I Was Thinking... Old Cars

Once a week, I meet for coffee with some retired teachers. Two of the group are real car guys. They have several classic cars between them. We started to talk about the cars most people drive today and the ones we grew up with and the changes between then and now.

Somebody stated, “I learned on a stick” and the rest of us knew exactly what he meant. His first car had a straight transmission, and he needed to shift from gear to gear after suppressing the clutch. They also knew what “3-on-a-tree” meant. This was a three-speed transmission, and the shift lever was mounted on the steering column.

Most young drivers today have no idea what we were talking about. It’s also been said the best anti-theft device a car could have today is having a stick shift because most thieves wouldn’t be able to drive them.

Today some things come standard on most cars that were options or not even available at one time. Air conditioning, clocks, electric windows, seat belts, power steering and brakes, cruise control, variable speed windshield wipers, and electric seats are common today.

Some things that were standard in the past aren’t included in most cars today. There aren’t any cigarette lighters, ash trays, or vent windows on today’s cars. Other things are there but have changed considerably.

All cars still have horns, but they are usually in the very center of the steering wheel. At one time a circular metal ring around the inside of the steering wheel was your horn. We still can dim our bright lights but now you do it with a lever on the steering column instead of a button on the floor. Today all cars have parking brakes, but they were once called emergency brakes.

We can still open the car windows but in the past, you had to manually “roll down the window.” Cars can still be locked but now we do it with a button not by pushing each lock down individually. You also needed a key to unlock the doors. Some other items aren’t even around anymore.

Today few cars have hub caps. I can’t remember the last time I saw a car equipped with “curb feelers.” There was also a time when a bumper could actually be used to bump something without doing any damage. They were so sturdy that cars came with bumper jacks that could raise a car to change a tire.

Car designs have changed too.

Two door sedans, station wagons, and hard tops were common options that aren’t available anymore. A major decision a new car buyer had to make was the color. Unlike the choices of black, white, shades of grey and a deep red of today’s cars, the cars of the 1950s and 1960s were the colors of the rainbow. You could get yellow, many shades of blue and green, pink, orange, black, white and two-tone motifs as well. A Chevy, Ford, Dodge, or Studebaker each had unique designs that set them apart. You could even identify cars by the year because of the unique features that changed from year to year.

Those older cars did have some advantages too. Most cars could seat six people even if the person in the middle had to sit over the hump. Almost all cars had bench seats as well. These were convenient if you went on a date because your girlfriend could sit next to you. These seat designs were also handy when you went to a drive-in theater.

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