It is for the «petizada» that I write this article — and for the most homesick adults. I'm going to tell you a story from the not-too-distant past, where children didn't wear seat belts, cars didn't brake on their own, and where air conditioning was a luxury. Yes, a luxury.
“(…) the entertainment involved playing games with the number plates of the car in front or teasing the younger brother. Sometimes both…”
Cars weren't always what they are today. Know that your parents, who today do not rest (and well!) until you put on your seat belt, spent your entire childhood without using it. Disputing with your uncles the place "in the middle". But there is more…
Keep a list of car characteristics and road habits from the 70s, 80s and early 90s, which will not be repeated again (thankfully).
1. Pull the air
Today, to start the car, your father only needs to press a button, right? So it is. But when he was your age it wasn't that simple. There was an ignition key that had to be turned and an air button that had to be pulled, which in turn activated a cable that went to a part called carburetor . It took some mastery to get the engine running. A task that is simple today and that at the time could have been an ordeal.2. Cars drowned
Your grandfather must have been dismounted a few times for not scrupulously following the start-up procedure described above. Without electronics to manage the air/fuel mixture, cars in the past, back in the loop, doused the spark plugs with fuel, preventing ignition. Result? Wait for the fuel to evaporate or burn the spark plugs with a lighter (more common on motorbikes).
As it was said at the time… cars had “hands on”.
3. The windows opened with a crank
Button? Which button? The windows were opened using a crank. Going down the window was easy, going up not really...4. Air conditioning was a 'rich people' thing
Air conditioning was a rare technology in most cars and even then it was only available in the higher ranges. On hotter days, the system of windows with a crank was worth it to cool the interior.
5. There were no seat belts in the rear seats
Trips were preferably made in the middle, with the tail at the end of the seat and the hands gripping the front seats. Belts? What a joke. Besides the use of seat belts not being mandatory, in many cars they didn't even exist.Anyone who had siblings knows very well how difficult it was to fight for that coveted place…
6. The gas pumps smelled like…gasoline!
At a time when the country had not yet been paved from north to south by highways as far as the eye could see, trips were made along the twisted national roads. Nausea was a constant and the best remedy for the symptoms was to stop at a gas pump. For some reason that Google can certainly explain to you, the smell of gasoline alleviated the problem. It so happens that, today, gasoline pumps no longer smell like gasoline, as a result of the modernity of the supply systems.
7. Electronic help… what?
Electronic help? The only electronic help available concerned the automatic tuning of the radio. Guardian angels like ESP and ABS had not yet been created by the 'electronic gods'. Unfortunately…8. Entertainment was pulling the imagination
Completing more than six hours of travel was relatively common. Without cell phones, tablets and multimedia systems on board, entertainment involved playing games with the number plates of the car in front or teasing the younger brother. Sometimes both…
9. The GPS was made of paper
The voice of the nice lady who interrupts the radio broadcasts was not coming from the speakers, it was coming from our mother's mouth. GPS was a technology exclusive to the military forces and anyone who wanted to venture down paths they did not know had to rely on a paper called a "map".10. Traveling was an adventure
For all these reasons and a few more, traveling was a real adventure. The stories followed one another at the flavor of the kilometers, on a journey that was never interrupted by the noise of addictive electronic devices. It was us, our parents, the car and the road.
Anyone who is now roughly between 30 and 50 years old — more, less … — understands very well the evolution that the automobile has undergone in recent decades. We, generations of the 70s and 80s, grew up experimenting with things in cars that no other generation will ever experience. Maybe that's why we have an obligation to tell them what it was like. On summer vacations that are fast approaching, turn off your electronics and tell them what it was like. They'll like to hear it and we'll like to tell…
Fortunately, everything is different today. For the best.