11種消失的汽車功能
????3.手搖車窗 ????一些低端裸配車型上還能找到這種裝置,它們是被用來吆喝地板價的——前提是市場上還真有這種車型——但其實很少能看到它們了。沒人會懷念這東西,除了那些老是忘了關(guān)窗只能重新啟動的人。至于說電動搖窗機(jī),它們現(xiàn)在早已根深蒂固、無處不在了,今年憑它的一把年紀(jì)都有資格享受老年醫(yī)保了:要知道它們可是1948年就發(fā)明出來了。 ????4.天線 ????用來接收調(diào)幅調(diào)頻收音機(jī)信號的強(qiáng)力外置天線、以及它那早就過氣的表親伸縮天線早已不見蹤影了。它們的功能已被植入后擋風(fēng)玻璃的裝置或是車頂后部安裝的鯊魚鰭配件給取代了,這些裝置還能接收GPS和電話信號。不過警車還是一大例外,它還是頂著一堆天線,分別用于接收掃描器、民用無線電和電腦的信號。這些天線的好處是能讓警車更容易監(jiān)測超速車輛。 ????5.手剎 ????手剎也叫安全制動器或緊急制動器,現(xiàn)在正日益被電子制動器取代,后者于2001年首次出現(xiàn)在雷諾(Renault)的威賽帝(Vel Satis)上。隨著手排擋日漸式微,車主在斜坡上小心翼翼地踩著離合時再也不需要用手剎來穩(wěn)住車了。而在爬坡過程中當(dāng)車停下時,一項名為“坡道輔助系統(tǒng)”(hill hold)的新功能就會剎住車,等到司機(jī)踩下油門時才會讓車重新啟動。 ????6.斜交胎 ????在斜交胎上,簾線是按照行駛的角度來排布的,因此它們會縱橫交織在一起。而相比之下,子午胎在輪胎彎曲時會避免胎面相互摩擦擠壓,這樣就能減小輪胎的滾動阻力,也能更加省油。1915年,第一個子午胎設(shè)計獲得了專利,米其林公司(Michelin)1946年為乘用車開發(fā)了這種輪胎。但是底特律的車企們一開始卻強(qiáng)烈抵制這種輪胎,因為它們成本更高,胎噪更大,還需要更昂貴的懸掛調(diào)校。1973年的石油危機(jī)爆發(fā)后,客戶的要求迫使這些企業(yè)改變了想法。到了1983年,所有新車都裝備了子午胎。和氣囊及多氣門發(fā)動機(jī)一樣,斜交胎的消亡也是底特律三巨頭抵制改革的象征之一。 |
????3. Crank windows ????You can still find them on stripper versions of low-end models used for trumpeting rock-bottom prices -- assuming that stripper version can be found at all -- but seldom anywhere else. Nobody misses them, except for those people who chronically fail to close their windows and thus must restart. As for electric window lifts, they have become so well-established, they became eligible for Medicare this year: They were invented in 1948. ????4. Antennas ????The power exterior antenna for am-fm radio reception and its retro-style cousin, the whip antenna, are long gone. Their functions have been embedded in the rear windshield or a shark fin-shaped enclosure that sits just above it on the roof and can also handle GPS and telephone signals. The big exception is the police car, which still spouts a variety of antennas for scanners, CB radios, and computers. On the plus side, that makes them easier to spot at speed traps. ????5. Handbrake ????Also known as safety or emergency brakes, handbrakes are increasingly being replaced by electric brakes that first appeared on the 2001 Renault Vel Satis. With the decline of manual transmissions, you no longer need handbrakes to hold a car on an incline while you delicately engage the clutch. And a new feature called "hill hold" takes over when your car is stopped while climbing and then releases when the driver pushes the gas pedal. ????6. Bias-ply tires ????In bias-ply tires, the cords were set at angles of travel, so they criss-crossed over each other. By comparison, radial tires avoid having the plies rub against each other as the tire flexes, thus reducing the tire's rolling friction and producing greater fuel economy. The first radial tire designs were patented in 1915, and Michelin developed them for passenger cars in 1946. But Detroit bitterly resisted their adoption because they were more costly, produced a harsher ride, and required costly suspension adjustments. Demands from consumers after the 1973 gas crisis changed its mind, and by 1983, all new cars came equipped with radials. Along with airbags and multivalve engines, the demise of bias-ply tires remains a landmark of the Detroit Three's resistance to change. |