The difference between driving a car now and driving a car 10,15,25 years ago...
 

Today I got to thinking about generation gaps and some of the things from generation to generation change. Technology example would be phonograph to 8-track to cassette to cd to mp3 to ....

So then I got to thinking about how this pertained to cars - so I'll get it started with a couple of easy ones.

The new drivers today have never had the joy/depair to drive a car that:

didn't have power steering


had to be filled up with leaded gas (I can see the younger crowd out there going... ?!? what is leaded gas?!?!)

New drivers today:

Won't know how to gap points
Haven't seen a "3 on the tree" much less know what one was
Won't know what a bumper jack is
Likely won't ever know what full service gas is

I'm 23 and have bought leaded gas, only had power steering in two of my 4 cars, (91 MR2 and 84 RX7 didn't) and have driven a 3 on the tree. I can also drive a Hurst ratcheting automatic shifter, and a push button transmission :-)

New drivers these days will never have to debate the benefits of radial versus belted tires

Drivers these days probably don't know what it means to Tub a car.

Drivers these days don't know which brand of car comes with Posi.

Drivers these days don't understand the finer points of a cowl versus a shaker.

Drivers these days probably have never seen a gauge installed on your hood outside your windshield, instead of on your dash somewhere.

Drivers these days would probably never think to look behind your license plate when filling up the gas tank.

Drivers these days have probably never experience the romantic experience that is a Malibu bench seat.

Drivers these days have GPS when they get lost.

Drivers these days have a cell phone (that they seldom put down).

Drivers these days have more choices of vehicles than before.

Drivers these days are slowly rediscovering that mileage is a virtue.

Drivers these days (although not all) view an SUV as normal for commuting whereas drivers back then thought of an SUV as a work vehicle.

I read that and thought of this...

New drivers will not know what it's like to go on a long road trip without cruise control and 800 songs on the ipod. Y'know, the ones where all you really had to keep you occupied was the guy/girl sitting next to you.

New drivers don't know what it's like to drive a car that doesn't do all the driving for them, the sort where they actually have to pay attention to the tach.

New drivers will not know the totally zen experience that is sitting down to strip/rebuild a carburetor.

Never encounter a seat belt that doesn't automatically retract.
Unless they have to fill up in New Jersey.

New drivers don't have to reach across the passenger seat to roll up the passenger window...
...or unlock the passenger door.

New drivers will never experience the joy of getting a week's worth of gas with a $10 bill.

New drivers probably won't be able to push start their cars either.

- Tires with innertubes.
- Steering wheel knobs.
- Driving before radar speed enforcement.
- The nationwide 55 mph speed limit.
- 85 mph speedometers.
- Gas wars.

Manual Chokes

Carbeurators

Flooding the aforementioned carbeurator

Having to depress the pedal once to the floor to engage the choke.

Chokes that never seemed to work.

Pumping the gas when you try to start the car in order to squirt a bit of fuel down the carb.

Flipping the lid!! (now there's a blast from the past.) My dad's 77 Monte Carlo had a 305 2 barrel carb (now there's another expression you won't hear anymore either) that produced 145 HP. That's remarkably low by today's standards. I used to drive off in it, go around the corner, open the hood and flip the lid. Made that car sound like it was producing 445 HP.

:eek:

Having to jam a screwdriver down the carb in order to open the butterfly valve in order to get the damn car to start.

Having the car not start on a wet mornnig (Ford)

Glass botles under the hood to hold spare Windshield washer fluid.

Vinyl seats were AN OPTION.

Blowers for rear window defrosters (also an option)

Hell, just about everything was an option in the 70's. Colour matching seat belts were an option I remember. My parent's 64 strato chief didn't even come with a radio!

Regular incandescent head lights.

High beam switches on the floor

A "cold" light that was green that came on when you first started the car for some reason.

Hubcaps that just covered the lug nuts

Gasoline Heaters (in the old VW Beatles) that were an option.

Those little triangular shaped vent windows on the front doors that had a separate handle.

Rumble seats

Fuel fillers behind the license plate.

Hi-beam switches on the floor.

I hated those things. If you had a manual transmission and had to dim your lights for approaching traffic while shifting gears, you didn't have enough feet to get the job done. I also remember that I damn near stomped a hole in the floorboard of my first car without the floor switch out of habit trying to dim the damn lights.

Ahhh, how time changes things, and maybe not always for the better. There are a lot of real interesting old ideas above that bring back memories. As a twist on these ideas, I enjoy relating old/obsolete concepts to my kids so they can think about what is vs what was, and why. So I'm doing my small part to keep the "old flames" alive, especially since my two boys, 11 & 12yo, are interested enough in cars to pay attention to what I do:

- so they know that the high octane racegas I use for my "fun" car is always leaded, but the gas we use in our other cars is not; and they know why.

- they know that bias ply Mickey Thompson ET Streets (drag racing tires) are much better for launching quickly without wheel-hop vs. BFG Drag Radials which can launch pretty good too but are susceptible to wheel hop on cars with IRS.

- just a couple days ago I was showing them details of a new Lingenfelter twin turbo Corvette which comes with an optional "mini tub" from the factory to allow wider rear tires. They also see plenty of old muscle cars of the "pro street" variety so they know a rear tub when they see it.

- they know that one of our cars has a limited slip differential aka Posi and how it helps traction.

- during a recent visit to the local drag strip they pointed out and asked about the hood and cowl mounted gauges they saw on some cars.

- since my younger son likes to take things apart, though it has little practical value as functional hardware other than learning how to take something apart and put it back together, he got a big kick out of a present I gave him a couple months ago, an old Carter AFB 4-barrel carb for his dissection pleasure. He's already asked how it works.

- when I roadrace my sports car, my kids know why I use a CG-Lock device on the seat belt, which prevents it from retracting so it stays tight as I pull it no matter what.

- a few months ago they helped me push start my sports car when the battery died, luckily our street is slightly downhill. Then we talked about how and why that works.

- when they asked me how many cars I've owned and what kind, one of them was a VW 412 which had a gasoline heater; they got a kick out of the concept.