That Chrysler rear air conditioning was especially useful on station wagons.

Features I miss are jacks that lifted by the bumper, under steering column vents (crotch coolers), Landau tops, opera windows, license plate fuel doors, body color wheels, side window vents, analogue clocks, and T-tops. Basically GM from the 70-80s.

You're building a niche with this channel. You emphasize the wonderful luxury cars of the sixties and seventies that never got the love they deserved. Everybody else focuses on the six-figure or multi-million dollar classics.

Ford had the Magic doorgate on station wagons starting in 1965. The tail gate opened the traditional hinged on the bott drop down, but it also opened left side hinged like a door, making it easy for the kids riding in the back to get in and out. Actually, the door features made it easier to access some cargo because you weren't reaching over the tailgate.

I LOVED the 4-note Buick horn option, or the Trumpet horn on the Cadillacs. They sounded just like a freight train. I also miss door armrest-mounted seat controls. Litter bins down by the footwell. Red warning lights on the door cards. Carpeted lower door cards. Rear seat grab handles mounted on the back of the front seats. Lights pretty much everywhere in the interior.

The gas filler pipe in the middle of the car is nice as it doesnt matter which side the pump is on.

A great summary, Adam. But you forgot sequential turn signals! FYI, the '68 Thunderbird had the rear fiber optic lamp monitor system. With 8 or 10 bulbs across the rear of the car, the monitor pot wss quite a bit wider.

Electric vent windows and fender-mounted turn indicators; swing-a-away steering column; reclining passenger seatbacks, 3 dozen exterior color choices with a dozen interior colors.

As has been mentioned before by Adam: the thin roof pillars, though dangerous in a rollover, really gave a better overall view of traffic and obstacles.

Features I like on classic cars are power vent windows, some pivot and some move down before the main window. This allows nice ventilation without much wind noise and the convenience of power operation. For the same reason, I like the power backlight windows on the late 50s and early 60s Lincoln's and Mercury's as well as many station wagons. The hidden gas filler covers of the 50s classic cars were pretty cool. I am also a fan of hidden or pop-up headlights. Hardtops (cars without B-pillars), full-size convertibles, and station wagons are more car models than features, but I miss them.

I was always fascinated by the fender light indicators and tail light indicators on my grandfather's various Cadillacs. Another thing that fascinated me was the MPG sentinel on his 1981 Fleetwood with the V-8-6-4 engine. He had disabled it, and the car had been repainted and the badging was removed so I didn't know until later about the engine. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why there would be a button for active cylinders. It always said 8. My young brilliant mind decided that it was to let you know if a cylinder stopped firing. It was the car I drove to my prom in 1995, it was so much bigger than my normal ride (1984 Ford Tempo). You really felt impressive tooling around in that vehicle. I think anyone who grew up in a time when things like power windows and air conditioning were options can understand why these features were so impressive. The uncommon nature of them meant that they were something special when you first came across them. I also miss the special names that were given to these features. I have a 1956 Packard Clipper with fabulous Torsion-Level ride, Ease-A-Matic power brakes, Ultramatic transmission and a wonderbar radio. It originally had the "Touch Button" electric shifter, but that was replaced with a normal selector by a previous owner. Every extra feature was something special.

People used to point and stare at the switch-operated radio antenna going “magically” up or down in my 1977 Datsun 280-Z.

Other interesting features of note: ---The ice cream maker in Toyota vans of the 1980's; ---The novel "disappearing tailgate" in full-sized 1971-1976 General Motors station wagons; ---The seats that folded into beds in Nash cars of the 1950's; ---The built-in air compressors (for filling tires) in some premium cars, such as Locomobiles, of the 1910's and 1920's.

I like the Super-Lite option.

My ‘53 Jaguar Mk 7 had an automatic with a direct drive clutch in the torque converter. It also has a hill holder that used a solenoid to block the brake lines so you didn’t roll back. Amazing technology for 1953!

I love the GM lamp monitors. But I've never heard of the Liquid Tire Chain or the drop-in license plate. Those were very interesting. There were also plenty of ordinary features of classic cars that I like, such as the pull-out headlight switch, the high-beam button on the floor, the wiper switch on the dash, etc.

I think headlight washers originated with Swedish cars, where it may have been a legal requirement. Lots of cars had them in Germany at one time.

