Yesterdays dashboards

[BIGTRUCK]

I was looking up some ideas to finish the interiors on my 59 Buick and 60 Mercury builds and came across these dashes of yesteryear . I was 5 years old when these were around way too young to appreciate how cool they looked.

Edited November 20, 2016 by BIGTRUCK

[espo]

That looks like a Mercury, then a Dodge, and finally an Edsel. Can you imagine being in an accident with no Air Bags and you're sitting on you Seat Belt if the vehicle even had seat belts  ? 

[Ace-Garageguy]

... Can you imagine being in an accident with no Air Bags and you're sitting on you Seat Belt if the vehicle even had seat belts  ? 

Good reason to learn how to actually control a vehicle, and avoid "accidents" which are really usually not "accidents" at all, but are instead the inevitable results of lapses of concentration and simple incompetence.

It's a real shame the "safe space" mentality has become so all-pervasive that many folks refuse to take primary responsibility for much of anything any more.

Nerf-cars may be good for people who really shouldn't be driving anyway...because it seems to fail to register on their over-coddled brains that operating a 3000-pound moving vehicle with 20 gallons of highly flammable fuel on board, at 50+ MPH, in the presence of similar oncoming-vehicles AND 40,000 pound trucks is inherently DANGEROUS.

Seatbelts have ALWAYS been a good idea, but airbags, crumple-zones, active radar-controlled "accident" avoidance and all the other insidiously creeping carp people seem to view as necessary these days are nothing more than technical compensation for sloppy and distracted DRIVERS.

Edited November 21, 2016 by Ace-Garageguy

[bbowser]

Good reason to learn how to actually control a vehicle, and avoid "accidents" which are really usually not "accidents" at all, but are instead the inevitable results of lapses of concentration and simple incompetence.

It's a real shame the "safe space" mentality has become so all-pervasive that many folks refuse to take primary responsibility for much of anything any more.

Nerf-cars may be good for people who really shouldn't be driving anyway...because it seems to fail to register on their over-coddled brains that operating a 3000-pound moving vehicle with 20 gallons of highly flammable fuel on board, at 50+ MPH, in the presence of similar oncoming-vehicles AND 40,000 pound trucks is inherently DANGEROUS.

Seatbelts have ALWAYS been a good idea, but airbags, crumple-zones, active radar-controlled "accident" avoidance and all the other insidiously creeping carp people seem to view as necessary these days are nothing more than technical compensation for sloppy and distracted DRIVERS.

Can I get an AMEN!  Driver's Ed is practically non-existent anymore, and the population's general rudeness has spilled onto the highway.  "You first after me"  

[Can-Con]

AMEN!

[High octane]

Yesterday's dashboards were very simple with 12 or less buttons, knobs, levers, etc. Some of today's new vehicles have 40+ buttons, knobs, levers, etc. Modern technology is destroying our simple quality of life.

[CometMan]

Cars were just as cool looking inside as they were outside back then! I think you are preaching to the choir, Bill!

[Deano]

My contribution to a promising thread: my 1953 Plymouth dash.

[ChrisBcritter]

Seatbelts have ALWAYS been a good idea, but airbags, crumple-zones, active radar-controlled "accident" avoidance and all the other insidiously creeping carp people seem to view as necessary these days are nothing more than technical compensation for sloppy and distracted DRIVERS.

They're also a way to avoid injury and death from being hit by sloppy and distracted DRIVERS.

[ChrisBcritter]

I was looking up some ideas to finish the interiors on my 59 Buick and 60 Mercury builds and came across these dashes of yesteryear . I was 5 years old when these were around way too young to appreciate how cool they looked.

Just don't use that shot of the Edsel cluster as a color reference! Here you go:

 

 

Edited November 21, 2016 by ChrisBcritter

[espo]

Good reason to learn how to actually control a vehicle, and avoid "accidents" which are really usually not "accidents" at all, but are instead the inevitable results of lapses of concentration and simple incompetence.

It's a real shame the "safe space" mentality has become so all-pervasive that many folks refuse to take primary responsibility for much of anything any more.

Nerf-cars may be good for people who really shouldn't be driving anyway...because it seems to fail to register on their over-coddled brains that operating a 3000-pound moving vehicle with 20 gallons of highly flammable fuel on board, at 50+ MPH, in the presence of similar oncoming-vehicles AND 40,000 pound trucks is inherently DANGEROUS.

