Do you still make that little crank motion with your hand when you want someone to roll down their car window? Or, have you developed a new hand signal, an index finger pointing downward perhaps, indicating the pushing of window switch? Power windows have almost universally replaced their hand-cranked alternatives for various reasons, among them manufacturing costs and  the ability to move the mechanisms toward the outer door skins allowing for more flush windows and more aerodynamic designs. And yet many still say roll down your window.

Additionally, some still say radio dial even though almost every car radio of the modern era has some sort of florescent numeric display rather than a ribbon symbolizing the radio spectrum. That of course, is for cars that even have radios any more, the transition to web-enabled automotive entertainment making over-the air access seem so antiquated. These are just two examples of automotive features that are going the way of the Dodo and civil political discourse. At some point, there will be an entire generation, for which neither will be relevant. 

That may just seem like the lament of someone who spends time yelling at kids to get off his lawn, but it really seems like we are seeing a passing of technologies into obsolescence, many of them auto-related. How many kids born today will, upon receipt of their driver’s license at age 16, even know what a spare tire is, or why someone would want one? How about a carburetor? What other common car parts are you seeing turn into the equivalent of your appendix? Which ones are fading into obscurity?

Image: [locksonline]