What Forgotten Car Features Ought To Make A Comeback? Autopian Asks

Aa Oldsmobile Vent Ts
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Usually, when features on cars get phased out, it’s because the world’s moved on. Think about compact cassette players, vacuum-operated wipers, or six-volt electrical systems. The majority of people simply don’t miss those things because what came next was a sizeable improvement. However, every so often, a feature gets discarded for no immediately apparent reason. A feature that we miss. Today, it’s time to talk about gadgets, gizmos, and doo-dads we want to bring back from the automotive graveyard in the sky because not everything leaves when its time is truly up. I’ll start with an example.

This might come as a surprise to anyone more familiar with my premium hooptie tendencies, but my first few cars were all old and American, and most of them came with a delightful component of the HVAC system — a driver-facing vent under the steering column. While frequently referred to as the “ball-chiller vent,” this ingenious solution of ducting and grating will keep your unmentionables cool regardless of what you’re packing, to the point of being more effective than many ventilated seats on modern cars.

Plus, it’s a relatively simple system. There’s a vent set into an interior trim panel, a bit of ducting, and boom — you can stay fresh, even in high humidity. There are no extra electrical components, little additional weight, and it doesn’t require perforated upholstery. It was a great idea, and something sorely missed on new cars.

1988 Chevrolet Monte Carlo 2

 

So, what car features of the past do you think should make a comeback? Maybe you’re a huge proponent of velour over leather, or found the turn signal-activated cornering lights on old luxury cars immensely helpful, or you just want normal cars to be available in actual colors aside from dark blue. Whatever the case, make your voice heard in the comments below.

(Photo credits: Bring A Trailer)

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325 thoughts on “What Forgotten Car Features Ought To Make A Comeback? Autopian Asks”

  1. I want a roll down rear hatch window, but I would take a simpler hinged opening window as well. Sometimes you want to throw something in the back without waiting for the monster-sized tailgate to open up.

    2. I just saw one with a surfboard sticking through….. Though, I could see a bump at the right time cracking the glass. Oth, my Odyssey could carry that 9 foot board with the hatch closed.

      1. Yeah I have a voyager so it’s not like I need it to extend the cargo area as much as it would just make access to the cargo area easier.

      1. In an era where damn near every car on the road has a hatch for a butt, it’s inexcusable that it’s become so rare.

        I’m such a fanatic for the feature I yearn for a 4Runner despite having basically no need for one.

  2. I need DIN radio to come back.

    I can put a fully-functional double-DIN wireless Carplay and wireless android auto unit in my wife’s 2001 CR-V for a few hundred dollars that comes with a CD player, a modern, responsive touch screen AND a physical volume knob, and it’ll take an afternoon of DIY work at most.

    But if I simply want bluetooth audio in a 2011 car with built-in infotainment, I have to wire in some dodgy work-around device that costs hundreds, takes up glovebox space, has to be wired behind the dashboard over the course of 21 man-hours, gives me a hacky BT connection with a name like “BACK-ALLEY BLUETOOTH DONGLE 42069”, takes 17 steps to pair and has no interface. Alternatively, I can find a proprietary replacement for the built-in system that is marginally less obsolete at best and takes a full dashboard tear-down to install, all just to get BT audio.

    In that sense, with a couple hundred dollars and an afternoon, any car with a DIN slot can have a more modern system than a brand-spanking-new car that came with carplay but not android auto, or carplay but not the wireless version, or android auto but not carplay, or any other combination of omitted features that could be total deal-breakers for buyers. Call it planned obsolescence, corporate back-scratching, design-over-function or cost-cutting, what matters is that DIN is superior and nobody can convince me otherwise.

    1. Same for me! I got a 2011 BMW Z4 the has blue tooth for the phone only! You’d have to connect to USB to play anything. Then the radio display is high tech, for 1987!

    2. Yes, I check to make sure a vehicle can take a DIN radio before I buy it, but that capability is quickly disappearing on cars after 2105 or so. Even the ones that can need a expensive dash kit that might exceed the price of the radio. Also – why bother with the disc player anymore? My recent radio purchases have been digital only.

      1. I’ve done that before, but then when a friend wanted to connect as well I couldn’t remember at all what it used to be called and we had to trial-and-error it for a while. Not a huge deal, but just annoying enough to mention.

        1. I must say I cannot imagine not naming my device something memorable -or at least recognizable- but then again I’m one quirky guy, so I can imagine your mileage varying.