Hideaway headlamps (as opposed to pop up headlights) were a very cool feature on 1960s and early 1970’s American cars. The was a feature almost never copied by foreign brands, possibly due to regulations in other countries. Interestingly, the latest Volvo SUV offers a modern take on this feature where the DRL is split and folds over the main lamps.

How did y you get to be so knowledgeable about so many different car brands? I can listen to your videos for hours, I always learn from them. I appreciate what you do Adam.

I really miss cornering lights. Having had them on a few vehicles really makes me miss them. Lamp monitors are another feature never should have gone away. Missing features from your list are the self-parking concealed wipers. Couple that with wet arm washers and we had a real winner. I also miss the door mounted red and white courtesy lights. To me, the mark of a luxury car were those additional door mounted lights. Features that weren't classic but were still useful are the side view mirror mounted turn signal repeaters.

Totally agree about the cornering lights! They added a touch of class to any n every vehicle from back in the day.

15:15 I wonder if the airflow from those vents could be redirected into the trunk to preserve anything you happened to be carrying. It would have been especially useful for morticians and mafia hit men.

👍👍I loved this video. Available options on classic cars have always intrigued me. 20 or so years ago when I sent away for and received my documentation paperwork from Pontiac Historical Society for my highly optioned 1969 LeMans 4 door hardtop ,one of the things included was a copy of the available options list which was very cool. I spent hours staring at it comparing what options my grandfather got on it verse ones he passed up. Every car show I used to go to, the 4 doors Pontiacs were what i searched out to see what options they had. To this day, I've never comes across another 69 LeMans 4 door with as many options as mine. (31). Now mine is the only one I EVER see. Sad.

I liked the foot operated windshield washer on the late '60's Mustangs and Cougars.

Dodge actually offered the Super Light in 1970 as well. My dad wanted one and was sorely disappointed that they didn’t offer it in 71 when he bought his new Polara.

On 70's Chrysler A/C. I had a '78 LeBaron coupe (loved it) and I recall leaving work in the HOT Oklahoma summers, driving to the first stop light and having to turn down the A/C because it would be freezing me out! This first stop light was about a half mile (less than 5 minutes) from my parking space!

Headlight washers was required on all cars here in Sweden from 1974 and all the way up to the 90:s. And if you had them, they had to work for every year inspection.

Chrysler had turn indicators, but they weren’t really a lamp monitor, it had its own bulb and was not fiber optic from the main light. My AMC concord has accessory turn indicators added, that look like the ones on the 73 Chrysler New Yorker.

I’m surprised that you didn’t mention hidden headlamps ! That’s a feature loved by many whom grew up in the 60s-early 70s

Classic Citroën’s and Panhards have a wide array of such features . I used to work at a garage in LA that specialized in Classic Citroën and Panhard, namely the SM, called “SM World”. My boss, Jerry Hathaway, was friends with Jay Leno, we’d would work on his cars.

My 1997 VW Passat had a small flashlight built into the key. If you squeezed the VW logo in the key grip it would illuminate. And VWs today still have the feature where if you hold the key in the lock position, or hold down the lock button on the remote, it will close all the windows and sunroof. And likewise if you hold down the unlock button, it will open all the windows, to help cool off the interior before getting in on a hot day.

Love the cornering lights.

My '53 Packard Clipper DeLuxe has sanders in the trunk. There is a canister above each rear tire, to drop on the tire for traction on icy roads. On the side is printed, "Use only approved grit."

If you love lamp monitors you must have loved the 6000STE.

How about reversible seat cushions? First pioneered on the 1956 Packard Caribbean, it was brought back on the GM midsized Colonade coupes ( 1973-77 ).

Hey Adam, this is a great list. I really miss cornering lights, I've owned several cars with them & I thought that they really helped you find your way, especially if you were driving in an unfamiliar area!!! I also miss interior color choices, now you get black, gray or beige & that's it. You used to be able to choose between red, green blue, saddle & even white. Some models even offered two tone interiors!!! Cars now are very cookie cutter & as Bill from Curious Cars says, they have no soul!!! 👍👍🙂

I would have thought Desert Only simply was AMC speak for recirc. This panel appears to have no other indicators that there were Fresh and Recirc settings on it.

