Last car sold with...

[rodericb]

I was surprised to see that the Alfa Romeo Giulia was just about the last car on the market with Xenon headlights. Not that it still had 'em but that it was just about the last car with 'em! Another poster said that the Mazda 2 still holds guard. Phew! I remember the hilarity of the Lexus SC430 being the last car which had a cassette deck and we probably think that the Honda NSX was the last car with pop up headlights but I believe the C5 Corvette soldiered on for a few months after that.

So that makes me wonder - which other magnificent things have disappeared over the years and what car was the last to have them? Last car with a manual choke? Wind up windows? Fly-off handbrake? CD player?

[the-norseman]

Probably not the last but the MK1 Leon Cupra R as late as 2005 (55) had a tape player.

You can still get manual windows, Dacia Sandero 2022 model has them in the rear.

[RATATTAK]

the-norseman said:

Probably not the last but the MK1 Leon Cupra R as late as 2005 (55) had a tape player.

2009 350Z had a tape player

[Mr E]

Pop up lights is usually an interesting discussion point.

[W201_190e]

Unless I’m mistaken aren’t Xenon headlights still widely used in new cars?

[Alorotom]

W201_190e said:

Unless I’m mistaken aren’t Xenon headlights still widely used in new cars?

This. I’ve got a new Kia Soul hire car right now (only a few weeks old) and had xenon headlights and halogen fogs.

[JD]

Alorotom said:

W201_190e said:

Unless I’m mistaken aren’t Xenon headlights still widely used in new cars?

This. I’ve got a new Kia Soul hire car right now (only a few weeks old) and had xenon headlights and halogen fogs.

If it's got an engine, it's not a current model.

[rodericb]

RATATTAK said:

the-norseman said:

Probably not the last but the MK1 Leon Cupra R as late as 2005 (55) had a tape player.

2009 350Z had a tape player

Interesting, I thought you'd busted the SC430 meme about the tape player but the Lexus hung on into 2010! I thought they were done by 2008!

[Pitre]

According to a couple of sites I found:-

"the last cars to sport hidden headlamps being the C5 Chevrolet Corvette and the Lotus Esprit V8, both of which were designed in the late 90s and both of which ceased production in 2004."

[BrettMRC]

Wonder what the last car was with ashtrays in the rear armrests as standard?

[anonymous-user]

Do any saloon / coupe cars have spare wheels , either full size or space saver ?

[230TE]

Manual chokes died a sudden death in 1993 when catalytic converters became mandatory. By then most makers had already switched to fuel injection, but a few cheap basic cars had carburettors to the end: my '92 Citroen AX had a manual choke. Speaking of AXs, was that the last car to be available with a 4-speed gearbox? (Production ended in 1997 and the base 1.0 was four-speed all the way through.)

[JonDerz]

230TE said:

Manual chokes died a sudden death in 1993 when catalytic converters became mandatory. By then most makers had already switched to fuel injection, but a few cheap basic cars had carburettors to the end: my '92 Citroen AX had a manual choke. Speaking of AXs, was that the last car to be available with a 4-speed gearbox? (Production ended in 1997 and the base 1.0 was four-speed all the way through.)

Pretty sure my my mum’s old Lupo automatic was 4 speed, 2002 model.

I think her 1997 106 automatic before that was 3 speed lol

[Tommo87]

230TE said:

Manual chokes died a sudden death in 1993 when catalytic converters became mandatory. By then most makers had already switched to fuel injection, but a few cheap basic cars had carburettors to the end: my '92 Citroen AX had a manual choke. Speaking of AXs, was that the last car to be available with a 4-speed gearbox? (Production ended in 1997 and the base 1.0 was four-speed all the way through.)

I know the 1.1 Rover Metro sold up to 1994 had a 4 speed as standard, but I am not sure if that carried when it was rebadged as the Rover 100 and ended production in 1998.

[SuperPav]

Tommo87 said:

I know the 1.1 Rover Metro sold up to 1994 had a 4 speed as standard, but I am not sure if that carried when it was rebadged as the Rover 100 and ended production in 1998.

The mini in Sportpack or whatever they called the last 1.3 MPI ones would have still had a 4 speed, and I'm pretty sure the last ones of those would've been registered around the turn of the millennium

[Griffithy]

"Last with wind up windows?"

Mercedes most likely.

... or maybe the Defender

[Jim the Sunderer]

JonDerz said:

Pretty sure my my mum’s old Lupo automatic was 4 speed, 2002 model.

I believe the current Suzuki Jimny's got a 4 speed auto.

[P. ONeill]

Last car sold without aircon? Used to be a big thing to have aircon/climate control. Now I can’t imagine not having it.

[kambites]

P. ONeill said:

Last car sold without aircon? Used to be a big thing to have aircon/climate control. Now I can’t imagine not having it.

You could still buy a Dacia without air con last time I looked (which was a few years ago).

ETA: It looks like the latest versions all have it though.

[Silvanus]

the-norseman said:

Probably not the last but the MK1 Leon Cupra R as late as 2005 (55) had a tape player.

You can still get manual windows, Dacia Sandero 2022 model has them in the rear.

its all the better for it, electric windows weigh a ton and cost more, rear window are used far less than the fronts. Of the two cars we use, we have both combos, wind down rears in one causes us zero issues.

Edited by Silvanus on Friday 28th October 10:08