has an analog display. I too miss vent windows, was great to be able to get fresh air without getting blasted by it. The comment about "modern" cars is true. Cars were still developing very quickly and in their infancy in the days of the model T. Loved the picture of the power brake pedal, I know whoever I let someone drive my old sports car that isn't familiar I explain the brakes and steering (the TR250 actually has power brakes but they aren't boosted as much as a modern car).

Remember 70s era American cars, especially GM where a the gentlest tap of the brakes was enough to produce full lock up?
Click to expand...

Until 2014, you could still get the Chevy Impala with a bench seat (but 2013 was the last year)
 
I remember seeing cars from the 50s in the late 1970s and early 1980s and thinking how old they were, when in reality they were only about 25 to 35 years old. My Sprite will be 46 in April.

I still remember the passenger footwell vents you could open up. Our '66 Buick Special had them, and they were also in a '76 Chevy Van that I used to drive.
 
I think a big thing with cars from the 1960's is that they are still drivable on modern roads, whereas a 1930's car or earlier isn't a practical daily driver and hasn't been for years... Here in western Canada, where we use a lot less road salt in winter, I see lots of young people buying older cars even if they pre-date their birthdate... I recently saw these young guys driving around Calgary...

15855307985_61c23df7b1.jpg


A classic beater with some special interest, but yet very drivable under modern conditions...
 
Analogue clock is a marketing think for Lexuses (Lexii?) - people liked the digital but not the clock - so it becomes a mark of "luxury"

IIRC VW used drum brakes up until relatively recently - (Googled it and it seems like maybe 2012 was the last) - I know that the last time I was car shopping they were selling a rock bottom priced new Jetta for about 16k. went to the dealer to find that it was such a "bait & switch" that they didn't even keep one in stock - wanted 22k for a "real one" - I think the basic has drums - either way, I hate Bait & switch so left.
 
Basil said:
Speaking of cars of our youth; Things you don't see any more in cars:

1. Column shifters
2. Ash Trays
3. Vent Windows
4. Seats without belts (or lap belts only)
5. Full-sized spare
6. Analog dash clock


Anything else?
Click to expand...

Dash switch for the wipers and a button, or pump, for the washers. Dash also and sometimes separate switches for the exterior and dash lights.

When I was a kid in the 60s half or more of every car show I got to go to was Model Ts. In 60s dollars the nice ones could be worth upwards of 14-15k as I recall, which was a lot then.
 
"I think a big thing with cars from the 1960's is that they are still drivable on modern roads."

James, That is one of the things I love about my Cadillac it keeps up with modern traffic with no difficulty whatsoever, that and it is much more comfortable than any LBC I have ever owned.
 
I almost added starter button to the list of outdated things we used to see in cars, but I remember that some luxury brands have brought them back for some reason. My 52 International has a starter button, does that mean it's as fancy as a Lexus?

Speaking of my pick-up I can add something to the list; holes in the grill for an auxiliary starter handle to go through in case the battery was dead.
 
mikephillips said:
When I was a kid in the 60s half or more of every car show I got to go to was Model Ts. In 60s dollars the nice ones could be worth upwards of 14-15k as I recall, which was a lot then.
Click to expand...



My grandfather (mom's side) bought his first Model T for $6 and rebuilt the motor with junkyard parts he bought for $1.40.
 
waltesefalcon said:
"I think a big thing with cars from the 1960's is that they are still drivable on modern roads."

James, That is one of the things I love about my Cadillac it keeps up with modern traffic with no difficulty whatsoever, that and it is much more comfortable than any LBC I have ever owned.
Click to expand...


Yeah, and you could buy a LBC for what it cost to feed that thing for a year. :laugh:
 
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