Riding Through the 1980s: A Nostalgic Look at What Used to Be in Every Car

I was visiting family recently, in small town in Nebraska, and an older relative gave us a ride in his ancient truck. He'd taken good care of it, but it was still a pickup from...if not the 80s, then definitely the early 90s.

When I got into the truck, it was like a tsunami of nostalgia drowning me in sights and smells. The push-buttons on the radio tuner, the cracked and worn vinyl seats under the worn seat-covers.

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The Sights, Sounds, and Smells of Old Cars

And the smell! Brand new cars have a smell, conveniently known as 'New Car Smell.' But an old vehicle, which has been in use and has spent many days under the sun, has a distinct smell.

I can't even really describe it beyond 'Old Car Smell.' It smells like something with gasoline and motor oil in it. The exhaust has an old-time smell. The dashboard, cracked and fading, has a hint of the smell of melting plastic.

The ghosts of a thousand air fresheners are embedded in the cloth of the roof. Oh! I can't forget the lingering odor of cigarettes. Those triangle windows never did much for air flow, and now the worn steering wheel still smells like a smoking section.

Things That Only Make Sense if You Rode in a Car Before 1990

That experience got me thinking about all the stuff I remember being in cars in the 1980s. That's when I was a kid kid, pre-teen, when everything around me was imprinted on my brain. It's the same reason 1980s commercial complations feel so freaking cozy.

So I mined my memories for a list of things you'd find in a car in the 1980s.

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