Gen Xers and older millennials really just want to go back in time to before the

[Rothman]

Almost all Americans in the '50s would do whatever it took to try and stop COVID. Deniers would be total outcast weirdos, not a "legitimate opinion" like they are considered today. In fact there were a couple virus scares in the '50s and people did exactly that. 1953 and 1956 if I remember right from seeing something about it a couple years back.

Polio.  It affected children especially, and people didn't even know how it was spreading.  Other than not going to the pool for a while because people were worried it spread through water, my parents don't remember a whole lot being different during that time.

Depends if they were homebodies or not.  Polio scare caused people to be more careful with mingling with others.

[kphoger]

Almost all Americans in the '50s would do whatever it took to try and stop COVID. Deniers would be total outcast weirdos, not a "legitimate opinion" like they are considered today. In fact there were a couple virus scares in the '50s and people did exactly that. 1953 and 1956 if I remember right from seeing something about it a couple years back.

Polio.  It affected children especially, and people didn't even know how it was spreading.  Other than not going to the pool for a while because people were worried it spread through water, my parents don't remember a whole lot being different during that time.

Depends if they were homebodies or not.  Polio scare caused people to be more careful with mingling with others.

I can only speak to my own parents' experience.  They were not homebodies, the polio scare did not cause them to be more careful with mingling with others (except that the pool was closed for a while), and it did not seem to affect their friends' behavior either.  Of of their neighborhood friends got polio and had to stay home, but everyone else's lives remained basically unaffected.  Your mileage may have varied.

[roadman65]

Well if you're talking about cars, yes. It was better before computers were added to the engines as now they can track us. Not to mention the repair costs alone of them when they go amuck.

Plus power windows. At one time they were optional for a price. If you were willing to pay extra for it for, you would get it unless you were well off where you afford a Cadillac, Lincoln, or Buick that had them standard only back then. It made that feature an ego bossier for your way of living. Now they're to everyone and once they break your talking lots of money to fix. As a former toll collector I can tell you the countless times people would open their doors to pay the toll cause their window don't work. Most likely being cost prohibitive and small paycheck.

[Max Rockatansky]

Cars were decidedly less efficient before electronic fuel injection was a thing.  I'll gladly pass on ever having to tune a carburetor outside of racing car.

[J N Winkler]

Well if you're talking about cars, yes. It was better before computers were added to the engines as now they can track us. Not to mention the repair costs alone of them when they go amuck.

Electronic control was introduced beginning in the late 1970's and early 1980's.  Tracking capability did not become widespread until remote connectivity began to be rolled out in the late 1990's/early 2000's.

I remember carburetors and electronically controlled throttle-body fuel injection well and I would not want to return to either.  My first car, a 1978 Chevy Impala, had a carburetor and was hard to start.  My father's next-to-last car, a 1981 Toyota Tercel, ran for most of its life with a 5 MPG penalty because a small part in the carburetor kept failing that cost about $300 to replace.  For about 13 years, my grandmother drove a 1984 Mercury Grand Marquis that had TBI with electronic control (not sure whether it was closed-loop), and though it was much better than the Impala, it was still somewhat tricky to start.  We've had nothing but sequential electronic fuel injection since then and reliability has been worlds better.  Only one car has ever had a CEL and the last such was more than 20 years ago.

Plus power windows. [. . .]  As a former toll collector I can tell you the countless times people would open their doors to pay the toll cause their window don't work. Most likely being cost prohibitive and small paycheck.

In the late 1970's, most automakers switched from gears to perforated plastic tape for window cranking systems, with a consequent drop in service life.  I drive a 1994 Saturn sedan with power windows where only the driver's window is still fully functional:  the passenger's window will still roll down under power but needs to be manually lifted through the last three inches to close, and the rear windows don't respond to the buttons at all.  The SaturnFans gurus say that the windows are actually pretty straightforward to repair, but the inside door trim has to be removed, which is not something to be done lightly given plastic retaining clips that have had almost 30 years to go brittle.

[vdeane]

Well if you're talking about cars, yes. It was better before computers were added to the engines as now they can track us. Not to mention the repair costs alone of them when they go amuck.

Plus power windows. At one time they were optional for a price. If you were willing to pay extra for it for, you would get it unless you were well off where you afford a Cadillac, Lincoln, or Buick that had them standard only back then. It made that feature an ego bossier for your way of living. Now they're to everyone and once they break your talking lots of money to fix. As a former toll collector I can tell you the countless times people would open their doors to pay the toll cause their window don't work. Most likely being cost prohibitive and small paycheck.

