"Does this thing have airbags?"

[AN5Sprite]

That's a direct quote I heard today from my 20 year old passenger as I was aggressively moving through some traffic in Ye Olde' Sprite...

Maniacal laughter was my only response.

Just had to share.

 

[drooartz]

Always good to scare the next generation. Healthy dose of fear hightens the experience. :grin:

 

[nomad]

That's great Steve.....hope the maniacal laughter made them a little more nervous!

Kurt.

 

[dklawson]

You mean you didn't reply with...
"Yes but they are disabled just like the stability control and anti-lock brakes".

 

[aeronca65t]

My brother borrowed my 948 Midget to give his 11 year old son (my nephew) a ride.

So they're driving down a straight, open road and my nephew yells out:

" Hey Dad! Slow down! You're going too fast!"

At which point, my brother points out that they're doing 35 mph in a 40 mph zone. :wink-new:

Our kids are too used to riding in 4-wheel cocoons.

 

[Morris]

A bit OT... but my son was playing with Lego motorcycles, and I asked him if he wanted to learn to ride a real motorcycle. He thought about it... and said "No." :confusion: Kids today.​

 

[SaxMan]

Most kids do take for granted that the various devices, etc. that are on cars today were always there. I was once driving our band van and had the drummer's son riding with me. It was a pleasant day, so I told him to go ahead and open the window. He looks at the armrest, sees no switches, and then looks cross-eyed at the crank handle, looks back at me and asks "What am I supposed to do?".

Good thing I didn't show him a rotary phone.

 

[Sarastro]

No, but depending on the passenger, it might have a windbag.

 

[longbridgehealey]

Last year our niece wanted to drive our Bugeye. My wife told her she could take it out for a drive if she could start it. Once she turned the key and only heard the fuel pump clicking, she was totally lost

 

[dklawson]

It was a pleasant day, so I told him to go ahead and open the window. He looks at the armrest, sees no switches, and then looks cross-eyed at the crank handle, looks back at me and asks "What am I supposed to do?"

I have an acquaintance whose son was seen with his friends standing outside of the family's Corvair. They were arguing about something so my friend went to see what it was about. When he got there he found his son was trying to explain that you used "that handle" to roll the windows down and the other kids were calling him a liar.

 

[Trevor Jessie]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you can still buy cars with manual windows.

 

[Keith_M]

My bit to add to this thread: I am amazed by the number of people (even somewhat "older" people) who are completely baffled by a manual choke.

 

[dklawson]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you can still buy cars with manual windows.

You probably can. The last one I saw was a bottom trim level Mitsubishi Galant back in 2001. I was shocked that they had one on the lot with AM Radio, crank windows, and without AC. Worse yet... it was jet black with a dark interior which is unheard of in NC... if you don't have AC.

 

[SaxMan]

My father in law recently bought a base level Toyota Corolla with manual windows, I can't remember if it was his 2008 or the 2012. I hadn't seen that on a Toyota in eons.

I can definitely understand the manual choke. I'm 46 and had never seen one until I bought my 1985 Toyota Landcruiser in 1996. I'm not sure when American cars stopped using manual choke, but I do know that none of our family's cars ever had it.

 

[Trevor Jessie]

I'm 42 and had never seen a manual choke in a car (that I could remember), but I certainly had operated plenty of power equipment that required a choke. And I suspect that mini bikes and go-karts still have chokes.

 

[nomad]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you can still buy cars with manual windows.

My 2 year old bare bones Toyota pickup has manual windows. Had to have it shipped in since one like that was hard to come by.

Kurt.

 

[aeronca65t]

My '09 Chevy Express cargo van ( aka " Vanna White") has wind up windows. You can still get them that way in the 2013 model (although I honestly would prefer electric windows myself). My '69 MGB has its original AM-only radio.

 

[Pythias]

When my daughter was taking drivers ed, she was given a list of things to identify in car. She asked to to it in the Sprite,
Airbag warning light-Nope,
ABS light-nope,
Check Engine light-Nope,
Seat Belt warning light-Nope,
Brake Failure light-Nope,
Emergency Flasher-Nope,
Low Fuel light-Nope
I can't remember now all the things it asked for, but we only found about half the list.

 

[bthompson]

Young relatives are shocked by the manual transmission. I can't believe they've never seen one. They're also surprised by rear wheel drive, of all things.

The next question is usually about A/C. When I explain it doesn't have power anything, and then list all the things I "don't have," they look at me like I just arrived from Mars. How does it run without a computer??

Kids just don't realize how little a car really needs. Sad really.

 

[Trevor Jessie]

When I was a kid I was shocked to learn that old cars required the driver to advance the spark.