Ten Features You Can't Get In Your Next New Car
You can get GPS, AWD and air bags in many new cars. But what about the things you can't get in any new car? Some features have simply disappeared. Others have been regulated (or legislated) out of existence. Here are a few you may remember - and wish you could still get:* Low-back bench seats. If you're over 40, you may have fond memories of driving with your significant other, right arm draped causally on top of the seat and around your Other's shoulder. No can do anymore - because of federal regulations that require seats provide neck/whiplash protection (as well as a three-point safety belt). This is why all modern cars have "full length" seats - with headrests. Bench seats, as such, haven't been outlawed - they've just been supplanted by the more popular "sport bucket" - and ubiquitous center console with storage cubby and cupholders.
* Floorboard mounted high beam dimmer switch. Cars built before the early '80s often had the dimmer switch for the high beams on the floorboard, to the left of the brake/clutch. Concerns about safety led to the switch being relocated to a stalk on the steering wheel - but it's debatable whether the stalk-mounted switch (often "bundled" with other controls, such as the windshield wiper/cruise control) is actually safer, let alone easier-to-use.
* Four-barrel carburetor. All new cars have some form of electronic fuel injection, largely for emissions control reasons. EFI allows the air/fuel ratio to be very precisely matched to engine operating conditions and needs - which lowers exhaust emissions and also improves fuel economy as well as drivability. But some of us miss the mechanical simplicity (and easy serviceability) of carburetors, as well as the unforgettable sound of the secondaries opening up under full throttle. That's something EFI simply can't deliver.
* Sealed beam headlights. Cheap and easy to replace, these are still in use but disappearing rapidly as High Intensity Discharge (HID) and projector-beam light "assemblies" take their place. There's no question the new headlight systems offer better illumination. But there's also no question about their high cost. No more $25 changeouts. Damage a projector beam/HID "assembly" and you may be looking at a couple hundred bucks in replacement parts. Contact lenses (or even Lasik) might be cheaper over the long haul - and let you see just as clearly at night!
* Hoods with outside latches. Thank thieves for the additional security (and hassle) of modern car hood latches that must be opened from inside the car. In years past, it was possible to access the engine compartment by simply rooting around inthe grille area until you found the lever that popped the hood. Now you have to first pull a handle inside the passenger compartment (often tucked way low, in a hard-to-reach place under the dash/steering wheel) to pop the first catch. Then you go around to the front of the car and open the final catch. Two steps instead of one. That's progress for you.
* Gas fillers behind the rear license plate. Remember when you didn't have to remember to line your car up with the right (or left) side in order to fill up? It was also aesthetically pleasing to have the gas door hidden behind the license plate rather than cut into the car's flanks. But concerns about safety/security (no lockable "door" to prevent easy access to the vehicle's gas tank) led to the abandonment of the gas filler behind the plate. The only way to get one is to buy an older car that has one.
* Manual locking 4x4. There may be a handful of base model pick-ups and SUVs that still offer manual locking hubs, but the trend is clearly toward "automatic" 4x4 with a knob that actuates 4 High or Low electronically. Of course, such systems are more complex and thus more prone to failure down the line. It may be less convenient to have to stop the vehicle and get out to lock (or unlock) the hubs. But these simple systems will last almost forever with proper care. And it's easier (and cheaper) to fix them when something does go wrong. No complex electronics - no big ticket repair bills.
* "Three on the tree" manual transmission. All late-model vehicles with manual transmissions have floor (or console) mounted shifters. Column shifters were last used on pick-ups and have pretty much disappeared completely - mostly because floor/console-mounted shifters are considered to be "sporty" by the marketing gurus and product planners who get to decide what's in - and what's not. But there was something neat about the old school three on the the tree - and the sense of accomplishment that came with mastering the pattern.
* Rear facing jumpseats. Remember the '80s-era Subaru Brat? It had a pair of backward-facing jumpseats built into the bed. If an automaker offered such a politically incorrect feature today, the line of personal injury lawyers would be longer than a late July afternoon. Don't expect to see this feature again anytime soon.
* Two-stroke engines. You have to go back several decades, but there was a time when these evil little beasts were available as new car (and motorcycle) powerplants. But the vicious power curve - and cloud of lung-choking effluent - that accompanied the operation of any two-stroke engine assured their demise. Today, they're still used in chain saws and weed wackers - and a few aggressive off-road dirt bikes. But don't expect to see a street legal version in this (or the next) life.