    4. My 2012 Prius had some integrated infotainment. Yes, I had to spend extra for an iDataLink Maestro interface to keep the car functions, but it fit in right behind it, and all the harnesses made everything just a bunch of plugs. I had to splice exactly one wire manually, and it had to do with the radio antenna…which I barely use anyway.

    5. I’m not sure the general public will be interested in going back to screens that would fit double din, but how about introducing triple or quad din?

      1. That would be really interesting, and totally doable. you’re probably right that double is too small for 2024, but 3-4 stacked slots, or a quad DIN setup consisting of a 2×2 grid would be really cool and versatile. It could even be an advertising thing, you can get the smaller screen with some cubbies and/or switchboards for off-road gear like winches and flood lights. I could see the truck crowd really kicking off a new custom stereo/dash slot era.

  3. To add to the chorus of ‘Vent windows!’ – it’s the reason I’ll choose to buy a 92/93 Isuzu Amigo, but not the ’94 model thank you very much! – but my cross-country trek making Mazda “goldie” (erm, late 80s GLC/323?) had a nifty feature for the driver that would allow ‘fresh’ air in thru the outboard dash vent.
    Can’t recall if the vent had an ‘off’ position – was it just rotated so the vent slats were hidden? – but there was a lever that would wake me up while allowing the passenger / center dash vents to maintain the warmer selected temperature from the HVAC controls.
    Only car I’ve been in that had that feature, so no clue as to how wide spread it might have been.
    A-pillar vent windows – had a kindly ‘automotive electronics recycling professional’ only pop out my ’83 Rabbit’s passenger vent window to get to the ‘prize’ – so, mixed blessing there.
    :scott:

    1. I really wish my 911 had the pre-77 opening vent windows. With no face-level ventilation, it would be really nice on hot, rainy days with the top up.

    2. My 1997 Rover 200, which had an HV system (is that the correct term for HVAC without AC?) carried over from the previous Rover 200 & Honda Concerto, and therefore probably derived from some previous generation of Civic, had a lever for a “heater bypass” for the face-level vents. I could have them warm or cold, or somewhere in between, while still having warm feet.

    1. As a Datsun Z owner, I second this. It really gives me a warm fuzzy to see a manufacturer aknowledge the fact that I’m gonna work on my car.

    2. Ooh yeah. I want to install something like these in my Prius but there’s very little space to work with, and I don’t want to drill anything. Feel kinda stuck.

      1. This happened to a lot of people who owned them, because Ford didn’t highlight it as a feature at all!

        If you have longer legs, it’s so helpful for longer journeys.

        1. Was this on the leather seats? My 1995 and 1999 Explorers had cloth seats with solid, single-piece seat bottoms and no extensions. My 1994 Trans Am had them, though, and they were awesome.

          1. I remember seeing it on both cloth and leather, but maybe not on lower level cloth (XL, and maybe not XLT?). I think they did remove this feature later on for all seats… it’s all kind of a blur now so I could be wrong.

            Didn’t know that F-body’s had them too, interesting.

            1. Yeah, the main drawback with the ones on my Trans Am had to do with the T-tops – they could get crazy hot in the sun and burn your legs if you climbed in wearing shorts.

              BMWs had them in the 80s, as my friend’s ’88 325i had them.

  6. Being able to see / access the engine without removing plastic and having an engine compartment with enough room to actually work on the engine.

    1. The plastic covers are there to minimize fuel injector tick noise. Without it, people would complain like crazy that it was the lifters.

      1. And a lot of cars, especially Hondas, make quite the ticking noise even with all that shielding! Every time a 1.5T Honda drives past me in a parking lot I immediately think it has an exhaust leak or badly collapsed lifter.

      2. Ford got rid of the engine covers on a few models. Some models like the Ranger require the top trim for an engine cover while some others need to be purchased at the dealer, tight? cough cough Bronco

  7. Simplicity
    Less screens
    Pushing the remote button to lower all windows simultaneously
    Rear window opening
    Manual handbrake (powerslides)

    1. Lowering the windows sounds convenient, but also like a great way to accidentally total your car in the right weather with an accidental activation.

      1. You have to press for several seconds. Have had BMWs since 2005 and never happened accidentally. It also goes the other way to close all windows… useful in the right weather:)

        1. I mean, I still wouldn’t have full confidence in that. It’s possible to lean on something that results in the button being depressed for long enough.

          Cool concept, no argument there–I just think I’d be too paranoid about it.

  10. My old Cadillacs used to have cornering lamps. Some cars still do.

    Foot high beam switches.

    Wing windows.

    Under License plate fuel fillers (you could do this for electric too).