Thank you for another well-done video (as usual). "You can hang meat in classic vehicles . . ." I love that line. I note the position of what appear to be courtesy lights in that Imperial (in the sides of the window surround panel instead of the sail panel). I did not know of the Dodge Super Lite option. Unusual.

I ordered cornering lights on my first new car, a 1978 Pontiac Bonneville Brougham. I had driven several older vehicles with them and found them to be very useful when negotiating my friend’s narrow driveway at night with a rock wall on either side. My next new car was a 1981 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Brougham. I bought it after the 1982 models hit the lot so I had to take what I could get. It had the fiber optic lamp monitors. They were awesome!

C3 corvettes have fiber light monitoring. Terminating at the console. High low beams turn brake running And rear license plate. Additionally c3’s had headlight sprayers, vacuumed operated wiper cover and removable rear window.

Rover P5 and P6 had clever light 'monitors': moulded into the very top of the front sidelamp lens were peaks which protruded above the front wing line so that the driver could see them. SAAB 900 (classic) had lights in the rearmost compartment of the front side / indicator lamp cluster which illuminated the road to the front and side of the vehicle while manouevring in reverse (this being in addition to the lamps at the back of the vehicle).

Late 50s Cadillacs offered rear seat heat by pushing air through the bottom of the front doors into the B pillar and out.

I cheered when you mentioned cornering lights!

I always prided myself on knowing the little details and idiosyncrasies of ‘60s era cars but had never heard of the “liquid tire chain” on Chevys.

Adam you outdid yourself on this one ! I miss cornering lamps. Had the on my SHO Taurus and my Mercury Grand Marquis. Lamp monitors were good too, however most cars now using electronics inform you of a bulb being out. Being a dealership mechanic forever I remember the change over to R134. To make up for the less efficient R134 the A/C condensers had to be enlarged and it took a while for the manufacturers to figure it out. But they did, my Toyota Sienna is just as cold as an R12 system. It just takes good engineering. Once again a great episode!

Great video! I miss the vacuum actuated hideaway headlights and how they rolled into the grille.

1975 Monte Carlo with *_swivel_* front seats !

Great list Adam. My 1969 Camaro SS/RS convertible for some odd reason was ordered with liquid tire chain here in LA. I think the original buyer just checked off every option box as it had almost every conceivable option including rare factory power windows. I’ve read only 2% of ‘69 Camaros were ordered with power windows but I’m not sure if that is accurate.

My saabs had really cool features Headlight washers and wipers Cooled glovebox to keep your drinks and sandwiches cold My favorite was "night panel" If you pressed the button, all the dash would go black except for spedometer but only to to 85mph If you got below 1/4 tank of gas ONLY the gas guage would illuminate. If the car started running hot Only the temp guage would illuminate If you changed radio or climate They would stay lit for 20 seconds or so. Driving down unlit country roads in Maine at night Made this feature really useful by eliminating unneeded info and light

Lots of neat features in this video that are new to me. But, I can name one that's left out: cowl vents! On my high school drivers' education car (1970), in the front seats, there was a chrome push-pull knob at the side of the footwell. Pull it, and "ram air" came in from under the dashboard, cold, or not depending on what it was like outside. When air conditioning was on, this vent didn't get any cold air, however, and maybe the increased availability of air-conditioning doomed the feature.

Cornering lights were available as an aftermarket or dealer-installed accessory back in the 1920s and '30s. The Pilot Ray ("Lights the Winding Way") driving lights were mounted in front of the radiator, and had a linkage connected to the left-front steering arm.

Thanks! What about recessed parking Wipers? Both exposed and and under the cowl type. Corvette's little vacuum door wipers... and 50's and 60's cars that had "stacking wipers" as opposed to the wipers that move in the same direction.

I had a 78 Eldorado and a 96 Fleetwood both with lamp monitors - loved them! Still drive my 97 Town Car with nice big cornering lights. Also have an 87 Mercedes 560 SEC with headlight wipers and washers!

A few Mopar points: 1.The Dodge Super-Lite was also available in 1970. 2. Chrysler's rear seat a/c dates back to the late 1950s Imperial. 3. From 1965 through 1973, rear a/c was available in all lines of the C-body wagon. 4. The headlight wipers only came with hidden headlights.

6:35 My 1988 Mercury Tracer (a '90 buy) had ring lights around door & ignitifon keyholes. Flip the driver's door handle; they'd turn on. 12:05 In Canada Volvos often had/have headlight wipers.

