With the introduction of technology, things are changing on cars faster than we can keep up with. Some features will never change, while others that might have seemed groundbreaking a long time ago are quite laughable today. That’s the way technology goes—making a fool of everything that came in the past. Sometimes there’s a bit of pushback on car features that have been around since the dawn of time, but everything, eventually, must adapt or go extinct.
Recently, Ford made a surprising announcement that they’d be adding radio knobs to their high-tech control system, MyFord Touch. It’s a retreat from cutting-edge technology, opting for older tech that people seem to appreciate. You don’t often see a regression in the auto business, but it turns out that some things are better left alone. Still, you shouldn’t expect many changes like that in the future.
Ever since Karl Benz was credited with the revolutionary invention of the automobile, cars have gone through tremendous transformations. From changes in manufacturing to material usage and extensive variations of engine types, modern cars have embraced the latest technological advances, usually to become smarter, safer, and sleeker. Many people receive these changes with a sense of nostalgia for the past. Can you imagine a world without manual transmissions? Because it’s happening, more and more.
We still don’t know what changes cars are in for the future: the return to ribbon speedometers? Who knows. But we DO know which features are likely on the way out, in exchange for the newer, shinier thing. Here are 25 “revolutionary” car features that we find laughable today.
25 Long Radio Antennas
Antennas are a bit of an eyesore, so it’s probably best that they’re becoming extinct as technology advances. They’re also a pain, either sticking out about five feet above a car, meaning they’re almost always breaking, which leaves a driver without music (and also makes them fear car washes). Nowadays, engineers opt to hide long radio antennas under more aesthetically pleasing and aerodynamic shark fin covers, or even in windows. With these relics being phased out, that means you’ll only find funny foam antenna toppers in antique stores and pawn shops.
24 Parking Brakes
While the function of this hefty, heavy device hasn’t been eliminated, the form in which it is activated has been. Electric parking brakes have become popular, freeing up space in the center console where manual parking brakes used to sit. Electric brakes have reduced the activation of the parking brake to a mere button push. It seems to be just as effective of a means for an important part of the parking process (especially if you’re parking on a hill). Also, this way it makes it easier to remember not to drive away with the parking brake still engaged! However, using the push-button parking brake as an emergency brake is now impossible.
23 Keys And Keyholes
The car key is basically synonymous with automobiles—or at least it has been since the advent of cars. But over the past decade or so, multiple ways of replacing the car key (and keyhole) have been introduced, including keypad locks and button fobs. Currently, proximity keys are also starting to gain popularity, getting rid of any need to fish for your keys in your pocket to unlock the door (or start the car). Push button starting has also started to become a standard, too.
22 Audible Turn Signals
Turn signals are obviously important (so much so that highway patrol departments have made videos about how important they are to use), letting fellow drivers know when a car is planning on turning or merging lanes. Turn signal indicators let the driver know the turn signal is still on, particularly when it shouldn’t be. A while ago, turn signal indicators had distinctive, unmistakable sounds when activated (to warn drivers that they were on) but over the years, that auditory note has faded in favor of blinking visual cues, which seem a lot more useful.
21 Spare Tires
Spare tires are useful for when you get a flat while driving. But there’s usually no handy manual for changing the tire (it’s a learned trait). These days, a AAA truck is more likely to be called in the event of a flat for the average driver, even if a jack and tire iron happen to be on hand, especially with the younger generation. Also, luxury cars are starting to introduce features like patch kits, automatic sealing, and reinforced sidewalls to eliminate the need to remove the punctured tire. Eventually, that technology will probably make its way to every car, rendering spare tires obsolete.
20 Drum Brakes
There aren’t any carmakers that offer four-wheel drum brakes in the United States anymore. However, many entry-level models from manufacturers in Asia have disc brakes in the front and less expensive drums in the back. David Champion, a senior auto tester for Consumer’s Union, told Boston Archive, “With the advent of electronic stability control, where you’re going to use quite a bit of rear brake, disc brakes are a necessity.” But drum brakes overheat faster than disc brakes, making them fade. They’re still found in cars like the Chevy Cobalt, Dodge Dakota, and Ford Escape, but that’s it.
19 Cassette Players
Cassette players are about two generations removed in terms of technological advances (CD players being a generation removed, and digital outlets being the current rage). Mobile music has always been a crucial part of the daily drive but the form in which media is accessed continues to evolve, which means that cassette players have been going the way of the dodo for about two decades now. You probably won’t find a cassette player in a car unless it’s 20 years old (or older).
18 CD Players
CD players are slowly being phased out, as well, as more and more people turn to auxiliary outlets, Bluetooth, smartphones, and infotainment screens. CD players are starting to make their exit just as the cassette player once did, with many new vehicles dropping the CD slot in favor of display audio systems. Remember the time when people took pride in their enormous CD cases filled with 200+ albums? Well, those days are becoming rarer and rarer, unfortunately. All good things must come to an end, thanks to built-in MP3 players and smartphones. In-car GPS systems will probably soon go by the wayside, too.
17 Bench Seats
Front bench seats used to be the signature of the big Detroit car, with armrests and plenty of room to slouch giving way to a third seat up front when needed. But because of safety regulations—or the sense of individuality that is so strong today—these large seats (that used to take up the entire front of the Cadillac DTS, Buick LaCrosse, and Lincoln Town Car) have given way to bolstered bucket seats that are heated and ventilated to keep the driver in an optimal, comfortable, front-facing position.
