20 Things Your Car Had In The 60s (And Why They're Gone)

If you drove in America in the 1960s or 1970s, your car was full of little mechanical rituals that have quietly disappeared. These 20 forgotten car features — from vent windows and bench seats to the cigarette lighter, chrome bumpers, and the vinyl roof — can take you back in seconds. This is real car history from the good old days of classic American cars: why every old car had a full-size spare in the trunk, why the radio had five hard push-buttons, why the high-beam switch lived on the floor, and why the most exciting seat in a station wagon faced the wrong direction. Some features vanished because technology improved. Some because tastes changed. And some because we learned how to survive crashes better. Built from authentic archival footage of vintage American cars — commercials, dealer films, and family snapshots from the 1960s and 1970s. ⏱ CHAPTERS 0:00 The Cars We Remember 0:56 The Vent Window 2:06 The Full-Width Bench Seat 3:23 Three on the Tree — Column Shifters 4:42 The High-Beam Switch on the Floor 5:54 Crank Windows 7:11 The Ashtray & Cigarette Lighter 8:32 Push-Button AM Radio 9:46 The 8-Track Player 10:57 The Chrome Horn Ring & Giant Steering Wheel 12:09 Real Chrome Bumpers 13:22 Hood Ornaments 14:31 The Full-Size Spare Tire 15:35 The Vinyl Roof 16:49 The Fresh-Air Vent Lever 17:56 The Simple Dashboard 19:13 The Hidden Fuel Filler 20:20 The Rear-Facing Wagon Seat 21:40 What We Don't Miss — Safety Then vs Now 22:52 Two Keys for One Car 23:59 T-Tops 25:08 Which One Takes You Back? Which of these old car features do you actually miss? Was it the vent window on a hot day, the click of the floor dimmer, or riding backwards in the family wagon? Tell us in the comments — we read every single one. If this brought back memories of the cars you grew up with, hit the like button and subscribe for more vintage America and American nostalgia — the objects, machines, and everyday rituals that defined life in the 1960s and 1970s. american nostalgia, vintage america, classic cars, vintage cars, old car features, forgotten car features, car features that disappeared, 1960s cars, 1970s cars, classic american cars, retro cars, cars from the 70s, baby boomer nostalgia, old america, 1960s nostalgia, 1970s nostalgia, cigarette lighter, chrome bumpers, vinyl roof, car nostalgia, car history, classic car history, good old days #ClassicCars #AmericanNostalgia #VintageCars #AmericanNostalgia #ClassicCars #1960s #1970s #VintageAmerica