Alright, millennials and Gen X-ers, grab your Walkman and put on your favorite mixtape, because we’re about to take a wild ride back to the days when car tech was more “why tech” than “high-tech.”
If you learned to drive sometime between acid-wash jeans and boy bands, you’re in for a treat.
We’re diving into the automotive world of the 80s and 90s, where every gadget was a gamble and every accessory was an adventure.
In This Post
The Music Struggle Was Real
Remember when we thought we were living in the future with our car CD players? Yeah, until we hit a pothole and suddenly our favorite song turned into a skipping nightmare. And don’t even get me started on trying to find space for all those bulky CD cases! Like many, my visor was full of CDs.
But hey, at least CDs were an upgrade from cassette tapes. Who else spent half their road trip trying to fish out a tape that got eaten by the deck? Or how about the joys of fast-forwarding and rewinding to find that one song you wanted to hear?
Ah, the patience we had back then!
“High-Tech” Headaches
Digital dashboards seemed so cool and futuristic, right? That is, until you tried to read them on a sunny day and realized you had no idea how fast you were going. And when they malfunctioned? Hope you had deep pockets for those repairs!
And let’s pour one out for the pop-up headlights. They looked awesome… when they worked. But there was always that fear that one day, you’d hit the switch and be left with a winking car.
Safety First… Sort Of
Remember when ABS brakes first became a thing? That pulsing sensation under your foot during hard braking was enough to make you think your car was falling apart.
And early airbags? They were more like airbombs, deploying with enough force to make you wonder if the crash would have been less painful.
Oh, and automatic seatbelts! Nothing says “I care about your safety” quite like a belt that tries to strangle you every time you get in the car.
The “Convenience” Features
Keyless entry was amazing until the battery in your remote died, and you realized you’d forgotten how to use an actual key. And cruise control? Great on flat highways, not so much when you suddenly found yourself speeding down a hill with no idea how to turn it off.
Don’t forget those early GPS units. Nothing builds character quite like getting hopelessly lost because your GPS thought you were driving through a field that was actually a new housing development.
The Aftermarket Madness
Raise your hand if you ever installed a trunk-mounted CD changer. Now raise your other hand if it ever worked perfectly without jamming or skipping. Yeah, that’s what I thought.
And who could forget the subwoofer craze? Nothing says “I’m cool” quite like rattling windows and a drained car battery because you didn’t quite nail the installation.
The Little Things
Dashboard hula dancers, air fresheners that went from overpowering to nonexistent in a day, steering wheel covers that never quite fit right – these little touches were supposed to personalize our rides, but often just ended up being minor annoyances.
Wrapping Up
But you know what? Despite all these quirks and struggles, there’s something endearing about the cars from this era. They had personality, even if that personality sometimes manifested as a complete refusal to work properly.
So here’s to the cars of the 80s and 90s – they might not have been perfect, but they sure gave us some stories to tell.
What were your memorable car gadget or tech stories from back in the day? Tell us on our Facebook page!