I can't say I've ever had power windows break, but I can't imagine trying to crank a window back up when pulling away from a toll booth (or customs).

[J N Winkler]

I can't say I've ever had power windows break, but I can't imagine trying to crank a window back up when pulling away from a toll booth (or customs).

I can--my old Impala (which was a base model, with no power features whatsoever) had a hand crank, which I worked entirely by feel while in traffic.  It just takes a degree of anticipation to have the window down by the time you ease to a stop at the booth, and then you keep your eyes on the other traffic pulling away and perhaps looking to cut you off on your way to a ramp or taper.

There was a considerable variation in feel from car to car that had to do with the weight of the window, whether a gear or tape was used, and also the type of lubrication provided.  Seat adjustments were also much more limited (for example, the Impala had a bench seat that could only be moved forward or backward--the angle of the seatback could not be adjusted) and there was never any guarantee that the crank would be in a convenient location given your body dimensions and preferred seating position.  People just accustomed themselves to leaning forward slightly to work the crank, which was generally located ahead of the armrest built into the door trim.

[Rothman]

Well if you're talking about cars, yes. It was better before computers were added to the engines as now they can track us. Not to mention the repair costs alone of them when they go amuck.

Plus power windows. At one time they were optional for a price. If you were willing to pay extra for it for, you would get it unless you were well off where you afford a Cadillac, Lincoln, or Buick that had them standard only back then. It made that feature an ego bossier for your way of living. Now they're to everyone and once they break your talking lots of money to fix. As a former toll collector I can tell you the countless times people would open their doors to pay the toll cause their window don't work. Most likely being cost prohibitive and small paycheck.

I can't say I've ever had power windows break, but I can't imagine trying to crank a window back up when pulling away from a toll booth (or customs).

Psst.  That's what we did for decades.  No biggie.

Now let's talk about the high beams being a foot button...

[kphoger]

I can't imagine trying to crank a window back up when pulling away from a toll booth (or customs).

Psst.  That's what we did for decades.  No biggie.

Unless you had a soft drink in a window-mount cupholder.  Then you might have to worry about it coming out when you rolled the window up.

[In_Correct]

Well if you're talking about cars, yes. It was better before computers were added to the engines as now they can track us. Not to mention the repair costs alone of them when they go amuck.

Plus power windows. At one time they were optional for a price. If you were willing to pay extra for it for, you would get it unless you were well off where you afford a Cadillac, Lincoln, or Buick that had them standard only back then. It made that feature an ego bossier for your way of living. Now they're to everyone and once they break your talking lots of money to fix. As a former toll collector I can tell you the countless times people would open their doors to pay the toll cause their window don't work. Most likely being cost prohibitive and small paycheck.

Automatic Windows are some thing I can repair my self. And I remember manual windows getting stuck, cranks fell off, and much more difficult to reach.

Also Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems are difficult to repair, and are a needless expense.

[1995hoo]

Well if you're talking about cars, yes. It was better before computers were added to the engines as now they can track us. Not to mention the repair costs alone of them when they go amuck.

Plus power windows. At one time they were optional for a price. If you were willing to pay extra for it for, you would get it unless you were well off where you afford a Cadillac, Lincoln, or Buick that had them standard only back then. It made that feature an ego bossier for your way of living. Now they're to everyone and once they break your talking lots of money to fix. As a former toll collector I can tell you the countless times people would open their doors to pay the toll cause their window don't work. Most likely being cost prohibitive and small paycheck.

I can't say I've ever had power windows break, but I can't imagine trying to crank a window back up when pulling away from a toll booth (or customs).

It was no big deal at all. Like most other controls in a car, after you'd had your car for more than a few days the window crank would fall naturally to hand and you could crank the window without looking. The real nuisance was if you were driving with both windows down and you needed to close the passenger-side window while you were moving (say if it started to rain)–depending on the width of your car, that wasn't necessarily the safest thing to do (that is, in my 1982 Accord, which was quite a small car, it was easy to reach across, but in my 1977 Ford Granada, which was a boat, I had to lean a lot further across).

I do remember multiple power window motors failing in my mom's 1979 Volvo 265 wagon at various times. When the driver's window motor failed, if my brother and I were both with her in the car, it made it easy if she wanted to go to the drive-up at the bank or pay a toll–whichever of us was in the back seat would put down the rear window and do whatever had to be done. If she was by herself, she had to open the door (as roadman65 describes). I recall she found that to be annoying enough that she made my father get it fixed.

....

Now let's talk about the high beams being a foot button...

