[Balthazar]

I got saved by a rear mounted spare tyre on an SUV once. Don't remember the make now, but I think it was either a Fortuner or an Ecosport.

I had recently learned to drive, and we went to Om Sweets to have some of their Kulchas. The parking in that part of Delhi is a nightmare, and I ended up parking very badly.

While trying to get the car out after lunch, I saw that I was almost boxed in by the SUV. The owner was nearby, and tried to help me but I was parked in a very weird manner. Got flustered, forgot what gear I was in and while I was looking out the back, instead of reversing, drove forward and rear ended the SUV gently.

Luckily, the top of my bonnet hit his spare wheel very softly. The car stopped and got kinda stuck and didn't hit his bumper. No damage to my bonnet or his tyre. The owner also turned out to be a a gentleman and we had a laugh about it.

So for me, I'll have to say it's got to be a tailgate mounted tyre.

[d3mon]

Biggest thing we've already started to lose are physical knobs & buttons for the climate control & radio. Can we add this to the poll as well?

[Vyas]

I have also seen decreased use of wooden finish in the car interiors. Instead of wood, we can see an increase in the use of Glossy plastic. I had a Hyundai Verna fluidic 2013 which felt more luxurious with wooden finish when compared to new Verna which comes with a glossy plastic finish in the interiors. (or maybe I'm old school )

[Sran]

First and foremost, cigarette ashtrays. It was so convenient for us smokers. Simply pull out the ashtray and push it back after the deed was done. Cars had rear ashtrays also, generally on left door. Now the replacement is an aftermarket tall round plastic jar with lid. That plastic jar can never be placed at a place of covenience.

Rear Bumpers, a travesty nowadays. They were a prudent safety feature. Rear body, side panels and back lights are now at mercy of other drivers.

Physical dials were better. Now everything is so gadgety that driving any other car than the person owns is troublesome.

Full size spares are just a necessity which automakers are not listening to. 2-3 years later they will reintroduce it as a feature. They are making a mockery out of consumers.

Rear deffoger was present in almost every car upwards of 10 lacs. Now even likes of creta does not have them in their low trims and it is absent in so many mid trims cars.

Build quality, less said is better. 10 years down the road we will be driving aluminium cans with reinforced steel bars or carbon fibre body with kevlar in between. Concrete will be put in doors for those who want that "heavy thud" which I believe some do even now just like in amrika cheap cutlery sets have cement in between the metals to make them heavy.

Tail gate mounted spare wheels. Things of yesteryears that made SUV's an SUV.

[sridharj77]

Another Awesome thread

Solid Rear Bumpers - the name itself says why they are required! Not sure about the mechanics of rear-ended collisions - if the bumpers help or amplify the force to the vehicle body

Steering reach adjust Never understood why this would be difficult to provision in any car? Along with driver seat adjustment, this helps find a more comfortable driving position that ultimately could contribute or reduce driver fatigue.

Full size spare - In the competitive world of "spacious car" [344 litres vs 370 litres boot size], this important safety aspect is being neglected. However, in most of India, except in hilly terrains, a mechanic or "puncturewala" is available easily, so getting a flat tyre repaired may be easier. When a customer comes into a showroom, the boot space is a bigger sell than "We give a full size spare type for emergencies which may happen once in 10 years, but can be quickly repaired"

I voted for a few others, but these 3 (or maybe 2.5) are the ones I am gonna miss.

[07CR]

Originally Posted by Aditya

This thread has been jointly compiled with GTO!

Reach-Adjustable steering:
Attachment 2017974

This feature helps immensely in getting that "perfect driving position". We are rather dismayed that manufacturers are dropping it to cut costs. Cars like the Ford EcoSport and Hyundai i20, which were launched in the 2010 – 2014 period, were equipped with reach-adjustable steerings. However, their more expensive, recent launches don't get it. The Creta, Venue and Verna all cost more than the i20, but offer merely tilt-adjustable steerings. Ford doesn't offer it on the Endeavour which costs 3X more than the EcoSport!
.

I have a July 2018 Ecosport Titanium S. It does have reach and rake adjustable steering column. Am I missing something here ?

[DicKy]

Heavy build quality - As long as the car doesn't pick up mysterious dents and dimples, and idiots who lean on the cars don't make the panels cave in, am good.
And please no rattles before the EMI period is over.

