11 disappearing car features (manual transmission and hand-crank windows listed).

[matti]

http://www.money.cnn.com/gallery/aut...P_LN&hpt=hp_t3

How long 'til the Yaris isn't available with hand-crank windows??

[MadMax]

Interesting article...

[Altitude]

It'll be a sad day when manual transmissions are no longer offered.

[jpmck03]

This is a bit of a rant, but oh well...

This is such a weirdly written article... it's about "disappearing car features," but half of them have already disappeared...

Like woah, bias ply tires haven't been sold with new cars since 1983! The restriction on speedometers only going to 85mph was lifted over thirty years ago! The last convertible without a roll bar behind the driver's seat was sold in '78! They're disappearing!

This was my favorite part though:

Keys
Long ago replaced by the fob as the preferred way to open trunks and unlock doors -- when was the last time you saw an external keyhole anywhere on a car? ...

Answer:
Today. On every single car in the parking lot at work. And on every single car I drove past on the way to and from work.

[tooter]

This is the list:

1. Manual transmissions
2. Keys
3. Crank windows
4. Antennas
5. Hand Brakes
6. Bias ply tires
7. Bench seats
8. Hard Tops (pillarless roofs)
9. 85 mph speedometers
10. Spare tires
11. Hinged vent windows

My 2012 Yaris has 6 of them,
and my 2012 Tacoma has 7.

[Septembersrain]

OH fooey. Spare tire is going? That's lame.
Oh man, I don't like the idea of being forced into the "Push to start" trend.


I am SO glad I just got my car now. I won't have to worry for a bit...

EDIT: Hand brake? So um.. This car is very easy to roll backwards?... LOL

[nookandcrannycar]

The ones that almost make me are hand crank windows, keys, manual transmissions, and handbrakes. The other ones either don't effect me or are completely passe.

[RedRide]

My 2 cents........

Emergency brake - It's for an "emergency" whether or not you even have a battery in the car. How does an electric brake serve all emergencys?

Elimination of keys - How does one get into the car if there's an electrical problem or with the lack of a battery?

Elimination of hand crank windows - I have to admit that the one thing I wish I had on my Yaris is electric windows .

Manual transmissions - First they will have to eliminst those cars that are fun to drive at which point it does not matter what the transmission is.
Sadly, the auto industry as a whole is well on its was toward that goal . Most cars have become nothing more than boring cookie cutter transportation vehicles.
Even in the horse and buggy days there were carriages that created excitement to drive in addiction to the utilitarian carriages. The auto industry has only built a very few exciting car in decades.
I remember the MG-B I bought back in '76. One main reason why it was exciting is because you had to go through the gears as the engine had limited power..... It was just fun to drive over all .
We now have generations of drivers who have never known the positive experience of driving a manual and think it is too old fashioned to even consider anymore..... to them, newer is always better .
IMO a car that has an auto is not worth buying as a manual the the last vestige of fun driving for the vast majority of vehicles. With an auto, you are just aiming the vehicle.

Many of the things manufacturers want to eliminate simply reflect a cost cutting issue and not a common sense issue. They are not the result advancing technology.
The public has the final say and those who listen will always come out on top.

Anyway, keep in mind that predictions of future trends are more often than not, dead wrong.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by RedRide

My 2 cents........

Emergency brake - It's for an "emergency" whether or not you even have a battery in the car. How does an electric brake serve all emergencys?

Agree, and for the same reason

Elimination of keys - How does one get into the car if there's an electrical problem or with the lack of a battery?

Agree, and for the same reason

Elimination of hand crank windows - I have to admit that the one thing I wish I had on my Yaris is electric windows .

Disagree - I my hand crank windows -- simplicity, safety, track, etc. = less likely to need replacing than electronic mechanism, etc.

Manual transmissions - first they will have to eliminst those cars that are fun to drive at which point it dos not matter what the transmission is.
Sadly, the auto industry as a whole is well on its was toward that goal . Cars have become nothing more than boring cookie cutter transportation vehicles.
Even in the horse and buggy days there were carriages that created excitement to drive in addiction to the utilitarian carriages. The auto industry has only built a very few exciting car in decades.

I agree. When I was a little kid, one of my much, much older close relatives told me about driving before a DL was required. When she was 12 her father bought her a car to drive her mother around in because her mother was afraid to drive.

I remember the MG-B I bought back in '76. One main reason why it was exciting is because you had to go through the gears as the engine had limited power..... It was just fun to drive over all .

20 years later, in 1996, a friend of mine bought a 1976 MG-B. That car broke down so often it was astounding. A real money pit..but it was, for lack of a better word, a 'charming' car....and there is something to be said for driving a convertible in San Francisco. She lived in San Francisco and drove it all around the city. Fortunately, she didn't have to worry about overnight parking, as her building had a garage.

[nookandcrannycar]

I posted a slightly longer version (with the price and all the discounts listed) of this on the '5-speed Resale Value' thread (post #19) ---- A new car ad (for a 2013 Ford Focus S) in today's Houston Chronicle included as one of the discounts -- "$1000.00 Focus Manual Transmission Bonus Cash" .

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by RedRide

IMO a car that has an auto is not worth buying as a manual the the last vestige of fun driving for the vast majority of vehicles.

I agree in spirit, with only one exception. The Prius V. If you need that level of space and utility and proven reliability, and also want that level of fuel economy, there is no other alternative.

With an auto, you are just aiming the vehicle.

I agree, but MANY people STRONGLY disagree with us (to each his own )

[RedRide]

.........20 years later, in 1996, a friend of mine bought a 1976 MG-B. That car broke down so often it was astounding. A real money pit..but it was, for lack of a better word, a 'charming' car....and there is something to be said for driving a convertible in San Francisco. She lived in San Francisco and drove it all around the city. Fortunately, she didn't have to worry about overnight parking, as her building had a garage.

Yes, they were not the most reliable car.
Two main things I remember about it.

1) You needed to carry a small hammer in the trunk as the Stewart Warner electric fuel pump in the trunk would sometimes "stick" and a gentle hammer tap on the pump would get it pumping again. This happen twice to me and I read that this was a common problem. The fist time it happened I was prepared.

2) Never, ever drive it in the snow! It was beyond a doubt, the worst car in the snow that I have ever driven.
Living in NY state, I also had a second DD "beater" car for the winter/bad weather and commuting to work

However all the hassles were worth it . It sole purpose for me was it was fun to drive.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by RedRide

Yes, they were not the most reliable car.
Two main things I remember about it.

1) You needed to carry a small hammer in the trunk as the Stewart Warner electric fuel pump in the trunk would sometimes "stick" and a gentle hammer tap on the pump would get it pumping again. This happen twice to me and I read that this was a common problem. The fist time it happened I was prepared.

Small hammer!

2) Never, ever drive it in the snow! It was beyond a doubt, the worst car in the snow that I have ever driven.

Didn't happen to her because she learned to HATE being around snow. She spent Birth to age 5 in a hot, sunny, dry climate. Then her family moved to Ohio (suburban Cleveland) where she lived until age 16...when they moved to Los Angeles. I doubt she will ever allow herself to see snow again.

[RedRide]

Yes a "small" hammer.
I just happened to have a small, ball peen hammer that was perfect.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by RedRide

Yes a "small" hammer.
I just happened to have a small, ball peen hammer that was perfect.

I just found the fact that an unmeasurable tap (that defies quantification) helped amusing. It conjures up a picture (in my mind) of the early people tinkering in the original Morris Garage.