Your favourite obsolete automotive gadgets

[redtwin]

AlexS said:

Ozzie Osmond said:

miniman said:

It was a US attempt to force people to wear seatbelts IIRC.

I think it was an alternative to airbags. They met the requirements for a "passive restraint system" because it was impossible to be in the front of the car without your seat belt "on".

Even today American airbags are IIRC bigger than European ones because they are intended to be able to catch an UNbelted occupant. European airbags are allowed to assume the occupants are wearing their seat belts.

Hence the fact that airbags are labelled SRS on European cars. Supplementary Restraint System.

They were called SRS on US built domestic market cars also. Do US market cars really have bigger airbags?. They don't seem any bigger to me for a given model sold in the US and Europe.

Those motorized belts could be unclipped from the motor bit, so it was very easy for front seat occupants to not wear a seatbelt.

This was another take on a passive restraint. Door mounted shoulder and lap points.



You could enter and exit the car without unclipping the seatbelt. Once the door was closed the seatbelt would be in the correct position. Of course it was a massive faff to use as intended so most people just unclipped the seatbelt as normal. Eventually the manufacturers stop being so tight and converted fully to airbags.

[anonymous-user]

Steffan said:

Breadvan73 said:

In an automatic car, the headlamp dipper on the floor is very nifty, and enables you to keep both hands on Anita's knee whist lighting your cigar, mixing a Martini and avoiding oncoming badgers.

Now that is what I call Advanced Driving!! You could be on the blower too. To the wife?

You know it! "Sorry darling, late meeting. Could be a while yet. What? Oh, yes, happy birthday, dear..."

[Bungleaio]

Captain Muppet said:

SCR Racing said:

sisu said:

Automatic cigarette lighter, holds 6 cigarettes. You press a button and the cigarette pops out lit ready for you to enjoy.

Win.

I don't smoke, but this is still a win for me.

Thats the most amazing thing I've never seen before! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPS7wPm-ZEA

[BigBen]

LotusOmega375D said:

Do any new cars have headlight wipers? I enjoyed seeing mine operate during its MOT last week.

Any car with Xenon headlights has a headlight washer but I don't recall seeing wipers for a long time now. Perhaps Defenders have them?

RE: the reversing pylons on W140 S-Classes it was standard and only dropped when the W140 became one of the first cars to be fitted with parking sensors. Mine is a later car so has the sensors which are massively over engineered giving both a 'bar graph' of distance to each corner of the car and directional audio warning.

[rumple]

Eighteeteewhy said:

Do modern BMWs still have the removable torch in the glove box?

Yes they do.

[rumple]

s m said:

angusc43 said:

Brief case built into the dashboard (Alfa 90 IIRC)

Umbrella in the sill? ( Nissan Sunny Gti-R )

Didnt skoda Octavia's have an umbrella in the back door, also anyone got a picture of that breifcase.

[XitUp]

Nope, Superbs did though.

[srob]

A cigarette lighter on a motorbike:



You load the top barrel up with cig's and it dispenses a lit smoke out the bottom when you press the button - all without having to stop.

Something you don't see any more

[miniman]

rumple said:

Didnt skoda Octavia's have an umbrella in the back door, also anyone got a picture of that breifcase.

Skoda Superb

[noosh]

Not so much of a gadget but I always like the fact my old Mondeo had a pen holder right next to the handbrake. Just incase original Mondeoman needed to jot his next sales lead down. Nowadays, smart phones that hook up to your car.

Big fan of my cars built in cd rack which I've never seen anywhere else and probably wont again with ipods etc.

[djdestiny]

Record players!



Im surprised no one has mentioned whiplash aerials, my uncle had a huge one on his Marina in the 70s.
I can't even find a pic of one on google!

[AndrewW-G]

Starting handle

[E31Shrew]

djdestiny said:

Record players!



Im surprised no one has mentioned whiplash aerials, my uncle had a huge one on his Marina in the 70s.
I can't even find a pic of one on google!

My Dad had one of those in his hand painted XK120. This was in the late 60s when they were worth naff all!

[thetapeworm]

Don1 said:

thetapeworm said:

The machine gun / bomb / laser sound machines you could velcro to the dash to "shoot" other motorists with.

I presume they had a name, I can't remember what it is.

The Revenger?

That's exactly the item I had in my head, thanks for putting me out of my misery with a name and a pic

[anonymous-user]

djdestiny said:

Im surprised no one has mentioned whiplash aerials, my uncle had a huge one on his Marina in the 70s.
I can't even find a pic of one on google!

No one, apart from about about 97 people further up the thread...

RTFM, bloke!

[shed driver]

Vinyl roof! Metal (usually chromed) hubcaps.

SD

[carmadgaz]

Several people have mentioned the dip beam switch on the floor, I love this when cruising around however try to slow down, downchange a non synchro gearbox and then dip the lights at the same time!

[anonymous-user]

Tsk, you need Anita on the job.

[Clivew]

I would also agree that the demise of the starting handle was a retrograde step.

[Ray Luxury-Yacht]

I remember seeing a Time machine made out of a Delorian back in 1955.

They seemed to go out of fashion, then made a brief comeback in 1985.

Haven't seen one since, so they can't have been much good...