What do you miss about your old cars? (F150, luxury, convertible)

[StealthRabbit]

What do you miss about your old cars?

Steel,,, I Even miss it in my 35 yr old daily driver (which I don't consider old).

My 1951 GMC was pretty solid... Crank Windows and a floor mounted pedal to actuate the starter. The Vacuum powered wipers I do not miss. Speaking of VENT wings... the '51 had 3 louvers (each side and top center of the windshield.) Only the 48 Power Wagon was better, with a crank open windshield (more often used for DEFROST failures (and resultant induced SNOW) than for ventilation. The Dodge had plenty of that through the gaps in the door and floor board.

Anything I drive best be able to 'push/bump start' if in need while living / traveling in the boonies. I witnessed the extraction of a Prius from a National Forest Campground, and the subsequent need for a 350 mile tow to the nearest dealer.

[sacredgrooves]

I miss about everything with one of my old cars. Driving it and hearing that engine roar, standing back to just stare after a nice wax job, the smiles from other people on the road and conversations with strangers wherever I took it. The car was really too nice to drive around though, the restoration (especially the paint) was utterly flawless, so I sold it. Regretted it ever since.

[Fleet]

^^^

Wow, paint looks great! So does the car in general, too.

[BeauCharles]

I miss nothing. My 2010 Mitsubishi has seven air bags, anti-lock brakes, traction control, stability control standard which none of my old cars did (2002 or later). The 2002 did have two air bags, but none of the other items. Plus the Mitsu has been infinitely more reliable in its first three years than any Ford, Mazda or Toyota I owned before it. Old cars suck compared to today's. No nostalgia from me.

[CrownVic95]

Originally Posted by BeauCharles

I miss nothing. My 2010 Mitsubishi has seven air bags, anti-lock brakes, traction control, stability control standard which none of my old cars did (2002 or later). The 2002 did have two air bags, but none of the other items. Plus the Mitsu has been infinitely more reliable in its first three years than any Ford, Mazda or Toyota I owned before it. Old cars suck compared to today's. No nostalgia from me.

Wow!

That's exciting, alright. Just think....maybe your 2016 will have 20 air bags....and your 2025 will be an air bag! Keep reaching for the stars!!

[stilldriveem]

Nothing. I still have 'em all!

[greg42]

I've owned 6 cars but none of the previous 5 have anything that I miss in comparison to my current one. Haven't bought a car in 13 years and it was my only ever brand new, so nothing to miss.

That said, I now drive about 10 rental cars a year. I do miss a few things from those after going back to my own car (2000 Integra):

Quiet. My car has a lot of road noise, and for that matter engine noise since it's a 5-speed stick and not geared very tall at the top. Most rentals are far quieter, probably even the Camaro I had once (although I disliked that for other reasons).

Modern climate controls. Does not have to be automatic, in fact I mostly don't care for using the auto settings. But having more fan speeds and electronic temp controls, even though the latter may be more costly if it breaks, is preferable to my lever and cable.

More useful cup holder. Yeah, I know. But it's nice for it to actually hold what I'd be most likely to put in it, especially on the long trips when I'm most likely to put something there. The ones in my car are often useless.

Keyless proximity remote with keyless start. Yes, the times I have had this in my rental, I have thoroughly enjoyed the press a button here, press a button there, leave the remote in my pocket setup.

Many things are just different and perhaps better in some ways and perhaps worse, such as modern touchscreen audio systems and manual vs automatic transmission. I go back and forth on whether or not I'd get another stick in a new car.


So to go back closer to the original question, yes, there are also some things I miss about my own car when driving a rental that's 13 years newer:

The biggest one is the low cowl height and low hood. My old car has a very low beltline and also a small cabin. Point being, visibility out is excellent. I believe having the front of the hood so low is no longer allowed due to newer pedestrian safety requirements. That plus perhaps some of the side impact safety things and just modern styling makes the glass area smaller all around. Newer cars are harder to see out of, not to an unsafe level, just to a level that the difference is now rather dramatic in most cars.

The other one is a real throttle cable, or at least the throttle response of my own car (which is not at all high powered keep in mind. It's a garden variety Integra LS, all stock, although with a stick not a slushbox.) Drive by wire quality varies widely by manufacturer, and sometimes it just doesn't respond to my foot as well as an old fashioned cable. It is particularly a problem at very small speed modulation corrections or light foot input from a stop.

And lack of DRLs. I would prefer to control all the lights myself. Some cars allow me to cancel the DRLs.

[2tall]

Traded a 1986 corvette for a 2005 subaru WRX

The old corvette was faster, handled better, stopped better, and was cheaper to fix. (though about the same reliability.)
The subaru does get 1mpg better though. Yay.

[michaelsucre]

I miss the most enjoyable moment that i had while driving my old car with the family.

[GTOlover]

No drafts windows