[swale84]

Originally Posted by DCEite

I really miss the rotatory type seat adjustment knob which was there in my carb 800. Not found in most modern cars now. :(

Again, have this on the Ikon :-)

Another thing that many modern cars are droping are the blower adjustments on the vents themselves. Now a days you can open/close the flap of the blower externally rather than divert the air flow to another vent.

[PAVAN KADAM]

Present day cars are drive-by-wire technology.

What i miss is that raw power that the engine generates from the older cars.

[GTO]

1. Affordable rear-wheel-drives? There isn't a single modern RWD sedan below 30 lakhs.

2. Clean designs. 'Nuff said. Throw out the quirky look.

3. Simplicity? With the electronic indulgence that high-end cars seem to be possessed with, reliability has gone for a toss. Even regular B+ / C segmenters have some complicated expensive replacement parts.

4. Reasonably priced parts? A C-segment with a compressor for 40K? You got to be kidding. When things go wrong in a modern car, or it meets with an accident, you are assured of a big $ invoice.

5. Pop-up headlights : Not relevant to India, but they looked so good on Italian / American sportscars from the 80's & 90's.

[appuchan]

I miss the following from my 1977 Petrol Amby

1. Mini fan on the B-pillar (No a/c in my car)
2. Bumper mounted fog lights (hella) and horn (Bosch)
3. Luggage carrier on roof
4. Bench seat in front
5. Raw power in fourth gear
6. Gear lever mounted on Steering column
7. Stainless steel horn ring on steering
8. Musical air horn
9. RWD advantage
10. HPS - Human powered Steering
11. Solid steel bumpers which can handle any bumps
... so on

[maddy42]

I do miss those sofa kinda rear seats. Wow loved jumping and sleeping on them during long drive. Ome more is the metal bumper with the rubber mudguard on it. Looked like a tank.

[blue_pulsar]

Originally Posted by Rough Square

Thats when this thought hit me as to how practical that small bulb is (found in all old Ambys and Padminis), but not found in any of the cars today.

Actually, manufacturers recommend not to open the bonnet. Any repair has to be done by the manufacturer or an authorized workshop. Probably thats why they have eliminated it. Another reason could be, cars nowadays do not breakdown as frequently as an amby or a padmini.

Originally Posted by DCEite

I really miss the rotatory type seat adjustment knob which was there in my carb 800. Not found in most modern cars now. :(

OMG! You like it that way? Was a real pain when you needed to recline the seats to the lowest and then back to normal .

[filcord]

The front seat of the Fiat was also a bench, no gear lever to break the continuity, and with the reliable old Clarion cassette player (a much-revered smuggled item in the 70's) it was make-out paradise for a whole generation of teens in the family.

[Lalvaz]

I miss the sun visor which used to be just outside the windscreen on my Padmini, and the visors for the headlamps too. Also miss the luggage carrier. Somehow it looks really odd on most modern cars, but it looked just perfect on the Fiats and Ambys.

But hey, gotta hand it to the modern cars for reliability, they usually work just fine with no user intervention required except for the scheduled services and the odd accidents. Just wish that they had a little more strength in them. Cant imagine a modern day Hyundai or Maruti lasting a 20-30 year term, although there are 800's from 84 still around....
Oh yeah, one more thing that you wont find in modern day cars, Character. They're all the same.

[gods-envy]

what a coincidence, i just happend to drive my friend's grandfather's 1983 premier padmini and did note quite a few of the above mentioned things....
just loved the drive, quite a nostalgia...
one thing that i dint like were the angle of the front seats, they were too aligned like a bench, and one could not stretch them to recline.
Apart from that, loved every bit of the
- drive
- hand gears
- front quarter panel of the front window (the one that we can turn and u get fresh air from outside)
- the light inside the bonnet
- raw power
- the hard brakes

i think these old cars are just great!!

[Rough Square]

Originally Posted by ajmat

!

There was something like this

[airfoil]

I sort of miss the front quarter glass effect. In the unpolluted days where traffic actually moved and there were almost no car air conditioners, these nifty devices served like high powered fans.

I miss the light in the engine bay as well, but then I'd say the reliability that most new cars offer, beginning with the 800 have done away with the need for the light, for the most part.

Ajit, I like the dipper on the right stalk, pun intended.

[govigov]

as ajmat said the, floor mounted light dippers are missed the most by me. that was a very convenient location for it.

[hrag]

All you car nuts missed the multiple keys? The modern single key is SO boring. Keyless entry is lifeless.

The rotary seatback adjuster allows infinite levels of adjustment. Unlike the more modern lever.

[Rudra Sen]

Originally Posted by DieselFan

Hand gears (Steering mounted) which allowed for an additional seat in the front have disappeared. That is one good feature which went missing somewhere down the line.

It's an additional mechanical linkage between shifter and gear box. Often used to create problems in engaging gears.

[ajmat]

5. Pop-up headlights : Not relevant to India, but they looked so good on Italian / American sportscars from the 80's & 90's.

You can thank Euro pedestrian safety regulations for that