????7.橫排長座

????可坐下三人的平坦的前后座是美式車的標準配置，直到1950年代出現(xiàn)了車型更小、更為運動化的汽車之后，這種局面才告一段落。通過在前排安裝兩個較小的桶狀座椅，汽車廠商就能增加乘坐空間，同時為安裝在車內(nèi)地板上的排擋桿騰出地方來。盡管桶狀座椅更有運動感，能提供更好的承托，還能使用安全帶，但在一些大型車上，橫排長座的地位依然不可動搖，直到21世紀的第二個十年它們才告別歷史舞臺——2013年，雪佛蘭英帕拉（Impala）終于換上了新型座椅。而懷舊的人們則哀嘆，這種座椅的衰落是與汽車影院的消亡同時發(fā)生的。

????8.硬頂敞篷車

????有時候這種車也叫“無柱式硬頂車”，它沒有車頂?shù)闹虚g支撐柱，所以看起來就像一輛升起車頂?shù)某ㄅ褴嚒：臀馋掃@類多余的設計一樣，它們在20世紀50年代風靡一時。當時每年一變的風格要求設計師必須找到新創(chuàng)意，所以這種風格很快用到了四門車甚至是旅行車上。但這種硬頂本質上就不夠堅固，所以必須要用更繁重的結構來支撐。20世紀70年代中期，硬頂敞篷車開始逐漸消失，部分原因是因為擔心受到聯(lián)邦行車安全法規(guī)的處罰。1978年出品的克萊斯勒Newport和New Yorker也就成了最后兩款真正的硬頂車。而現(xiàn)在汽車廠商們喜歡把B柱刷黑，而不是取消它，以模仿這種風格。

????9.時速85英里速度計

????還記得“兩個5”（Double Nickel）嗎？這是1974年聯(lián)邦通過的一項法案，它要求汽車最高限速不得超過時速55英里，以節(jié)省燃油。五年后，在卡特總統(tǒng)執(zhí)政期間，美國公路交通安全管理局（NHTSA）要求速度計必須在55這個數(shù)字上加上特別標志，以讓駕駛者注意法定時速上限，同時還不允許最大時速超過85英里。不過，這種限速速度計并未能綁住汽車飛馳的速度，而85英里的最高時速在雪佛蘭科爾維特（Corvette）這樣的車上顯得傻透了。1981年NHTSA開始重審這項規(guī)定，因為它發(fā)現(xiàn)這個法案對改變駕駛者行為來說收效甚微。到了今天，速度計的最大刻度往往能達到時速160英里，不過真正允許的最大時速還不到這個速度的一半。

????10.備胎

????當汽車廠商開始設法降低成本、減輕車重時，全尺寸備胎就成了被踢出歷史舞臺的首選。車胎可能還是會癟掉，但現(xiàn)在的車可能只會裝一個“多納圈備胎”（donut spare，即非全尺寸備胎——譯注），或是維修工具，甚至干脆什么都沒有！防爆胎要么有自動防漏功能，要么胎壁做了強化，所以有時候它能防止部分漏氣。但這種胎要貴得多，而且駕乘品質會受影響。誰都不喜歡從面包車的下托架上取出一個臟兮兮的備胎換上，或是琢磨怎么用那個并不熟悉的千斤頂。但是不管什么時候發(fā)生爆胎之后，知道自己總能有辦法回家的信心還是很重要的。

????11.鉸鏈式通風窗

????為了把擋風玻璃立柱和活動車窗之間那塊尷尬的空間填上，一些工程師就設計了這種傾斜的或所謂鉸鏈式的通風窗。這種窗戶格外受到吸煙人士的青睞，因為它能將煙霧吸出窗外。20世紀60年代，隨著車用空調開始普及，設計師開始設法減輕車重，同時賦予汽車更整潔的外觀，這種窗戶開始從乘用車上消失了。對那些健忘的駕駛者來說，它們的消失值得惋惜，因為這讓他們在把車鑰匙落在車里后能方便地開門去取。（財富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：清遠

????7. Bench seats

????Flat, three-across front and rear seats were standard equipment in American cars until the arrival of smaller and sportier models in the late 1950s. By installing two smaller bucket seats in front, manufacturers were able to increase seating room and leave room for a floor-mounted gear shifter. Although buckets were sportier, offered greater lateral support, and provided secure seat belt anchors, front bench seats held on in larger cars until they became extinct in the second decade of 21st century when the Chevrolet Impala was replaced with a newer model in 2013. Sentimentalists noted that their decline paralleled that of drive-in movie theatres.

????8. Hardtop convertibles

????Sometimes called "pillarless hardtops," hardtop convertibles were built without a central roof pillar so they would look like a convertible with the top raised. Along with other design excesses like tailfins, they became popular in the 1950s when annual styling changes had designers searching for new ideas, and the style spread to four-doors and even station wagons. But hardtops are inherently less rigid, and they needed to be reinforced with a heavier structure. The hardtop convertible began to disappear in the mid-1970s, partly out of a concern about federal safety regulations, and the 1978 Chrysler Newport and New Yorker became the last true hardtops. Today manufacturers today like to mimic the style by blacking out the central pillar instead of eliminating it.

????9. 85 mph speedometers

????Remember the "Double Nickel?" That was the federal law passed in 1974 that prohibited speed limits higher than 55 mph as a fuel-saving measure. Five years later during the Carter administration, NHTSA required speedometers include a special emphasis on the number 55 to keep drivers focused on the legal rate and forbid them from registering a maximum speed above 85 mph. The speedometer limits didn't govern the speed of the car, though, and the 85 mph max looked pretty silly on cars like the Chevy Corvette. NHTSA began rolling back the regulation in 1981 after discovering it did little to change driver behavior. Today, speedometers routinely go to 160 mph, even though the maximum allowable speed limit is less than half that.

????10. Spare tires

????As manufacturers search for ways to reduce cost and weight, the full-size spare tire is headed the way of the passenger pigeon. Tires may still go flat, but cars will be equipped with donut spares or motorized patch kits or sometimes nothing at all. Run-flat tires, with either automatic sealing or reinforced sidewalls, can fill some of the void, but they are more expensive and compromise ride quality. Nobody enjoys extracting a dirty spare from the under-carriage of a minivan or figuring out how to operate an unfamiliar jacking system, but there was a certain security in knowing that you could always find your way home after a flat no matter the day or time.

????11. Hinged vent windows

????To fill that awkward space between the windshield pillar and the movable window itself, some engineer lost to memory created the tilt or hinged vent window. Much beloved by tobacco lovers because of its ability to suck smoke out of the car, they began to vanish on passenger cars in the 1960s as air conditioning became more popular and designers looked for ways to reduce weight and get a cleaner look. Their extinction would be mourned by forgetful drivers who used them for easy entry after locking their keys inside.