Five motoring things we miss

Not only are our future generations of young drivers going to miss out on the intoxicating sound of a home-grown V8 engines, but many of the simple joys of yesteryear are already foreign to our modern lives.

Whether millennials even care is a moot point. Chances are, if you’re of even a slightly more mature age, you too will have fond memories of motoring things past….

In a classic case of technology killing the art of face-to-face conversation, today’s motorists no longer enter into friendly small talk at their local petrol station. ‘Just $20 thanks mate’ or the classic ‘fill her up!’ was the opening line for the best kind of conversation – simple, friendly and definitely free from hashtag-inspired calls to action.

It was the age when petrol stations offered a high level of service and idle chat was valued. The first move towards today’s antisocial behaviour was pay at the bowser card technology. You had to get out of your car to fill up, but unless you were drawn to a two-for-one confectionary offer you never had to stray too far from your car.

Move to 2018 and smart app technology like BPMe allows drivers to fill up, pay and proceed without even looking another person in the eye, let alone lament the inclement weather or debate the weekend’s football results.

We’ve already seen the demise of independent petrol stations as large chains dominate with economies of scale. But what’s next for the petrol station business model in a nation that has a rising acceptance of hybrid/electric vehicles and a wave of millennials who are delaying driving all together?

We’re not suggesting that bench seats are the safest or most ergonomically sensible design. But, they had a lot going for them. Once a mainstay of front cabin design, as the 1970s and 1980s took hold, the world opted for bucket over bench seats (because they were cooler, sportier) and things changed – practicality and romance suffered, for starters.

Unless you’re rocking a 1960s Chev Impala, buying into the land-yacht pick-up RAM 1500  or driving a van-based vehicle, chances are you’ll have just two bucket-style well-bolstered seats in the front of cabin.

In a battle for form over function (or was it function over form?), we lost an additional seating position. Then with Y2K looming, centre consoles grew, cup holders multiplied and oddment storage took centre stage.

Sure, safety matters were definitely also a growing concern for bench seats and airbag effectiveness in particular. But it’s now 2018 and safety technology is mind-bogglingly clever. In a swings and roundabouts prediction, I’m tipping a return to the bench in times to come.

With in car technology consolidating to a single dash mounted screen and transmission tunnels under threat, prime real estate has been freed up and the future design of front of cabin seating presents new opportunities. Could the return to the bench be the beginning of the demise of the compact seven-seater?

Closely linked to the bench seat era, the drive-in movies were a chance to combine your motor vehicle, friends, food and, errr… evening entertainment, all in one go. If you happened to own a Holden HZ Sandman van, you definitely had the home ground advantage where drive-in movies were concerned.

But drive-ins weren’t reserved for forbidden romance alone. Load your car with friends, pack the kids in with their pyjamas or simply go it alone and avoid the risk of kids kicking the back of your seat mid-movie.

Today’s cars with their smart seating configurations, sliding and reclining seats and removable head restraints are made for the drive-in experience. For a nation that once boasted around 330 drive-in cinemas, they’re now a dying breed with just a smattering remaining.

Long before tri-zone climate control and heated seats were a thing, windows were the default method for temperature control and in cabin air flow.

The hero of functional window design was the quarter window. Prevalent in car design from the 1960-90s and also known as the valence, wing or vent window, quarter windows often appeared at the front and rear of a vehicle. But it was the front quarter window, adjoining the A-pillar that featured a clever hinged opening -- Ford’s 1960s F-150 pick up a prime example of the classic quarter glass.

The ability to angle the quarter window to regulate the ‘just right’ amount of air flow for your cabin was the real joy here. Better still, the quarter window delivered air without the dreaded buffeting or wind throb you get by cracking a window these days.

Nudge the quarter window open just a tad to let in more air, the occasional bug and improved enjoyment of your engine note. It was also a wondrous shape and position for drawing out cigarette smoke and ashing your dirty dart out the vent window: the quarter vent never blew back.

As a result of advancements in glass manufacturing, heating and cooling technology, aerodynamic changes were top of mind, noise insulation and quieter cabins were in demand and design aesthetics took over -- the vent window was phased out. It’s also suggested the quarter window was a flawed design making it an easy and common way to break into cars.

The most direct route to a destination isn’t necessarily the best. Decades ago, before we all got so busy, you identified your end point on a road map and then took the most enjoyable route to get there – usually stopping for food and photos on the way.

Nowadays, we rely on technology to map our fastest possible route (with or without tolls) thanks to smart phones, in built satellite navigations systems or clever dashtop devices. There’s a whole generation of motorists who have never laid hands on a street directory, let alone attempted to unfold (or more to the point re-fold!) a country-wide map in the front seat.

If you grew up driving in Melbourne, it was your Melways that got you from A-to-B (Sydney had its UBDs). Each new edition took into account changes in our road network, thanks to map researchers who visited each location to verify referenced roads. They even added ‘ghost’ streets to protect each map’s copyright.

There are digital ‘i-friendly’ adaptations available now, but you can still buy a hard copy Melways to this day – plenty of people still do, with Edition 45 on sale now (for $62.95). Trusted by drivers since 1966, the Melways was a protected possession that was rarely shared. I recall that my Dad had a lovely monogrammed leather cover on his copy; the one that should remain in his vehicle.

And those in-door pockets… that’s where you kept your trusty maps. Is now the right time to mention the divide between North up and the dark art of map turning?

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