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Title: What’s Missing – and Why!
Source:
Eric Peters Autos
URL Source: https://www.ericpetersautos.com/2018/04/01/whats-missing-and-why/
Published: Apr 1, 2018
Author: Eric
Post Date: 2018-04-03 09:33:51 by Deckard
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Keywords: None
Views: 2452
Comments: 19
New cars have many features old cars never had – LCD touchscreens and WiFi, for instance. But new cars are missing some things, too. Maybe you remember – and wonder why? Bumpers that could take a bump – Until about the early-mid 1990s, most cars still had external bumpers designed to be . . . bumped. They were made of steel and so didn’t easily tear, like today’s plastic bumper covers do – leading to very expensive repairs, usually involving the replacement of the torn bumper cover and then repainting it. So, why? Environmental regs made chrome-plating steel bumpers expensive – so they were replaced with cheap plastic bumper covers painted body color. Underneath these plastic fascias – as they’re called – are structures designed to crumple up like tin foil, which is another reason why new cars incurs so much damage in even minor accidents. In the Bumper Days, there was often no immediately noticeable damage after bumping into another car – and if there was, it was often possible to just pull the bumper back into place. You can’t do that with a torn plastic fascia. Visibility – It’s getting hard to see where you’re going, especially to the sides and behind you. It’s become so bad that most new cars have sensors that beep when you’re about to bump into something – operating on the same principle as the blind man’s cane – and cameras with TV monitors to let you see what you otherwise couldn’t. It used to be that only huge RVs had back-up cameras – because only huge RVs needed them. So, why? Saaaaaaaaaaaaafety regulations have turned passenger cabins into tank command centers, with about the same view of the outside world. The pillars which support the roof are easily three times as thick as they used to be – in order to support the weight of the car if it rolls onto its roof, per the federal requirement. Of course, the poor visibility makes it more likely that the car will end up rolling onto its roof – but at least you’ll be saaaaaaaaaafe if it happens. Most new cars also have bloated/jacked-up kaboooses – sheetmetal and plastic Kim Kardashians – and that plus often tiny and sharply slanted rear glass makes it very hard to see what’s going on behind you – and whether, in particular, there’s a child playing in the road behind you. Hence the back-up cameras and remote TV displays – which older cars never had but which all new cars have to have, per federal fatwa. The floorboard headlight dimmer switch – My ’76 Trans Am, like most American cars of its time, has a floor-mounted dimmer switch. If you want to cancel the high beams, you use your left foot – enabling you to keep both hands on the wheel. In modern cars, it’s usually necessary to take at least one hand off the wheel in order to dim the headlights via pulling back on a steering column-mounted stalk. This stalk also often houses the controls for the turn signals, windshield wipers and (in some cars) other things, too. So it’s fairly easy to turn on (and off) other things when all you wanted to do was turn off the high beams. So, why? Packaging. The car companies make money by figuring out how to sell you a car for more that cost them less to build. A single multi-function steering column-mounted stalk apparently costs less in the grand scheme of things than a separate, floor-mounted dimmer switch. Another (and less snarky) reason has to do with keeping the high beam control clean and dry. On the floorboard, it’s more vulnerable to getting wet – and to dirt getting into the works. And then, not working. Wing vents for the door side glass – Most cars didn’t use to have air conditioning – which for a long time was a high-end (and highly expensive) option. So it was necessary to make sure the air flowed some other way. One way was by installing moveable wing vents in the door glass that could be opened – and canted – to direct air into the car. When the car was moving, this was a very effective way to “air condition” the car for free, particularly when the wing vents were paired up with under-dash vents that could be opened and closed by pulling on cable-actuated levers. Those have gone away, too. So, why? Air conditioning – which is standard equipment in every new car – eliminated the need for “free” air conditioning but there were also the issues of the physical security of the car (it’s easier to break into a car with wing vent windows) and the phsyical integrity of the interior (wing vent windows tend to leak both air and water over time, as the rubber seals age and shrink). An irony of the times is that many new cars have fixed vent windows that seem to be begging to be opened – if only they had hinges to allow them to do so. 
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 11.
#8. To: Deckard (#0)
I was at the neighbors house a few weeks ago. Short story version. His Camero got hit on the bumper while someone else came I to his driveway to fast. There was a very loud crash sound. We went out expecting the car to be totaled. It had a tiny 1.5 inch scratch on the bumper. I still don't understand how a noise like superman throwing a refrigerator against the wall left such a tiny scratch.
Very tough, flexible paint on fiberglass bumpers? Those large new bumpers act like drums... They deflect a lot, and then when they snap back, -- boom!
I really expected to see the rear smashed in two feet and the car totaled going by the sound.
I had almost the opposite happen last month. Parked my bronco on a slight slope, as usual, and took my groceries in the cabin. Came out a few minutes later, for more. No car.. It went down the slope 30 feet, hit a tree, and did about $1000 worth of damage to the sheet metal.. No sound at all.
#13. To: tpaine (#11)
$1000 worth of damage is nothing these days.
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#9. To: A K A Stone (#8)
I still don't understand how a noise like superman throwing a refrigerator against the wall left such a tiny scratch.
#10. To: tpaine (#9)
#11. To: A K A Stone (#10)
I still don't understand how a noise like superman throwing a refrigerator against the wall left such a tiny scratch.
Replies to Comment # 11. It went down the slope 30 feet, hit a tree, and did about $1000 worth of damage to the sheet metal..
End Trace Mode for Comment # 11.
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