    Tires with side walls.

    1. My mother had a Pontiac Catalina with a spring-loaded license door. It was very inconvenient to use. I thought it was a cool idea but I never want one in my car.

      1. My 69 Chevelle convertible had that. Somebody tried to steal gas by prying off the locking gas cap and from then on every time I parked facing up a hill with a full tank the gas would drain onto the ground. Once I forgot about it and parked at the local Amtrak station on a ramp and came back and there were seven or eight cars with a puddle of gas underneath them.

  11. Passenger legroom: I had a AMC Javelin back in the day, and the dashboard was at the base of the windsheild. You could fit a half keg (While tapped) upright on the floor. Ask me how I know.

  12. My 68 Ford had the radio to the right of the steering wheel and fresh air vents that could outdo any crotch cooler. My Mazda 626 had the awesome oscillating vents. I also miss hard tops with no B-pillar. Foot-operated high beams were nice.

    1. I was going to mention the Mazda 626 vents too! While I don’t think it ever really added anything to the HVAC experience, it was a fun quirk to mention about an otherwise stunningly boring car.

  13. I dont know if the feature is disappearing or buried in a menu on the radio but the button to auto search for radio stations where you are on a road trip and auto selecting 6 local channels with the best reception, saving those temporarily.

    Next city, hit the button again, new stations.

    3. I know Ford had that on their stock radios for a bit – did any other OEMs have that feature? We used it all the time going to the UP and back.

      1. My Honda Insight has that function, pretty useful since the regular auto search in most of the cars goes trough all the stations stopping on each one for 3 seconds before it continue with the next one, pretty slow to me.

        I love this function since it will do a quick search and then saving those stations. Most of the time will get good stations to listen.

  14. Crotch coolers. The vent below the steering column, thats easily directed up ones shorts.

    The one in my Comanche and old 96 Thunderbird were especially effective.

  15. Base model car, with almost no options, no screen, no fancy features, now the cheapest model is loaded with features which i guess good but i think they can do better and remove more from the car and lower the price further.

      1. I agree, the Vette and 911 have carried on the targa bloodline, but I think the F-body was the last t-topped car made, at least state side.

  18. Mostly just here because I saw the top photo and said to myself “Wait, I know that interior. That’s a G-body!”

    Anything I would have contributed to the real conversation has already been mentioned several times.

  19. My wife wants a place to put her purse in the front seats when we are both in the front of the car – not the floor, not her lap, and not in the back seat. She really misses the 40-20-40 split bench seats – that 20% center section was perfect for it.

    2. My old 2004 Grand Caravan had no center console. Two front buckets, column shifter, a large open space between the front seats. You could put a whole cooler of snacks in between the seats. It was great.

      Center consoles kinda suck ngl.

  20. Seats that drop themselves all the way to the floor.

    I’m tired of every carmaker trying to keep you positioned like you’re perched up high to look over everything. I don’t want to feel like I’m driving a barstool.

    1. Yeah, I’m sitting on this barstool, driving like a damn fool
      Got the rush hour cruise blues
      And I’ve given up hope for pop-up headlights
      And the ball cooler vent too

      Apologies to Styx

  22. Since both of my suggestions were already suggested I got some odd ones:

    Fresh air vents. On Land Rover Defenders you can see daylight through the air vents when open, it’s that fresh of air. Idk when the last time y’all checked your cabin air filter but there’s a 90% chance it’s nasty and you’re just breathing that crap in.

    This is not quite forgotten but it is getting there: Mechanical latches with physical keys. They work, and they’re not reliant on a 12v battery (that all too often fails you) to function.

    Removable radios. Tech has improved enough that there’s no reason why an infotainment system has to be proprietary to a car so that when it eventually breaks you have a single source if you’re lucky and if they can fix it it’ll be several thousands of dollars.

    1. I miss “Vent”

      The old vans have this spot on the dial/lever. At highway speed, I don’t even need to run the blower fan. Just the movement enough and ram pressure is enough to keep it comfortable for all but hot summer days. My ’16 Caravan doesn’t do this (off is off) and it makes me get itchy spots.

      1. The “ram air” effect that works so nicely on cars like my old f150 is mostly a side effect of the aerodynamic inefficiencies of an upright windshield. Newer cars with good aerodynamics and sloped front glass don’t generate much ram air pressure, if any.

        1. I’m 69.420% sure the intakes on the Ford van chassis was from inside the right front fender. My guess is that it has more to do with the vacuum effect (low pressure zone behind the vehicle) helping pull it more than anything. But regardless, both are nerfed with more aerodynamic vehicles.