Seatbelts have ALWAYS been a good idea, but airbags, crumple-zones, active radar-controlled "accident" avoidance and all the other insidiously creeping carp people seem to view as necessary these days are nothing more than technical compensation for sloppy and distracted DRIVERS.

I couldn't have said it better. Every time I hear on the news that "the car went off the road" I just grit my teeth. The car didn't go off the road, it was pilot error and nothing more. If you're behind the wheel it's your responsibility for where the car goes. While there has been many advancements in safety technology it seems that it has only made drivers less likely to pay attention to their surroundings since they know that a chime will tell them when they have crossed the centerline, tell them when someone is in their "blind spot" or even put on the brakes before they run into the car in front of them. This isn't a video game this is real. Just how many drivers on the road today do you think could actually SAFELY operate a vehicle without Traction Control , Stability Control, or ABS Brakes in say rain let alone snow. It takes just about all of my personal defensive driving skills just to get anywhere I go today. I am proud to say my wife has the same sense of responsibility when behind the wheel. With over four decades of driving experience she just had her first accident and it was not her fault. She was leaving an intersection, moving with traffic, and the guy behind her just drives right into the rear of our car. In that time she has only had one ticket, "Speed excess of plain speed" while trying to get me up while water skies. She drifted into the 5MPH buoys. I got a 45 in a 35 ticket last year in a  poorly marked area with the KCPD hiding in a church parking lot. Prior was 16 years ago, 70 in a 55 in the middle of nowhere Missouri on a 2 lane. I drove over 50 miles and didn't see another car until the MHP made a U-turn to write the ticket. Prior was over 20 years before that.   

[peteski]

Yesterday's dashboards were very simple with 12 or less buttons, knobs, levers, etc. Some of today's new vehicles have 40+ buttons, knobs, levers, etc. Modern technology is destroying our simple quality of life.

Don't forget touch screens and integration with your "smart" devices.

[Cpt Tuttle]

Seeing how irresponsible some superbike riders are driving, when there is absolutely no protection except a couple of inches of styrofoam and fiberglass wrapped around your head, I am not completely sure that an unsafe vehicle makes everyone take responsibilities.

 

[gtx6970]

 

Seatbelts have ALWAYS been a good idea, but airbags, crumple-zones, active radar-controlled "accident" avoidance and all the other insidiously creeping carp people seem to view as necessary these days are nothing more than technical compensation for sloppy and distracted DRIVERS.

Have and accident and  the passenger side airbag keeps you or your loved ones  head out of the windshield or that crumple zoned hood keeps it from coming back thru the windshield like a saw blade and see if you still think this way.

Edited November 22, 2016 by gtx6970

[Ace-Garageguy]

Have and accident and  the passenger side airbag keeps you or your loved ones  head out of the windshield or that crumple zoned hood keeps it from coming back thru the windshield like a saw blade and see if you still think this way.

First, you probably shouldn't assume I've never been in that position.

Second, I stand by the logic of my original statement, which is that the "accident" wouldn't have occurred in the first place if one or both of the drivers involved had been competent AND paying attention.

The safety of vehicle occupants would be well-served if there was a comprehensive and effective driver-training program in effect in this country, along with heavy fines and license revocation for repeated idiot behavior behind the wheel. And drivers who are "accident" prone shouldn't just have their insurance rates raised; it should be CANCELED to keep them from being in control of moving vehicles at any time.

Of course, in a society where taking personal responsibility for anything has fallen out of favor, the likelihood of this happening is minimal.

And shut down onboard two-way communications in moving vehicles. Several real-world "accidents" I'm personally aware of in the very recent past (one potentially fatal) were immediately traceable to the use of and distraction from handheld-devices by the at-fault drivers.

The following excerpt is quoted from:   http://www.complex.com/sports/2013/02/germanys-fatal-accident-rate-is-less-than-half-of-ours-despite-driving-at-155-mph

"In Germany in 2012, there were 44 traffic related deaths per one million inhabitants, people could drive over 200 mph on public roads, there were tons of bikers, and there was lots of additional traffic from other countries passing through because of Germany's central location in Europe. Those all sounds like factors that would increase accidents and fatalities, but ze Germans are clearly doing something right, because in the USA we had 104 deaths per million. 

