[balenoed_]

Power Antenna. (Not that all the old cars has it). I still have kid fans of my car from the next house waiting for me to start the car to see the power antenna popping out.

[manjunathkl]

Past trends I miss in current gen cars:

1. Useful Rear Bumper - Today's cars rear bumper is only built for aesthetics. They extend only till the boot lid/hatch. A slight touch from a m0r0n behind, it will hit the tail lights/boot lid/hatch to cause dents. I agree that they need to be softer for pedestrian safety, but without any protrusion/offset, the body of the car takes the damage before the bumper. So, practically useless.

2. Decent Weight - These days to increase the FE, carmakers are reducing the weight to dangerous levels. Removing metal parts and replacing them with plastic ones wherever possible. I will not be surprised if they invent a new kind of plastic and use it for chassis. (I know I'm exaggerating a bit) but the trend is really sick. Also, sheet metal feels like a foil - might get replaced with plastic panels in future.

3. Side indicators on the front fender - These days all cars are pushing the side indicator lamps on side-ORVMs. The problem is, it increases the chances are getting hit by 2 wheelers who try to squeeze through.

4. Fabric seats - These days most top trims of cars are coming with faux-leather seats. The problem is, unless they are ventilated seats, you will end up with sweaty backs and bottoms.

5. Design that is relevant to its body style - Today every car (MUVs and even hatchbacks) tries to look like SUV. If everyone wants an SUV just build an SUV. Why try to covert non-SUV to an SUV-lookalike? Every car must be built to suit its personality.

[HrB]

1. Bench seat in front
2. Gear lever on the steering column
3. Whitewall tyres.

[NH7]

A full sized spare wheel!! I hate the puny spacesavers. One shouldn't have to make the choice between carrying a full sized spare or their holiday baggage!

[Sran]

Clean straight body lines. All these contours and curves looks unnecessary.

Bumpers that were sturdy and engulfed into the body symmetry. External bumpers are so fragile nowadays their primary goal to protect car bodies, grills are now more or less a joke. Softer bumpers do not help pedestrians as anything hitting above 20km/hr is bound to hurt, at that speed even a bicycle tyre will hurt. It is just a weight reduction method in the garb of safety. It is also said that it helps in crumple zones. Get rid of this filthy plastic external bumpers if that is the case.

Good yellow head lights. I absolutely hate white led head lights and I am in favour of jailing drivers who put such after market head lights. It renders opposite drivers blind and prone to accidents.

Adequate sized back light assemblies. Looks like 20% of car body back are now light assembly. Moreover, these bright red led brake lights make driving both in city and on highways hard. They are so bright that one can not see forward for more than a second while driving in bumper to bumper traffic.

Touchscreens. I like physical buttons especially on music systems. Even remotes are a luxury these days.

Too much control by manufacturers on the cars and the data they have on cars. They even log how many times doors have been opened, how many times you have been on call. Read about michael hastings and how modern cars can be sabotaged.

Parts availability in open market. Earlier all car parts were put out in open but now from washing machine to car manufacturers, they are putting consumers through the printer ink scam. So much closed environment.

Ashtrays are needed. The world is still full of people like us who smoke and will always be. People will stop smoking due to inconvenience is a stupid brain idea. Stupids have built cup holders because americans want to dangerously sip their morning coffee while driving but fail to accomodate other places need.

Stupid space savers spare tyres.

Mother of all: Reasonably priced cars totally went out of trend. How did innova went upto 25 lacs? Accord, civic prices went mad. How can a car like creta command a price of 17 lacs?

[Bibendum90949]

* Clean , Sharp , Simple and Straight Line designs(Loved and still loves Old Octavia , Laura , Vento , Polo , Omni , Gypsy , The 1st gen Honda City, Bolero , Pajero , X3 , X5 .Never liked the so called fluidic designs of Hyundai viz; Verna , i 20 and then Toyota 's Altis , Etios and Hondas)

Incidentally most of the aforesaid cars still look pleasing to the eyes as against the over styled ones in the corresponding era.I still look in awe and even drive behind the old Octavia 's and all of them aged so well.