Ashtrays & cigarette lighters - My world doesn't smoke, and would proly kick out the guy who lights up inside a vehicle. But that said, these two items does bring back the nostalgia of old cars.
Ashtrays for storing tickets and tidbits.
Cigarette lighter, well most cars have power sockets now. So only thing missing is the ability to light something on fire.

Hydraulic power steering - Won't be brought back sadly. But companies have shown they can tune steerings properly. The last Fiesta, most of the new Tatas. Don't let me start on the Marutis!!! Hate our F10D WagonR's steering, and looks like they don't care even now.


Full-size spare wheel - Basic stuff. We ain't Europe, and we want our full size wheels back. Any non German, non RWD cars doing it is purely cost cutting.

Manual window winders - Don't care if it's manual or powered. But if it's powered, please don't be stingy and give us full auto up/down.
Tailgate-mounted spare wheels for SUVs - Purely looks. Cool looking if given. Don't care if it's not there. Though in Ecosport and TUV, it is a good protection from rear enders.

Large fuel tanks With ever increasing fuel efficiency, companies use the opportunity to put smaller tanks. Shouldn't be complaining. For a 50km radius, I have fuel pumps every 3-5kms on average.
Only time really missed a big fuel tank, was when trying to pick up my brother before the lockdown. 1400km round trip, my friend's Harrier giving average 14km/l and a 50l tank. The only people we came in contact with, other than my brother, were the fuel pump attendants.

Traditional keys - love old school keys, like new key fobs with keyless entry/start, hate the switchblade flip keys.

Physical dials in instrument clusters - Would love analogue dials, especially twin pod setup. Tacho left, speedo right. Temp and fuel needles inside the dials. Maybe a good MID in between.
Okay, with digital ones having good graphics/animations. But Hate for the sake 80s digital ones like in the Tiago/Nexon. And also the chinese way of reverse sweeping tachometer. Looking at you BMW.

Retractable antennas Aah... Press a button to operate the power antenna.... Don't care. As long as I get good radio reception.

Badging Hate the stickers screaming the pollution norms, or heck even ABS. But c'mon. Don't make it hard for us to differentiate variants!!! Leave the debadging to us.
And oh sly Maruti. Finding new ways to cost cut in the name of clean looks.

Temperature gauge - Big miss. Cant blame companies. Other than the car babying owner, or when the car is almost 10 years old, most people don't look at the temp gauge.
If you don't give the temperature needle, atleast give the blue light which indicates if the engine is warmed up yet.
Though have to agree, with digital clusters, temp gauges are back.

AUX port - Wait. There are music systems without AUX port? Sorry. Haven't reached touchscreen ownership.

Proper rear bumpers - Okay with sub 4m cars. But what's with non existent bumpers on cars which has no length restriction?
From the Ertiga to the Innova and most cars in between. Guess it is a scam, for big repair bills even for a small fender benders.

Leave the design, what about the bumpers themselves? Other than Ford/VWs, most mass market cars have bumpers with nothing much inside them. The rear bumper in our Etios is a sham. Jiggles like jelly.

Tube-type tyres - No reason to miss them. Even road side puncture shops are comfortable with tubeless.

Reach-Adjustable steering - Cost cutting. Actually with height adjustable seats and tilt/telescopic steering wheel, most people can find a comfortable driving position in most cars. Lack of these forces most people to think, 'higher cars, more comfortable'

Folding rear seats in sedans Another one, that would increase the versatility of sedans. The only feature, other than rear armrests and power folding ORVMs, that I missed out not waiting for the Platinum Etios.

And from my side :

Coin holders - Most don't use it. In our conditions, it's better not to use it. But just the presence of it gives the feeling, the company has thought of the little stuff.

Electronic parking brakes - They are coming and are inevitable. Most new generation cars in the international markets, from the compact segment upwards, have embraced it. The cheapest one we have is the Civic and the upcoming Gravitas.
Handbrake jokes aside, would love to retain it. A mechanical last resort. Afterall it's also called as e-brake, emergency- brake
Any excuses of freeing up console space, put the whole damn auto lever/dial/switch and all in the dash, or column shifter like Merc does, and free the whole console!!!