Car & Driver's German correspondent, Jens Meiners, claims that this is due to more rigorous driver training, scheduled vehicle checks ever two years, and the autobahn, where you can drive as fast as you want, but will be punished for not giving other vehicles space. He claims that the space and the fact that nobody is ballsy enough to try to text and eat a hamburger at 120 mph. "

Edited November 22, 2016 by Ace-Garageguy

[2002p51]

All these modern amenities and electronic gimmicks on new cars is the main reason why I prefer old cars. The last new car I bought is my 2002 Mustang and I have no plans, or desire, for anything newer. Last year I had reason to drive my sister's brand new GMC SUV and I hated it. That blind spot warning thing in the mirror was actually more of a distraction than a help. (And I'm a mirror watcher) 

Of the six vehicles we own four don't even have a radio. And in fact I don't always listen to the radio in the ones that do. It's just another distraction. (Plus the music stations around here suck!   )

I normally carry my cell phone in the pocket of my jeans which means, when driving and belted in, I can't get to it anyway. So if it rings, it rings, I'll listen to the voice mail later. 

And yea, I'm an old guy. Got my first license in 1964 and the driver's ed program in my high school was really good and actually taught us how to drive defensively.

So I agree, no such thing as a traffic "accident" and cars don't "go out of control" all by themselves. The only reason cars crash into each other, as previously stated, is due to incompetence (low skills), inattention, or both.

Stay safe out there folks. 

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

 

So I agree, no such thing as a traffic "accident" and cars don't "go out of control" all by themselves. The only reason cars crash into each other, as previously stated, is due to incompetence (low skills), inattention, or both.

 Having been a part of the collision repair industry for years off-and-on, I have heard countless times the phrase "the car wrecked" when the operator of the vehicle that had just arrived on the hook or rollback was talking on the phone to the insurance company or the spouse. Men, women, young, old.

At first, I thought it was kinda funny.

After about the 100th time, it started to make me see red whenever it was repeated, as it's obviously a widespread failure to accept responsibility and man-up and say "I wrecked the car"...which would imply that the operator had accepted responsibility for actually operating the vehicle with some degree of competence in the first place.

[2002p51]

It's a common thing on the local TV news around here. You hear things like this: "A 25 year old man was killed yesterday when his car went out of control and ran off the road. 

And I can't help thinking; what was he driving, Christine? No, the driver ran out of skills and crashed all by himself. 

[BigTallDad]

Regardless of your driving skills and attentiveness, mechanical failure can result in an accident.

[Deano]

And here, I thought this was a thread about cool old dashboards.  Goes to show what I know.

[Ace-Garageguy]

And here, I thought this was a thread about cool old dashboards.  Goes to show what I know.

Well, when somebody brought up the unpleasantness of having a face-plant in a non-airbag-equipped car, I led the thread off the rails a bit. Sorry.

It's just the implication that old cars were deathtraps waiting to kill or maim innocent people that always gets to me, and the further implication that because cars are "safer" now, everything is all unicorns and rainbows.

Here are some of my own favorites, and not an airbag in the bunch. I've driven all of them over the 50+ years I've had a license, fast, and I'm still alive and kicking...with all my major components still in place pretty much as delivered. Old cars are NOT "unsafe". Idiot drivers are the REAL problem, and all the airbags and crumple zones in the world won't change that.   

                                                                                          

                                         

 

 

Edited November 22, 2016 by Ace-Garageguy

[BigTallDad]

I'm not seeing any images Ron.

[FordRodnKustom]

Sorry Ray, had a little trouble there....got it now.

A few of my favs from the age of style

Edited November 22, 2016 by FordRodnKustom

[oldcarfan]

Can I get an AMEN!  Driver's Ed is practically non-existent anymore, and the population's general rudeness has spilled onto the highway.  "You first after me"  

Given the option, I prefer old cars, mostly sports cars. On the other hand.... My wife and kids are here today and driving me crazy, just kidding, because of these safety devices. Lapses of concentration happen to even the best. They were hit by a distracted driver at 70 MPH. They were gravely injured, but survived. The car's engine ended up well under the dash and the left front wheel was where the door should have been but the car took the worst of the damage to keep them alive. I don't let myself think about what would have happened if they had been in an older car. I love my old cars, but realize as I get older how much things have improved. My dad used to talk about 50s cars. He said when they were in a wreck, you just hosed out the blood and sold it to someone else. Now if only they could combine the style of the old ones with the safety and reliability of the new ones.

Edited November 22, 2016 by oldcarfan

[BigTallDad]

Awesome dashes Ron, and bring back some memories!

I'm also glad to see this thread GET BACK ON TRACK and hope it stays there (even though I made a needed off-track response).

Thanks again.