16 Backseats Without Headrests
Backseats have always gotten the short end of the stick, whether that be from windows that only roll down partway to the drivetrain hump splitting the middle rider in two. Cupholders, HVAC controls, and head-curtain airbags have made them a little more desirable, but many manufacturers forget that rear passengers have heads, too. Whiplash is one of the most common passenger injuries, so rear passenger seats without headrests have been forgone, to keep everyone safe, even if those backseat drivers aren’t wanted in the front seat.
15 Hubcaps
Hubcaps aren’t really going away, but their reputation has fallen in recent years. Today’s hubcaps aren’t even the fancy metalwork that used to be the case, but now they’re about as tough as Frisbees. They also don’t even pretend to hide the uglier steel wheels beneath. Alloy wheels are standard on many sub-$30,000 cars and they don’t bend or loosen during hard cornering. They’re lighter than steel wheels paired with hubcaps, which improves on MPG, since shaved weight helps fuel economy gains.
14 Hood Prop Bars
Hood prop bars used to be very common on cheap, economy cars—when you pay less for a car, you have to settle for lower quality. But thanks to a demand for better fitting hoods, finish, and materials, the idea of hood prop bars has become diminished in all price segments of vehicles. Many owners still have to contend with these dinky substitutes for hydraulic gas struts. David Champion of Consumer’s Union said, “A lot of manufacturers are moving back to them again because they are cheaper and lighter. Once you move up to $35,000 and above, they tend to have gas struts.”
13 Vinyl And Leatherette
Another bygone vestige on cheaper cars is vinyl and leatherette seats. Base-model pickup trucks, for instance, treat vinyl as being easier to clean than leather, but most rides today won’t be caught with either covering (except cars from Germany). You might imagine a $50,000 luxury sedan would use cowhide, but that’s not the case, usually. The real thing costs a bit extra, typically, but is more frequently used. However, cars like the BMW 3 and 5 Series still offer “leatherette” for their customers, while leather is a $1,500 upgrade.
12 Digital Speedometers
Once upon a time, most notably in the 1980s, an experiment was made to introduce digital speedometers. However, automakers quickly discovered that drivers didn’t like staring at neon-colored numbers, like digital clocks, to gauge their speed. Unlike a large, sweeping needle, digital speedometers were tougher to read quickly and less accurate, plus they were almost impossible to see in direct sunlight. This was one of the only times where technology actually caused a regression in cars, with carmakers opting for old, faithful, analog needle speedometers. Some cars still offer customizable LCD displays, but they’re rare.
11 Powered And Non-Retractable Antennas
Much like long radio antennas, powered antennas are also getting rarer and rarer. These days, cell phones integrate with antennas. While fixed-height, small plastic antennas are still common—since they barely stick out—many manufacturers now fit receivers in windows or mount them on the roof under inconspicuous, dorsal fin-like covers. Plus, there’s practically no difference in sound quality. Also, as mentioned earlier, power metal antennas are easy victims to car washes and are a pricey repair, so they’re often hidden away in the rear spoiler, too.
10 Automatic Seatbelts
There probably aren’t too many people out there that will mourn the loss of the automatic seatbelt. Once upon a time, this was considered a groundbreaking discovery, but that’s not the case anymore. This was another idea that seemed a lot better in theory than in practice. It might have been nifty to be the first person with one of these systems but they quickly became something to laugh at, causing fiascos whenever you tried to belt up. We’ll probably have autonomous vehicles on the road before we see another car with automatic seatbelts produced.
9 Floor-Mounted Dimmer Switches
The dimmer switch used to control the brightness of a car’s lighting inside the cabin and from the 1920s onward, it was placed on the car floor. Along with controlling the headlights, it was also responsible for lighting up the speedometer, battery, fuel capacity, and temperature gauges of the car instrument cluster. The dimmer switch occupied that floor position for almost 50 years, though later it was moved to the steering wheel for easier access by the driver. Nowadays, you’ve probably not only never seen one, but might not even have heard of it!
8 Rear-Hinged Doors
Pretty much every car that we see today has door hinges at the front. Rear-hinged doors are a thing of the past—like WAY past, back in the 1920s to 1940s, really. The doors that used to have rear hinges opened in the opposite direction, and there was quite a risk of hazards due to this design, hence the derogatory name these doors are called. Also, the risk of falling out of rear-hinged doors was much greater than front-hinge doors, if any accidental opening were to happen. It’s probably a good thing that they’ve become extinct, even if they do look cool.
7 Horn Rings
Advancements in technology and manufacturing have made several changes for the better, and one of those is definitely the removal of horn rings, a feature that was once considered as a safety measure. In older cars, drivers were required to remove one hand completely from the steering wheel in order to honk the horn button on the car. To avoid that, a ring was designed that allowed both hands to remain on the wheel, with the driver stretching a thumb or finger to honk. Now, the button has been integrated into the steering wheel's spokes and the addition of driver side airbags has also helped the horn ring fade away.
6 Vent Window
A vent window is a small glass window that's part the main door of a car and used for ventilation. Most older cars had this type of window to improve airflow. Like the main window, these vent windows could be opened separately, allowing air to circulate inside the cabin and cool the occupants of the car without creating too much wind draft. But with the introduction of air conditioning, this triangular piece of glass became extinct and not very useful, so it has also become extinct.