New cars are packed with amazing features ranging from safety technology to turbochargers. Cars are constantly improving, but we can't help but look back at history and reminisce over the things that are becoming extinct on new cars today. Some of these features died off for safety reasons, others are still in the process of dying. We loved these five features but alas they will soon be relegated to the pages of history, if they haven't been already.
Pop up headlights used to be common back in the 1980s. We are also huge fans of hideaway headlights like you used to get on old GM cars like the Camaro. These type of headlights were sleek and stylish, and were a ton of fun to play with. Just ask any first-generation Miata owner how much they enjoy putting their headlights up and down. Some of the best supercars of all time including the Lamborghini Countach and Ferrari F40 had them, and we think they didn't deserve to die off. Automakers had to crash test every car twice, once with the lights up and once down. This was very expensive and probably led to their demise. The last car to have them was the C5 Corvette in 2005.
The split-window is another feature that you will probably never see again on a modern production car. The most famous car with this sexy feature was the 1963 Corvette. 1964 models ditched this unique styling feature because even in the 1960s GM realized how dangerous it was. The bar in the middle of the window made it difficult to see out of the back, but it sure did look cool. Many people actually cut the bar away because they wanted people to think that their car was brand-new. These people probably regret their decision because the 1963 split-window Corvette is now worth a lot of money as a collector car.
These days, people are obsessed with crossovers and SUVs. This wasn't always the case though. There was a time when the coolest cars on the road were sporty cars with removable roofs. Our favorite design that we miss is the T-top. Essentially a split targa roof, the T-top typically consisted of two panels which can be removed together, or individually. This was much simpler than having to design an entire convertible mechanism, which is expensive and heavy. T-tops weren't perfect, they were cumbersome to remove and often leaked water into the car. The Corvette still comes with a simple, removable targa roof, and we hope these aren't killed of either.
One of the things we miss most about old cars is comfortable seats. You can buy modern cars that come with massage, multi-way adjustment, and heating and ventilation, but we still don't think that they are THAT comfortable. We would love to be able to rest our butts in the pillow-top seats that you used to be able to get on old American luxury cars. These seats look incredibly plush, and they were almost as comfortable as your couch at home. Today's cars are full of hard leather, which isn't as inviting as these amazing seats. New seats will hold you in place when you go around a corner, while you would probably fall right out of these. Still, we think that automakers need to go back and make seats comfortable again.
The feature that we miss the most is the gated-manual transmission. This was once the crown jewel inside every supercar interior. The gated-manual is practically extinct thanks to the invent of paddle-shifters. Dual-clutch transmission are way faster than a manual, but you can't beat the amazing feeling of this metal box. Ferrari and Lamborghini no longer make these, which makes us very sad. We always recommend buying an old model with one of these transmissions because they are now going up in value. Soon, the manual transmission will be completely extinct, and that makes us even sadder.