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Old 12-03-2008, 11:12 PM
 
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Back in the old days why did they make cars with only one side mirror? That is one thing I could never understand about the way they made them old cars is lack of a passenger side mirror.
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Old 12-03-2008, 11:16 PM
 
Location: Midwest
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One is cheaper than two.
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Old 12-03-2008, 11:23 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dwatted Wabbit View Post
One is cheaper than two.
Getting two side mirrors was considered an option back in the old days am I correct?
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Old 12-03-2008, 11:25 PM
 
Location: Pinal County, Arizona
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mopac1980 View Post
Back in the old days why did they make cars with only one side mirror? That is one thing I could never understand about the way they made them old cars is lack of a passenger side mirror.
In those days, most (not all) highways were one lane each way. You really only had to worry about traffic on your left and center (rear view)

As another poster noted, the right side mirror was optional or, you might buy one at an auto parts store to "dress up" your ride.
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Old 12-03-2008, 11:29 PM
 
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Originally Posted by Greatday View Post
In those days, most (not all) highways were one lane each way. You really only had to worry about traffic on your left and center (rear view)

As another poster noted, the right side mirror was optional or, you might buy one at an auto parts store to "dress up" your ride.
I have never known that most of the highways back in the old days were only one lane each way.
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Old 12-03-2008, 11:29 PM
 
Location: So. of Rosarito, Baja, Mexico
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As far back as the 30's cars only had ONE tail lite/stop lite combined in the same housing. Thats what my 1931 Model A ford had. Of course it was a cpe and easy to look out the rear window before changing lanes. Loved driving it to school and had the rumble seat used a lot.
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Old 12-03-2008, 11:35 PM
 
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Greatday View Post
..mirror was optional or, you might buy one at an auto parts store to "dress up" your ride.
Yeah, a new one for each side with a built-in Spotlight!!!


Actually, maybe they were contributing to aerodynamic efficiency , I think the left side mirror was a minimal safety requirement at one time (no time to research NTSB history at the moment. That should be interesting
National Transportation Safety Board
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Old 12-03-2008, 11:56 PM
 
3,223 posts, read 10,046,002 times
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Originally Posted by Steve Bagu View Post
As far back as the 30's cars only had ONE tail lite/stop lite combined in the same housing. Thats what my 1931 Model A ford had. Of course it was a cpe and easy to look out the rear window before changing lanes. Loved driving it to school and had the rumble seat used a lot.
Are you serious about the cars only having one taillite/stoplite combined in the same housing? I have never known anything about that at all.
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Old 12-03-2008, 11:58 PM
 
Location: Pinal County, Arizona
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mopac1980 View Post
Are you serious about the cars only having one taillite/stoplite combined in the same housing? I have never known anything about that at all.
Yep - right in the center of the Trunk lid.
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Old 12-04-2008, 12:12 AM
 
Location: Northeast Tennessee
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mopac1980 View Post
Getting two side mirrors was considered an option back in the old days am I correct?
Yep, thats right. I think pretty much the only cars with standard passenger side mirrors were the high-end luxury models like the upper class models of the Cadillac, Lincolns and Imperials. I think that even on the Electras, Ninety-Eights, etc they were optional. I have a 1973 Pontiac Grand Ville (which was the fanciest Pontiac in 1973) and it has the optional passenger side mirror.
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