My first car (the '77 Granada noted above) had a manual transmission, a foot-operated high-beam switch, and a foot-operated parking brake. That confounded the guy who did the state safety inspection.

[Rothman]

Well if you're talking about cars, yes. It was better before computers were added to the engines as now they can track us. Not to mention the repair costs alone of them when they go amuck.

Plus power windows. At one time they were optional for a price. If you were willing to pay extra for it for, you would get it unless you were well off where you afford a Cadillac, Lincoln, or Buick that had them standard only back then. It made that feature an ego bossier for your way of living. Now they're to everyone and once they break your talking lots of money to fix. As a former toll collector I can tell you the countless times people would open their doors to pay the toll cause their window don't work. Most likely being cost prohibitive and small paycheck.

Automatic Windows are some thing I can repair my self. And I remember manual windows getting stuck, cranks fell off, and much more difficult to reach.

Also Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems are difficult to repair, and are a needless expense.

I like TPMS, since I've had some bad luck with leaky tires...but yeah, I understand about the trade-off with maintenance...

[J N Winkler]

I like TPMS, since I've had some bad luck with leaky tires...but yeah, I understand about the trade-off with maintenance...

I've never wanted TPMS simply because it is a huge hassle to keep the system "silent" when there are large fluctuations in temperature, even when sensors don't go bad.

[Rothman]

I like TPMS, since I've had some bad luck with leaky tires...but yeah, I understand about the trade-off with maintenance...

I've never wanted TPMS simply because it is a huge hassle to keep the system "silent" when there are large fluctuations in temperature, even when sensors don't go bad.

Hm.  Mine's a silent system, unless the tires go way low.  My display shows pressures and the recommended pressure so you can fill/release air into/from the tires as necessary.

I used to gauge my tires frequently.  I do suspect tire quality has been affected in some way over the years since the pressure fluctuations I get on my vehicle are large enough to be annoying.  Supposed to be 33 psi, but then they blow up to 41 psi in the summer heat and down to 29 psi in the cold come late fall...

[kalvado]

I like TPMS, since I've had some bad luck with leaky tires...but yeah, I understand about the trade-off with maintenance...

I've never wanted TPMS simply because it is a huge hassle to keep the system "silent" when there are large fluctuations in temperature, even when sensors don't go bad.

Hm.  Mine's a silent system, unless the tires go way low.  My display shows pressures and the recommended pressure so you can fill/release air into/from the tires as necessary.

I used to gauge my tires frequently.  I do suspect tire quality has been affected in some way over the years since the pressure fluctuations I get on my vehicle are large enough to be annoying.  Supposed to be 33 psi, but then they blow up to 41 psi in the summer heat and down to 29 psi in the cold come late fall...

15% reduction from 72F to 0F is totally expected. On the upper side,that would mean  200F - seem to be pretty hot for a tire. But looks like still within the specs.

[J N Winkler]

Hm.  Mine's a silent system, unless the tires go way low.  My display shows pressures and the recommended pressure so you can fill/release air into/from the tires as necessary.

The one car we have with TPMS is a 2009 Honda Fit and it does not display pressures.  The TPMS trips when the pressure goes lower than 5 psi below label or 5 psi above label.  A modest temperature swing (e.g., first cold snap in the fall) is all it takes to set it off.

I used to gauge my tires frequently.  I do suspect tire quality has been affected in some way over the years since the pressure fluctuations I get on my vehicle are large enough to be annoying.  Supposed to be 33 psi, but then they blow up to 41 psi in the summer heat and down to 29 psi in the cold come late fall...

The issue is pressure changes due not just to temperature (1 psi for every 10° F), but also air percolation through the tire carcass (1 psi every month).  TPMS makes it difficult to keep the tires consistently at or above label pressure by intentionally adding leakage margin and then performing fewer and more accurate checks under controlled conditions (car garaged with door shut, tires cold).  If I drove a car with TPMS, my usual practice of adding 4 psi would set it off as soon as ambient temperature went up 10° F or more.

15% reduction from 72F to 0F is totally expected.  On the upper side, that would mean 200F - seem to be pretty hot for a tire. But looks like still within the specs.

Asphalt in summer gets hot enough to cook eggs.

From the point of view of tire life, underinflation is far more critical than mild overinflation.  The heat that kills a tire comes not from running over hot pavement but rather the added flexing associated with insufficient pressure.  Label pressure is really a floor, not an upper limit.  This is why I generally check pressures only on tires that are cold and have been shielded from the sun.

