How Pathetically Small and Inadequate.....

[don duick]

I had a '46 Plymouth Deluxe as a driver while waiting for my '68 R/T to be delivered.  Those vacuum wipers were a joke.  The more gas you gave it the slower the wipers went as the vacuum dropped.  Give it full throttle and they would stop completely.  When my new '68 arrived I was in high tech heaven.....

[Charger-Bodie]

Yep. Not a new Volvo . The driver needs to drive.

[Ghoste]

It'd be interesting to compare accident statistics from 1969 to today with the population increase taken into account.

[b5blue]

My CJ 3A WILLYS had the crappy vacuum wiper for drivers side and a hand crank for passengers side! The look on a passengers face in the rain was priceless when they realized that they needed to get busy if they wanted to see anything. 

[davidcam69]

A couple of years ago my grandkids were in my work car (92 Dynasty) and asked what those handles were on the inside of the doors. They had never seen window cranks before.   

[ACUDANUT]

No response from heavy fuel ?

[Steve P.]

It is known as PROGRESS. Very many things have been upgraded over the years. As we find issues, we find what will make them better. As far as the wipers being small or inadequate, I don't think so. Growing up in these cars and living in the snow belt I can tell you for fact that they not only gave you good vision, but moved a ton of snow sometimes to do it. They did not have "WINTER BLADES" back when I was young and yet the wiper motors were strong enough to move the blades and leave some of the rubber stuck to the windshield. Thus the invention of the (ICE SCRAPER).

We also dealt with that pesky key to try to unlock out frozen door locks. Today, we can start the car from the warmth of our homes and have a nice warm car to get in before we know it! Power everything and heated, air conditioned seats that move in every direction and decked out in leather. Not when I was young. Not at least owned by anyone I knew!! Crank windows that also didn't move until the car interior was warm enough to thaw the ice. Vinyl seats that felt like you just dropped your pants and sat down on a large ice cube and sometimes would crap from the cold. 

Simply put, we have reinvented most everything that has ever been a PITA to us, but to say that what we had in the 60's was pathetic is just wrong. We did one hell of a lot more maintenance on those cars, but did not have the science then that we have today. In another 40-50 years people will be wondering how we ever dealt with those shitty cars from the early 2000's...

And some of these things like GPS and BACK UP CAMERAS are a damned good idea. I guess if you have never left your own back yard you would probably never need it, but for the 3-5 million Snow Birds and visitors to our area every year GPS is absolutely fantastic and is helping tremendously with traffic and traffic accidents around here in the winter season had dropped dramatically. The B U camera is something I want badly. For those of you who can spin your head around to see backing up you may think it is crazy. For a guy who cannot twist his back because it is basically welded tight, DAMN GOOD IDEA!! Not to mention that if I had one I would not be causing myself more harm with getting out 2,3,4,5 times trying to line up my trailer.

[Wicked72]

id love to get caught in the rain my in charger. cuz that would mean its done and id be driving it! 

[myk]

The wipers are satisfactory.  It's not as if they can be any bigger, or they wouldn't fit the windshield.  If you want a better blade then buy a better one and ditch the "correct" blades; I've got nice Bosch ones on my car and they work very well-forget the factory stuff.  I'll look into the Raix-X stuff as well.  Finally, I see all of this as a moot point; most of us don't drive our cars at all, let alone in the rain...

[HeavyFuel]

No response from heavy fuel ?

Ha...

Yeah, been busy.   Good dialogue from everyone else though.....  

All this talk about a 'mans' driving skills.   I can almost hear the chest thumping.  

Not everyone driving these cars had awesome driving skills.   My daughter sucks at driving.  I'm just thinking about how it would have been with her behind the wheel in a car like this.

[Steve P.]

My mother drove a 62' Dart w/push button automatic and power steering. That was it! She could put it in any parking space and we went on many trips in it.. No issues..

[crj1968]

 Finally, I see all of this as a moot point; most of us don't drive our cars at all, let alone in the rain...

Yeah no kidding.

[Dino]

 Finally, I see all of this as a moot point; most of us don't drive our cars at all, let alone in the rain...

Yeah no kidding.

It's not a moot point for me, I drive it in the rain all the time.

[Baldwinvette77]

I Remember having to stick my Head out the window while driving my olds home from school, the alternator died, so i turned the wipers off during the heaviest rain storm of the year of course, also revved the engine to like 4000rpm at every stop light, got 6 or so jump starts that day, felt awesome 

[ChargerD100]

could be 70 d100 wipers mine are ridiculous they are on a toggle switch that if I want to turn em off I have to flick my switch at the right exact moment for them to stay down other wise they pop back up in my line of sight 

[Ghoste]

Thats a problem with the parking cam in the wiper motor though, you can fix that.

[NHCharger]

Actually wouldn't mind having a back up cam in the Chargers. The mirrors leave a lot of guess work when backing up.

[Lord Warlock]

You can install a back up camera on the license tag, they have cameras that were designed for that location.  (I have one in my 2010 challenger spoiler)

[Aero426]

As mentioned, an application of Rain-X helps a LOT.     You almost don't need the wipers. 

[Highbanked Hauler]

Maybe it's just because I grew up with them and learned to drive in them but whenever I hear these "deathtrap" comments I always think that people now have really become spoiled with cars that do everything for them today. 

      I grew up with them also and if they are maintained whats the problem.?  I did about 120 miles in the rain with mine a couple of weeks ago coming home from a mopar meet with the original wiper motor and it worked just fine but I will get a rebuilt for it at some point. With a good set of points  my 318 started at  0 degrees many a time. Peace man..

[HeavyFuel]

It'd be interesting to compare accident statistics from 1969 to today with the population increase taken into account.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_motor_vehicle_deaths_in_U.S._by_year


The muscle car era was tough on folks.



Maybe it was the wipers...   

[Ghoste]

I would expect deaths to be higher with modern mandatory seatbelt use, more stringently enforced DUI laws and airbags.  I'd like to know overall accident statistics.
I don't think its anything to do with manly driving skills since musclecars only made up a very small part of the auto sales picture at that time.  Given the buying demographic of musclecars when new I would put a much greater blame on testosterone and driver inexperience than any misconception of the cars themselves as deathtraps.

[68 RT]

Maybe it's just because I grew up with them and learned to drive in them but whenever I hear these "deathtrap" comments I always think that people now have really become spoiled with cars that do everything for them today. 

  Yup, totally agree. todays cars are designed for people that can't concentrate, can't park, can't back up, don't know how to pump the brakes when it's raining, etc....

[ACUDANUT]

I don't know about that statement. My F-350 is a bitch to park, and it does not drive itself.  I wish it did, I could sleep, eat, drink or watch a movie. 

[HeavyFuel]

I love my car as much as anyone.....just poking a little fun at one of it's characteristics.  

Sure driving a vehicle is easier today, but we all want it that way.   Many are defending the way our classics do that and that, but nobody in their right mind would choose the poor safety, maintenance headaches and lack of convenience of 60's cars over what is available today.

The upgrade threads on this site are endless.  If our cars were so awesome 'out of the box',  more people would do stock engine rebuilds, no electrical upgrades, no brake and handling upgrades, use 14" rims and bias tires.....and cover it all with single stage lacquer.        

My first car was a '67 Fury III wagon in the four seasons of North Dakota, so I know all about learning to drive the 'right' way.

Maybe pathetic and deathtrap were poor choice of words.  I friggin' adore my Charger, but I would rather be in ANY of my other 5 vehicles if faced with a challenging driving situation or accident.   Just a better chance of a safe outcome.