    2. For removable radios–I disagree with this. The factory system in my Prius had access to various car settings that can be supremely useful to have–unlock after shifting to park; lock after shifting from park; headlight-off delay after vehicle off; remote chirp volume, and a few others.

      When I upgraded it to get Android Auto, I had to get an interface (iDataLink Maestro) to retain access to those car settings.

      The only alternative would be if you completely separate those settings from the touchscreen altogether, but that means either a separate screen completely distinct from infotainment, or separate buttons devoted solely to those settings, which also seems overkill.

      With a few harnesses and instructions from Crutchfield, the upgrade was simple.

      1. Almost all cars today have a screen either between the gauges or replacing them altogether. That’d be a great place for such menus.

        1. Hmm. That’d make perfect sense on the Toyota Corolla rental I had last year, which had directional buttons plus select/back (I think) on the steering wheel, although ironically it also had an Android Auto compatible factory head unit, so I’m not sure if I’d necessarily want to replace that head unit to begin with.

          But yeah, the “gauges” on my Prius are segmented displays, nothing custom/dynamic can be shown

          1. You wouldn’t want to replace the head unit now, but in a few years they might come out with a new Android Auto replacement, the car may be bought by someone who would rather have CarPlay, or Microsoft might take over as the makers of the premier smartphone OS. It’s unlikely, but we can’t know, and locking in what’s cutting edge now is the most sure-fire way to become dated in a few years. Cutting-edge means it’s still cutting, the tech is advancing rapidly and what’s new today will be old tomorrow. A hammer from 1910 is as good as or better than a brand new one, but a smartphone from 2015 is really old now.

            Look at early Bluetooth calling, you could call on your Blackberry, but you were expected to plug in your iPod via AUX for music. That was the definition of “cutting edge” 15 years ago, and people loved it. Nobody was hankering to replace their systems back then, but now it’s just a frustrating mess that you’re locked into if you want to drive a car that came with it because it also controls the interior lighting or something. People keep thinking they’re immune to the mistakes of the past, and they keep repeating them because “this time it’s future-proof!”. Nothing is future-proof unless it’s designed to receive the hardware of the future.

            1. I should clarify, I think the factory unit was also CarPlay compatible; I just don’t have an iPhone so I default to specifying Android Auto.

              Nonetheless, I do see where you’re coming from, and I know I would have to replace/upgrade its factory system if (for example) I wanted to add subwoofers.

              I guess my point is just that some level of integration is inevitable, so I tend to speak up when people say radios should be easily removed. The aftermarket needs easy-ish access to those same settings.

              There’s two little things my aftermarket head unit lost from the factory unit that are mildly bothersome but far from deal-breaking: the first is that they don’t have an adapter to use the factory microphone (for Bluetooth calls, etc.) so there’s now a small microphone mounted on the dash externally; and the second is that I can’t access the cool Prius-specific screen that shows whether you’re using electric or gas, what’s powering what, etc. But I also knew that screen was 99% going to be gone when I upgraded anyway.

      2. Cool, keep the factory infotainment system. I’m not saying that automakers should be banned from offering their own removable infotainment system, just that they should be modular.

  23. More cars with the push button keypad on the exterior of the car so you could lock the keys in the car when you are hiking, swimming, kayaking and not worry about locking yourself out.

        1. It’s kind of becoming obsolete with the takeover of proximity based keys. My F150 had the keypad, but due to having a proximity key, it was impossible to lock the key inside even if you wanted to (I tried to leave my key locked in center console while kayaking so it wouldn’t get lost/wet, while it would technically lock the door, if anyone attempted to open a door it would detect the key and unlock.

          2. I lock my keys inside of every F150 I have had, 2006,2008,2012,2016 and now a 2022, with proximity key in the center consol and it stays locked….

      2. You could briefly get a keypad-equipped third-gen Maxima, too, though I’ve only experienced it personally on a Ford. Saved my bacon in an ’03 Sable while I was street-parking it briefly with a dead fob battery.

  24. I miss the ability of any of my Panthers to be able to lock the trunk release from inside the car with the key. Hot days I could leave my windows down anywhere I was with the ability to lock just the trunk and the glovebox.

  25. Rear seat head room.

    If a vehicle has 4 passenger doors, an adult should be able to sit in the back seat without hitting their head on the roof/rear window.

    1. I’ll vouch for that – and ask for more front seat headroom that isn’t dropped with a sunroof’s frame rail?

      Subaru & VW can offer cars with headroom; why can’t others?

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