Ths Buick pedal-actuated starter is always a good party trick. Probably a decent theft deterrent, too.

Let's not forget the keyless entry keypad found on the driver's door on several Ford Motor Company products where you punch in a code to unlock the doors and open the trunk.

Other note worthy cool features from the past to mention Auto dimming high beams Power antennas The GM clam shell tailgates! Now THAT is a real party trick. It literally looked like magic !

My 1994-96 Roadmasters have that diagnostic feature.

Some really nice features that I never knew about!

I loved GM swivel bucket seats I had them on my 76 Olds custom

My 71 continental mark cerise also head lamp monitors for the brake light and power lights, and they were also fiber optics

My 1998 DeVille has cornering lamps. I really like the feature. (Similar to the articulating headlamps on my previous Buick Enclave.) This is an option that should have been retained on current vehicles

Old cars had more ashtrays than cup holders, if any. My 1967 Chevelle has 3 ashtrays - standard equipment and Zero cup holders which were not standard or optional.

The GM H-body LeSabres of that era had the drop in license plate holders as well.

AMC Ambassadors and Matadors had vacuum actuated dampers in 1972. The 72 system was excellent, by 74 there were fewer settings.

Name one thing that generates the same excitement as the first Autronic Eye or Wonderbar radio.

When Chrysler introduce the fuel injection, (not sure the year). They added the feature to read ODB error code from the dash board. ON, OFF tree time. on 3rd keep on and what the odometer. The error code will rotate when you have a "check engin" light on.

There were a lot of cool innovations as shown here. Cadillac’s ECM readout was really cool, though the particular Caddy shown here looks like the dash came out of an Amish buggy. About as inviting as a slab of cement, especially considering the beautiful interiors created to that point.

Feature 9 (Lamp Monitors) were a particularly "un-ordered" option on the 87,030 1969 SS396 Chevelles produced that year, but I specified them on my convertible. Only 2,041 buyers checked off the U46 Vigilite option @ $26.35 a pop.

How about the speaker reverb control GM had available in the '60s? I always thought that was pretty neat. The WonderBar radios were also pretty slick.

The imperials with rear air are great. That option was not available with rear heat, however, you could get one or the other, you could also get a rear defroster blower, if you didn’t want to spend extra for rear heat or AC.

My 1960 New Yorker wagon has front and rear a/c with the rear unit hanging down from the ceiling between the second and third row seats. Has vents blowing on both seats. BTW, my Chrysler minivans have front and rear heat and a/c.

Some older GM cars had radio antenna inside the windshield. I had a 1970 Chevy BelAir with that feature.

Once again, an excellent presentation!

I remember some Chrysler station wagons with a/c and heat vents in the way back.

Love my cornering lamps on my 76 Buick Riviera I wish they were on cars today 😢

I missed coloring lights it was truly a safety feature because it lit up dark corners at night. I also miss lamp monitors. I miss both of these when I switched from Cadillac to Mercedes in the late 70s . Mercedes touted itself is such a safe car but it's missing these safety features surprised me. And some reason the rear brake lights on Mercedes are very prone to burning out and you never knew it. I would also add a unique feature of the early 90s Chevy CK pickups. Their underhood light was on a reel of 15 foot wire which you could easily unclip and then use for changing tires or other outside areas.

Ram Air / Air Grabber Hoodtach Both so macho!

Many 'inventive' options are usual today. My mother paid $200 for a key-in-ignition buzzer in mid or late 1980s; now it's often taken for granted. And back-up lights were once optional.

The super-lite reminds me of modern projector headlights.

Buick had a diagnostic feature as well on cars with the electronic touch control panel. There is an invisible button between the fan and exterior temp buttons. Just press and hold.

I always thought a hood ornament made a car look classy, like wearing a tie. I have not seen a modern car with one in years.

My Corvair has an under the hood light and a glove box light. My modern cars don't. Also the washers are timed so they don't spray on the wiper arms. They spray eight times and stop. You still had to screw in the front plate.

You forgot the Sequential blinking rear turn signal lights on 64-66 t-bird and cougar 67-73.

Thank you for this informative information.