Any of the old Octy T-bhpians out here , if you're tailed by someone for unusually long time , it's me

* Proportionate and big wheel wells - Laura , Swift , Pajero ( Compass' rear wheel arch an example of the opposite )

* Heavy Steering ( in terms of feel ) Love Ford Fiesta , Figo , BMW 530 D , X3 , X5

[aveoman19]

I miss the pop-up headlights and power operated antenna. May not be practical but definitely cool to watch random parts come out and go in, with the touch of a button. The first car I saw the operation of power antenna was my relative's W124 E220 Merc. As a kid the only reaction was the word "wow"!

Other things that come to my mind are:
1. Headlamp wipers.
2. Heavy feeling doors (especially the European cars).
3. Powered headrests.

[Tucker48]

3 Headlights just like Tucker 48. (No point of missing this trend as it never became a trend)
The middle headlight turns with the steering wheel.
This car was an engineering marvel way ahead of its time and it looks gorgeous too.
Image Credit: Uniquecars

[GipsyDanger]

Well, yeah, it's true that carmakers are adopting new trends at an alarming pace that they're becoming more of overcomplicated smartphone-like electronic gadgets fated to be discarded in a couple of years and less like soulful machines we treat like family members and happily keep for years.

I'd basically repeat whatever's already been stated, but let me use an example for reference; one of our closest members of our family: A 2006 Maruti Suzuki Baleno LXI. 13 years on, it's still our choice for a comfortable highway tour. It hails from a different era of motoring, when many things were different, as I'd like to explain.

• Styling: The most obvious change. I'll admit, the Baleno is not an example of good styling, especially the boxy back. But in it's defense, I might say that I came a decade too late. Think of it as a late '90s car. In fact, think of any '90s car: The understated lines, no quirky or overdone bits. All classy and elegant. If you ask me, BMW's peak in design language was in the late '90s, just before the Bangle era. Just look at the Beemers now, with the monstrous kidney grills. Today's contraptions are born out of the utter desperation to stand out, designers do so by making them look quirky which mostly means ugly. We all made fun of Pontiac Aztek when it existed, but all carmakers seem to agree in perfect harmony to consider a drug dealer's car as a benchmark in modern car design.

Better yet, just look at one of the competitors in the segment cars like Baleno, Ikon, Fiesta, Astra, Lancer etc. used to thrive:

• Electronics and Reliability: Nope, not talking about reliability relating to mechanical parts of the car, thankfully modern cars fared much better. After the '90s, the sudden surge in gizmos and electronics in cars meant the chances of your car going haywire are much much higher. You can't simply fix it with a hammer. They're much more expensive. A multitude of the gizmos make absolutely no sense, and owners are highly unlikely to notice them through the car's life. Less buttons, more touchscreen tablets? This is a recipe for disaster.

• Large, NA engines: Especially in mainstream cars. Sure, they work well in hatchbacks instead of small NA engines, but not in bigger segments. Our 1.6 reminds us of two things NA engines do better: Low-end power delivery, and high-revving nature. The flat torque curve can embarrass even the turbo-diesels! Plus, turbo failures can lead to eye-watering expenses.

• Manual Transmission: A dying breed. High-end carmakers have largely discarded it. Despite the advent of fast-shifting ATs in the form of dual-clutch gearboxes, nothing can beat the versatility of normal stick shifts. It can suit any driving style. Upshift if you want to, downshift if you want to. Overcome the learning curve (if there is any), and it's way more fun and economical.

• Spare wheel: The increasing use of runflat tires and space savers is just concerning. Forget alloys, atleast give us normal full-sized steel wheels atleast! I'd rather leave my car on the road than drive with a wheel from a Hero Honda motorcycle.

• Steering: Have only heard of great hydraulic units from the era of Ikons and Fiestas. Never had the chance of experiencing one. The steering units of Baleno or my A-Star aren't that perfect, but the new breed of EPS as seen in the Elite i20 is just travesty. There's absolutely no feedback, you cannot feel the wheels whatsoever. Our A-Star's steering is heavier than the i20, but I'd prefer it over the i20's anyday. It doesn't feel like a video game controller. Heck, I'd had even for fun chucking the old M800, and it's large steering around the corners.

