Just the other day I took my car in for maintenance, and the service rep began talking to me about what all he recommends. He started talking about “exchanging the fluids.” I know what you’re thinking… But this is how the conversation actually went.

“It was once called ‘flushing the lines,’ but now it’s called a ‘fluid exchange.'” I couldn’t help but laugh. Didn’t realize we needed new terminology for what essentially seems like the same service. And also, sounds like something a little X-rated happening back there.

I have always had an interest in cars and am just old enough to have had a car that had a fully mechanical everything; no computers. And years ago, I had another auto mechanic tell me that no one brings their (newer) cars in for a “tune-up” anymore. Well, alright.

Then I got to thinking about some of the other “out-of-date” car features that for the most part, I don’t really miss. Things we’ve probably all reminisced about. Surely seen come across social media feeds, and even other car-related articles. So let’s talk about some of the older car features that we really don’t see around anymore!

Hood ornaments

Dated back to the late 1900s, functioning as a temperature gauge? You betcha! They quickly became somewhat of a status symbol. Implying wealth and luxury. Fast-forward to the 80s and 90s and they became more of a prize of thieves. And really annoying to replace.

Cigarette lighters

It’s pretty awesome to think that at some point in history, it was a priority to include a feature like a cigarette lighter in a vehicle. If you didn’t grow up with the adults in the car smoking a cigarette with all of the windows rolled up, you weren’t living life to its full potential.

Before we started using the lighter plug to power portable CD and MP3 players, what other uses could you get out of the car’s cigarette lighter? And never mind the ashtray in the door, which very easily got used for gum wrappers and even at times, chewed bubble gum.

Manual windows

Believe it or not, this is still a hot topic today. New cars don’t have any manual ability to open windows or even lock and unlock the doors. The concern of course lies with the off chance your car is driven into a deep body of water, and the windows can’t be rolled down to escape.

Car companies are beginning to address this very valid concern, however. With some vehicles triggering a feature which automatically rolls down the back windows in the event the car is submerged in water. Something we’ll have to follow more closely it seems.

Antenna balls

Ok, so the antenna ornament really wasn’t a feature. But the antenna is. Especially the mechanical ones, that would retract when the car tuned off to (let’s face it) prevent it from being broken off by some vandal.

So what can we do to spruce up the look of the car with this thin piece of metal sticking up from the hood? Add an antenna ball of course. And probably the most widely popular ones being a ping-pong ball, a plastic golf ball, and even the Jack in the Box: Jack head. We had so many of these, and only because they were constantly being stolen! Pretty sure my parents still have a Christmas themed one they retrofitted as a tree ornament. They’ll have to get back to me on this.

Automatic seatbelts

So you say people aren’t wearing their seatbelts? Here, we’ll put it on for you! A thing of the late 80s and early 90s, but didn’t last very long. I had a ’92 Mazda 626 for a while, and I actually enjoyed having the automatic seatbelt. Unless my hair got caught in it.

And now? We’re looking at self-driving electric vehicles, and it’s going to be the future. The “fun” of these nostalgic car features is all we have left. But it’s not all bad. Operating a vehicle will only continue to get safer. And we really haven’t lost the “fun” features. They’re simply getting an upgrade.