LOST IN TIME: UNUSUAL CAR FEATURES THAT JUST DISAPPEARED

in this video we'll be talking about some of the car features that most of us grew up with but never really questioned why they went away here are some of the car features of the 70s and 80s that disappeared and why let's begin with the T-top despite the fact that General Motors was the company that originated the design of the removable T-top roof other automakers eventually adopted it t-tops were an iconic part of the 1970s and 80s the problem was that they had a lot of safety issues the structural safety of the car was compromised by t-tops then you had the leaking roofs and even damage to the t-tops caused by improper storage of the glass panels in the end automakers abandoned this concept completely continue to offer them as an option on some models until the year 2002. next are Landau roofs they were once regarded as the height of American luxury these sometimes vinyl roofs Were Meant to resemble a convertible and they got their name from a horse-drawn carriage that originated in Landau Germany the only problem with these roofs was that they would deteriorate and eventually fall apart replacing the vinyl could be an expensive proposition and not something that many people wanted to deal with this style of roof went out of style in the 1990s despite the fact that it had been popular next up are power antennas the history of the automobile power antennas dates back to the mid-1950s when car manufacturers began to incorporate radio receivers into the design initially car radios used manually operated antennas that were mounted on the cars fenders or roof these antennas had to be extended and retracted manually by the driver or passenger the first power antenna system was introduced by Chrysler in 1960. the system used a motor driven telescoping antenna that was mounted on the rear fender in the 1980s and 1990s many power antenna systems were designed to retract automatically when the car was turned off reducing the risk of damage from car washes or other hazards however as car designs became more streamlined and aerodynamic in the late 1990s and early 2000s power antennas began to fall out of favor many car manufacturers begin to incorporate antenna systems into the car's body or used smaller more discreet antennas that were integrated into the rear window or roof line and the power antenna became obsolete as a result up next is the OCB radio I'm not gambling with my safety this winter I just put a sea beef Radio Shack in my car at only 89 I saved 60 bucks now wherever I drive in any kind of weather I feel safe CV radios made two-way Communications between cars really convenient because of the influence of the movie Smokey and the Bandit and the fact that there were no cell phones at the time some cars in the 1980s had the option to come with the CB radio nonetheless CB radios are still available and many enthusiasts truck drivers and those who work in emergency response continue to use the gadget it would appear that some Dependable Technologies such as CB radios never fully got out of popularity next up on some of the car features that just disappeared the pop-up headlights these headlights could flip up and down and were disguised when they were switched off pop-up headlights were most usually seen on Sports Vehicles it wasn't until the 1960s that pop-up headlights became a popular design feature on sports cars the first car to feature them was a 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray which used a vacuum operated system to raise and lower the headlights over the next few years several other sports cars followed suit including the Porsche 911 the Lotus Elan and the Ferrari Daytona Honda was fond of adding them to their models in addition to their distinctive appearance pop-up headlights also provided improved aerodynamics by reducing drag and improving airflow over the car's Body by the 1990s the pop-up headlight was on the verge of Extinction due to safety concerns as a result manufacturers began phasing out this light configuration and it was completely phased out by 2004. next up ah wood paneling the image of a family going on vacation in a wood panel station wagon wasn't something just seen in the movies many car models came with fake wood panels along the sides while this wasn't a bad looking feature at the time it was cheaply made causing the paneling to fall off or disintegrate many different cars use this wood paneling with Chrysler being one of the last companies to offer it on their Town and Country minivan up until 1996. today wood paneling is a terrific accessory for vintage cars and it also serves as a pleasant visual reminder of memorable family vacations spent in the station wagon next up on car features that just went away is the bench seat like most features of early American cars front bench seating was a holdover from the horse-drawn carriage it allowed for additional passengers or simply gave everyone a little more room the bench seat was a popular feature of the big American sedan until the 1970s when safety regulations caused its popularity to decline however they are still found in many trucks yet if you were a child in the 1970s or 1980s there's no doubt that you drove around in that front bench seat the Ford Crown Victoria was one of the last modern sedans to provide bench seating and after that bench seats and sedans were abandoned altogether next up on the list is the vent window the history of the automobile vent window dates back to the early days of the automobile when cars were first being designed with enclosed cabins in the early 1900s car manufacturers began to experiment with various ways to improve ventilation inside the car as early cars tended to become uncomfortably hot and stuffy in the summer months one of the solutions that emerged was the vent window a small hinged window that could be open to allow air to flow into the car the first windows were manually operated and were typically mounted on the front doors of a car one of the first models to feature vent windows as a standard feature was the Ford Model A which was introduced in 1927 the model A had a pair of vent windows on each front door that could be open to provide additional airflow into the car however as car designs became more aerodynamic in the 1970s and 1980s vent windows began to fall out of favor many car manufacturers begin to use air conditioning systems and improve ventilation systems as a more effective way to keep the car cool and comfortable next up on some of the car features that just disappeared was the automatic seat belt the history of the automatic seat belt dates back to the late 1970s when car manufacturers begin to explore new ways to improve Vehicle Safety one of the innovations that emerged during this time was the automatic seat belt the first automatic seat belt system was introduced by the Japanese car manufacturer Mazda in 1975. it is unclear what the appeal of automatic seat belts is but a significant number of compact cars produced in the 1980s were equipped with this feature by the early 1990s this feature was completely removed from the vehicle thank you well there you have it some of the car features of the 70s and 80s that disappeared and why let us know what you think leave a comment below if you like this video give us a thumbs up subscribe and hit that Bell for future Boca Brother videos this is Danny B of the Boca Brothers thanks for watching we'll catch you next time

Channel: This Old Car

Views: 321,074

Keywords: boca brothers, boca brothers classic cars, classic cars, lost car rescue, muscle cars, old cars, rare classic cars, vintage cars

Id: JE-mEM7zNDw

Length: 8min 50sec (530 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 11 2023