All round visibility and proportional shape - Safety needs, aerodynamic needs and all increasing cabin space needs, means that automakers have a hard time designing up cars that look proportional, and also give good visibility to the drivers. Not to say, if there isn't a swoopy beltline or forward stance the car maybe branded as old fashioned.
So except mid size SUVs like Fortuner/Endy up and full size sedans like Passat/Camry up, all others are compromised either in all round visibility or in the proportionality of the body.

Though cars like the cute Honda E, shows that not all is lost

Not applicable to Indian market, since we never had one.
But still.
Pop-up headlights
Headlight wipers
Steel bumpers - Not the Bolero kinda, proper ones where we can stand on. Wonder how the Bolero passed pedestrian safety tests. Is the metal bumper thin as foil?
Hood ornaments - won't be back anytime. Except for really luxury class ones.


Actually there are lots, but guess then it wouldn't be about stuff we miss in old cars, but rather stuff that we miss because of cost cutting and decontenting.
Hope the thread doesn't slide that way.

[CEF_Beasts]

Originally Posted by 07CR

I have a July 2018 Ecosport Titanium S. It does have reach and rake adjustable steering column. Am I missing something here ?

Sir the EcoSport has both reach and rake adjustments for the steering since it has been launched in 2013 till present as mentioned in the post whereas newer car’s like the Creta and a few others mentioned do without reach adjustment for the steering.
Serious cost-cutting!

[NiInJa]

Some cars like Ford and Tata used to have an elegant analog clock housed in the dashboard.

On the mechanical front, there was a time when cars like Maruti Esteem would have independent rear suspension. I will be surprised if any car costing upto 15 lakh would have something more interesting than the cheap torsion beam setup at the rear. (I think Linea had a different setup than simple torsion beam).

I can think of plastic oil pans, camshaft covers etc. some diesel engines still come with timing belt instead of timing chain.
How many of us miss that small bulb inside the engine bay that Maruti 800 had ?

[Sutripta]

India never really had I6 and V8s, but now it looks like even the humble i4 is endangered.
Will miss it.

Sutripta

[sachinayak]

Could large sized rear windows also feature here?
Earlier cars had great visibility all around e.g. Esteem, Zen, Tata Manza, Ford Fusion etc. Now the belt line is just sloping upwards in all new cars.

Form over function I guess.

[jkaushik]

One more point that can be added and I will (and I am sure many will) miss it is:
Physical tactile controls for HVAC

Although the New City got them back, thankfully.

[HooghlyBoy]

I think GOI's Transport Ministry should make it mandatory to give the following features in Cars for safety of Passengers:

1.Full Size Spare Wheel:Imagine using a Space Saver with the Car packed with 5 passengers on a Road Trip once the Wheel gets punctured.

2. Large Fuel Tanks: Always helpful when the quality of fuel on Indian Highways is of dubious quality. 35 Litres for Hatchbacks & 45-50L for Sedans/SUVs.

3.Temperature Gauge: In a Road Trip covering different terrains, nothing is as useful as a Temperature gauge for the engine, those who have climbed mountain roads know the importance of this feature. We once had to abandon a Road- trip to Shimla from Chandigarh due to my colleague's Optra getting heated up on the highway.

[nmenon]

Excellent thread, most of the items listed in the poll are slowly going away from the new cars.

I've selected quite a few but the major ones are:
Proper Rear Bumpers :My car has them but they are not to be found on 90% of cars sold today.

Full Size spare tyre : This is now prevalent in cars with trim dependent tyre sizes where the lower trim levels tyres are supplied with the top trims and most don't offer the option even to pay for a full size tyre and rim.

Temperature Gauge : Both, my old car (analogue) and new one (digital) have it and in the old car it saved me from a breakdown.
Many new cars come with only a warning light, but the gauge means that you can make out any issues well in advance avoiding damage and remedying a fault before it creates a mess.

Analogue Dials : I love having a digital information display like the Baleno or pretty much any of the new relatively high budget Marutis.

But the analogue dials either side of the display are just so much easier to read and better to look at.
Porsche seem to be one of the only premium manufacturers who still keep at least one analogue gauge(the central tachometer).
But this has trickled down to ordinary cars as well.
And displays like the new Tiago, SPresso and the Renault Kwid are just terrible with the 7 segment LCD aesthetic which is horrible to my eyes.

[KunalMadaan]

I remember the days when an automatic antenna used to pop out from the Hyundai Accent.
That was way classy than today's shark fin antenna.