• Dynamics: As observed in the new breed of Ford's, things have become more mass-market-ey. In quest for softer suspensions, cars have become less fun to chuck around the corners. New Swifts are less as engaging as the old ones. The Ciaz, is neutral in every way, once again a mass-market decision. The Baleno is simply more agile around the corners. Will we see another car in the market again like the Fiesta S?

• Engine Note: In the age of sound pollution norms, cars have become more powerful, but less dramatic. As discussed in another thread, taking the exhaust note away, kills one of the many raw visceral pleasures you just don't associate with any other man-made machines as cars. Just look up YouTube and listen to the V12 bellow of a 1960s Ferrari 250 GTO if you wanna know why it's worth the price of third-world countries. Engine sounds define a car's personality. Unfortunately, with the advent of electric motoring, they're going to be completely wiped out. It's sad, but I won't rant about it as it's inevitable. The fake sounds pumped through speakers just won't cut it. This is the single biggest trait of old cars I'm gonna miss.

[Rathore_13]

1. Black film on windows
2. Massive Kickass Bull Bars
3. The initial 1.3 DDIS in the first gen swift

Chandigarh and Delhi are just too harsh on black film on windows. I wish someone would file a lawsuit for 'Right to Freedom' of putting film on the inside of our cars. It's a fundamental requirement but banned in the country.

Due to pedestrian safety bull bars went out of fashion but they looked so good on SUVs. I drive an SUV and so miss bull bars for the butch, mean look they offered.

Maybe it's just nostalgia but I just miss that turbo kick from the first gen Swift. The subsequent cars never had the same zing somehow. Felt watered down after BS4.

[nagr22]

Originally Posted by Rathore_13

Due to pedestrian safety bull bars went out of fashion but they looked so good on SUVs. I drive an SUV and so miss bull bars for the butch, mean look they offered.

Not only the pedestrian, Bullbars are also bad for the occupant safety as they are known to interfere with airbag deployment.

[G-2]

Most things have been mentioned. Just a small addition, the rear spoiler with or without lights which used to add to the "sportiness" of the car
Some even had them as factory-fitted extras like the Honda city and the Ford Ikon. Hardly see them in the stream-lined cars of today.

[vinay kamath]

I miss the heavy chrome plating of the steel bumpers and radiator grille! I miss the extended wheelbase and long bodies of luxury sedans ! I miss the steering wheels, the steel monograms and cassette decks .

[siddarthab]

Topmost on my list is hydraulic steering. The Punto had a steering which I really miss. The Duster was almost as good but the EPS ones on the new gen cars have simply taken away the fun of driving.... especially at higher speeds and twistys.

Next is a proper bumper which used to extend a couple of inches or more than the actual body and protected it from dents.

Third is the good old halogen lamps. Very effective in general and especially in inclement weather . The LED trend is devastating - both for the driver and the one facing it.

Design language is one thing which is subjective. However the monstrosities like the Vellfire grille and the ones on the recent Hyundais are taking things a bit too far. Clean lines like the Polo, Punto, Linea, Fluence for cars have almost disappeared.

Warm Regards,
Siddhartha.

[itsashishsharma]

1. Low slung sedans, affordable for people like you and me.
2. Properly adequate NA engines.
3. No evident cost cutting.
4. Hydraulic steering.

In order of descending fun to drive factor IMHO:
1. Ikon 1.6 and 1.3
2. Esteem 1.3
3. Palio/Petra 1.6
4. Baleno 1.6
5. OHC 1.5 and 1.3
6. Lancer 1.5
7. Astra 1.6

From pure driving pleasure perspective, I think that was the best time in Indian automotive industry. All these cars were FTD, were cheap to buy and cheaper to maintain. Now you must spend 15 big ones to get a proper 1.5/1.6, that too is nowhere as free revving as those from the past.