In regard to diet, the bodybuilder Jack LaLanne used to say:  if it tastes good, spit it out.  For tires, there is a related aphorism:  if the ride becomes comfortable, it's time to park the car overnight in a garage and check tire pressures.

[vdeane]

Some cars have TPMS that works by sensing the rotational characteristics of the wheels rather than directly measuring pressure, which is its own bundle of issues.  Hence why many cars do not show pressures or even tell you which tire is bad - it's not the manufacturer being dumb with UI, they can't because the car doesn't even know.  All it knows is that things don't feel right.  I've actually gotten many false positives over the years, which has caused issues where I've ignored an underinflated tire until it's actually flat enough to feel because I don't want to pull over just to have everything be fine.  It also needs to be recalibrated whenever the pressure is adjusted, even if said adjustment is only to get things back to where they should be due to temperature changes.

[Rothman]

Some cars have TPMS that works by sensing the rotational characteristics of the wheels rather than directly measuring pressure, which is its own bundle of issues.  Hence why many cars do not show pressures or even tell you which tire is bad - it's not the manufacturer being dumb with UI, they can't because the car doesn't even know.  All it knows is that things don't feel right.  I've actually gotten many false positives over the years, which has caused issues where I've ignored an underinflated tire until it's actually flat enough to feel because I don't want to pull over just to have everything be fine.  It also needs to be recalibrated whenever the pressure is adjusted, even if said adjustment is only to get things back to where they should be due to temperature changes.

Eh, at least with my 2020 Rogue, I've found displayed pressures to be within a very few psi of what I get with a tire gauge or my compressor.

[roadman65]

Still power windows was an item you purchased and was an option. For those who obtained that, it was like a reward for your hard work or a special treat you gave yourself.

Not only that, but when CD’s first came out I felt actually honored to pay extra ( as compact discs were slightly more in cost than vinyl or cassette tapes) when I thought of saving for that purchase, as it would be for a great sounding album or band. The rest I still had bought records and  then appreciated the luxury and the means to obtain those CDs that I did buy when I did.

Now everything seems achievable and really has no value and it’s like “ So what.”   That was what made life interesting is you didn’t take material things for granted and it felt good saving for the extras instead of feeling like we do now and demand more luxuries.

[1995hoo]

Still power windows was an item you purchased and was an option. For those who obtained that, it was like a reward for your hard work or a special treat you gave yourself.

....

To some extent it depended on the particular car whether power windows were an option or whether they came standard, although it's fair to say cars that had power windows as standard equipment in the late 1970s through the mid-1980s tended to be more expensive models.

[abefroman329]

I'm sure I mentioned this before, but I used to own a 1999 Neon that, for reasons completely unknown to me, had power windows in the front but not the back.

[kphoger]

I've never owned a car that had a fully functioning TPMS, and I've never bothered to have it fixed.  As Jonathan does, I generally keep my tires inflated a few PSI over the recommended pressure, and I also only check them when they're cold.  If one side of the car is exposed to the sun, then I simply figure an error margin of 1 or 2 PSI.

[NWI_Irish96]

I'm sure I mentioned this before, but I used to own a 1999 Neon that, for reasons completely unknown to me, had power windows in the front but not the back.

I never owned a car like that, but I do recall being in a car like that at some point. No idea whether or not it was a Neon.

[formulanone]

I'm sure I mentioned this before, but I used to own a 1999 Neon that, for reasons completely unknown to me, had power windows in the front but not the back.

I never owned a car like that, but I do recall being in a car like that at some point. No idea whether or not it was a Neon.

https://hooniverse.com/encyclopedia-hoonatica-power-front-and-manual-rear-windows/

I drove a 1997 Mercedes-Benz C180 over in Spain and it had power front windows and manual cranks for the back windows. They didn't sell a four-cylinder engine in the US for many years, so I don't think that ever made it over here in that kind of trim. Some comments mentioned that it wasn't uncommon for lower-trim levels for European sedans over yonder.

Neons were the most common answer for US vehicles...mine had four cranks so I can't vouch for it. For sure, it was probably some cost-cutting on a car starting at $10K, and also one offered in a 2-door coupe, but I also wonder if the narrower rear door cavities (due to the rear wheel arches) couldn't easily fit a window regulator and scissor assembly. I had to hastily fix a driver's-side rear window that kept falling out of its guide until I could get it to the dealer, so things break even when manually-operated.

[GCrites]

Over there they sell a lot of trims that we can't fathom from European imports here. 1.4 liter BMWs and Mercedes that start at 2 or 2.5 liters+ here. Ferrari had a 2.0 V8 called the 208 which was a lower trim level of our 308.