Cars have changed so much over the last few decades that many features once considered normal would leave today’s Gen Z drivers scratching their heads. What was once everyday routine now seems like a strange inconvenience. From cranking your own windows to managing a choke just to start the car, older vehicles demanded far more involvement and patience. For those who grew up with them, these features bring back fond memories of simpler times. For younger drivers, they might sound like something out of a history book. Let’s revisit ten old school car features that would puzzle today’s generation and explain how they shaped the driving experience in ways modern cars can’t replicate.
Manual Window Cranks
Before the luxury of power windows became widespread, rolling your window down meant grabbing a handle and cranking it around in circles. It was a workout for your arm, especially if you were in the back seat of a big sedan in the middle of summer. Kids today, used to tapping a button, wouldn’t believe how long it could take to lower every window manually. But in its own way, there was something satisfying about the click and resistance of the crank, and for many drivers, it was part of the rhythm of car life.
Cigarette Lighters and Ashtrays
In the 60s, 70s, and even into the 90s, cars came with cigarette lighters and ashtrays as standard features. They were everywhere—front dash, rear doors, and sometimes even fold out trays. Smoking was so ingrained in culture that automakers assumed every passenger would want their own lighter. Today, the same socket is just a twelve volt power outlet, and younger drivers don’t realize it was once designed to ignite a cigarette. It also meant that entire cars carried a lingering smell that modern car buyers would never accept.
Cassette and 8 Track Players
Entertainment on the road was once a very different experience. First came 8 tracks, which allowed you to shuffle between pre recorded programs, and then cassettes, which gave drivers more control but still required fast forwarding and rewinding to find songs. A road trip meant carrying a shoebox full of tapes that often got tangled or warped in the sun. Gen Z drivers, who can summon any track instantly on Spotify, would find it hard to imagine rewinding an album while keeping the car steady on the highway. Yet for those who lived it, there was a special charm to curating your own mix tapes for long journeys.
Pop Up Headlights
From the Corvette to the Mazda RX 7, pop up headlights were the ultimate cool factor for decades. At the push of a button, lights would rise out of the hood like something futuristic. Kids today might not understand why headlights had to hide in the first place, but at the time, it gave cars a sleek, aerodynamic look during the day. The downside was that the motors often failed, leaving one headlight stuck open or closed, a problem owners had to laugh through. Despite their flaws, pop up headlights are still remembered fondly as one of the most charming design quirks in car history.
Bench Seats in the Front
Family sedans and pickup trucks often came with a single bench seat across the front, just like in the back. Three people could sit shoulder to shoulder, which often meant awkwardly sharing space with the gear shifter or handbrake. For many, it was part of the family road trip experience, with kids sliding around on vinyl seats while parents smoked and listened to AM radio. Today’s cars with bucket seats and center consoles feel far more private, but they lack the communal charm of the old bench seat era.
Hand Chokes and Carburetors
Starting an older car, especially in cold weather, often required finesse with a choke knob to get the carburetor mixture right. Too much choke and you flooded the engine, too little and the car would sputter and stall. It was part science, part art, and required drivers to actually understand the mechanics of their cars. Modern vehicles with fuel injection and push button start seem almost magical by comparison, needing no driver input beyond pressing the brake. For younger drivers, the idea of fiddling with knobs just to get the engine going feels absurd, but it was once second nature.
Vent Windows
Before air conditioning became standard, many cars came with small triangular vent windows that could be flipped open to direct fresh air into the cabin. On a summer day, drivers aimed them at their faces to cool down while cruising. They were charming and practical, but they also let in rain and wind noise at higher speeds. For kids who take climate controlled cabins for granted, these little windows would seem like odd appendages that solved a problem modern cars fixed decades ago.
Column Shifters
Gear shifters were not always in the center console. For decades, many cars placed the shifter on the steering column. Automatics had “three on the tree,” while some manuals had column mounted setups as well. It was functional, but it left modern drivers confused about how anyone managed to change gears that way. Today’s sleek rotary dials, buttons, and paddle shifters look high tech, but column shifters remind us of a time when practicality came first and fashion second.
No Power Steering
Younger drivers take for granted how easily they can spin a steering wheel with one finger. But before power assist became standard, turning the wheel at low speeds was an arm workout. Parallel parking without power steering often meant bracing yourself and muscling the wheel into position. While cars with manual steering offered great road feel at speed, they were exhausting to drive in tight city streets. Today’s kids would be shocked at how much upper body strength used to be required just to park.
Floor Mounted Dimmer Switches
For years, the switch to turn on high beams wasn’t on the stalk or dashboard—it was a metal button on the floorboard near the driver’s left foot. Drivers had to press it while keeping their eyes on the road, which was second nature then but would feel bizarre now. Younger drivers would likely wonder why headlights needed a foot pedal at all when a thumb switch on the wheel is so much easier. It was a simple solution at the time, but one that feels ancient today.
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