I remember when cars all had 3-speed, on the column, transmissions. You opened the door with a downward cranking motion and then pulled. There was no such thing as power steering, and the brakes were drums with no power assist.

Windshield wipers were vacuum powered and would stop when you accelerated. A heater was an accessory and it hung under the dash. A really nice heater had a three speed fan, but most were just on or off. Defrosters were not very effective so a lot of people carried a towel for the inside and a scraper for the outside.

Batteries were 6 volts and were charged with a generator. Push starting was common and your lights dimmed when the engine was at idle. Playing the radio (AM only) when parked would discharge the battery.

Windows opened with a crank and there were two little vent windows instead of air conditioning. To make a phone call you stopped at a phone booth. Tires were bias ply and had to be rebalance often.

Back then, cars still had ignition points, mechanical fuel pumps, bumper jacks, and carburetors. All of these were a constant source of trouble. If you failed to check the oil and water often enough, you cooked your engine.

A dollar would buy almost four gallons of gas, but most cars got worse milage than a modern SUV.
After 50 or 60 thousand miles, you had to have an engine overhaul and at 80,000 the car was pretty well worn out.

Cars were terrible polluters in those days. They smelled awful. Anything but a new car trailed a cloud of smoke. Black smoke meant carburetor trouble and blue meant the piston rings were shot. White smoke sometimes was steam from blown head gasket.

Rust was public enemy number one. Depending on climate, bodies rusted through in a few years and mufflers had to be replaced several times during the life of the car. Brakes and clutches wore out quickly, and water pumps tended to leak and wear out on a regular basis. Spark plugs were good for about 10,000 miles.

So when you hear somebody say they don't build them like they used to, smile and agree.
Howard