The Cadillac at (4:15) has the best-looking cornering lights ever, ant the hub caps go perfect with the car ---- $$$$ How about a vid on the history of hubcaps, including some of the more complex ones like the 1967 Ford Galaxie 500 7 Litre or the 65 Corvette stamped steel cross flag spinner hub caps just for example. Then they all went to plastic and now who uses hubcaps anymore???

One feature you might not have known about was on Chrysler Corp. station wagons in the late 50s was adjustable air conditioning vents between the 2nd and 3rd seats that was mounted on the ceiling. It would circulate cold air for those passengers sitting in the back. My parents had a 59 Plymouth Sports Suburban 9 passenger wagon with air. Additionally there were adjustable air vents facing the windshield on the driver's and passenger side that would defrost the windshield very fast.

Some of the late 60's and early 70's vehicles rear defogger system is just a mechanical fan blowing air form package tray into the rear window , later in the late 70's being replaced by modern electric defogger using resistive conductor found in modern vehicles.

For those of us who live in areas known for extreme weather Chrysler rear seat AC and Heater would be great. In the case of a car parked in the sun in the Midwest the back seat is virtually unlivable until one has driven further than many short trips are. I never measured it but I am comfortable that the back passengers were going to be in a 120 F package for 15 minutes before the air conditioner reaches them and if they are silly enough to be wearing a suit coat they are going to be very uncomfortable. I once worked at a company that was so weird they insisted on long sleeve shirts for the office crew, well that was totally foolish but still people had to live with it and if you and a couple coworkers decided to go to lunch the person who drew the short straw was in for a miserable trip.

Thank You Adam

Very interesting! Despite the fact that this was the era in which I grew up (and thought I was pretty knowledgeable about cars), I was unaware of several of these features. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

A ride to the grocery store in an older car is an event that is experienced. One hears the motor and valves. The transmission builds up power into satisfying shifts. Steering pump is heard too. Road feel to the driver seat is nice - yet absent on passenger seat. On a new car you get virtually none of this. It's like a mechanical watch versus a battery powered one to the 100th power experience.

There's definitely light out monitors with canbus modules on everything. Then of course cornering lights are on Mercs,VW's etc on Thier fog light circuit's and turn on with wheel angle. Even on actros trucks.

Buick kept the drop-in rear license plate for a while. I know that the last Rivieras used it thru 1999.

The reverse-opening cantilevered clamshell hood on the 86 Buick C- and H-bodies was NOT at all new; it was a carbon copy of the hoods on the SAAB 99 (and later 900) introduced in 1968, and the BMW Neue-Klasse, introduced in 1962. I didn't realize an American brand offered headlight wipers as early as that. I believe SAAB was still first to market with such wipers on the 99. A few others that deserve mention: Also at SAAB, the front signal light cluster held turn signals and cornering lamps, as well as reversing lamps that would illuminate the area beside the car. Introduced on the 99, and continued on the 900, 9000, and I believe the 9^3 and 9^5. Was Honda the first to fit the simple cable-operated hatch or trunk release lever, on the floor between the driver's door and seat? My father's 82 (2nd-gen) Honda Accord had a full-width air vent activate on the lowest fan-speed setting, giving draft-free ventilation. They discontinued this in the next model cycle. I think the 2nd-gen Accord was also the first non-luxury car sold in North America to feature rear-seat shoulder belts for the outboard passengers. And the 1960s-era Lincoln Continental convertibles were, I think, first to market with side windows that would retract themselves to allow the rear doors to open - something later copied across the market to enable frameless doors to seal themselves better.

Adam, have you ever come across any Lincolns from the 70s with the factory reserve fuel tank in the trunk?

As a bit of an A/C freak that was great, I've seen it a lot on late 60s early 70s imperial's. So how about covering mid to late 50s Chrysler gasoline fired instant heat option. I had heard about it but until recently never seen it. I saw it on an add for a 57 Chrysler. passenger side bib box with a blower fan just for the furnace. looks like a large Espar heaters popular with trucks and RVs. I wonder who made them and how popular they were? thanks!

This video was interesting. You miss some of the features because they were innovative. My cars I own have some the features you shared. The list was quite interesting and very informative. I thought it was well put together. you just miss innovations like they once had. Thank you Adam.

Many classic cars and all the classic trucks had wing windows. Haven’t see those in decades. They did have some drawbacks but they were also handy as heck at times.