Assuming the speaker is not in the kid-demo themselves, “Kids today …” is almost never followed by “… really have it tough,” even though kids today do have it pretty doggone tough when it comes to housing affordability, the job market, and other adulty-stuff. Where kids do have it pretty easy is the relative luxuriousness of their cars, even if all they can afford is a bottom-rung model like a Corolla or Civic or Versa in the most affordable trim level.
But as obscure YouTuber Doug DeMuro points out below in his look at the 1986 Civic, “basic” transportation today means you get cloth seats instead of leather, a not-huge infotainment screen instead of what appears to be an iPad Pro perched on the dash, and perhaps a mere six speakers instead of – I dunno, twelve?
But power windows? Air conditioning? Bluetooth connectivity? That’s just expected stuff.
I’m sure many of my fellow oldsters have driven (or were transported in as kids) very basic machines like Doug’s 1986 Civic above. I’ve had cars with even fewer features than that – zero heating and windows that are fixed in place come to mind – but that’s because the “features” were broken, not omitted.
What’s the most basic car you’ve owned or otherwise had in your life? The Autopian is asking!
most basic? my 1959 vw bug. the heater became a delete after many years of syracuse salt. no radio. but… it did have vent windows!
I owned a 1995 BMW 318ti, and while you may think it would be fancy because of the BMW badge, it was anything but. No sunroof, no cruise control, cloth seats, a 1.8L 4-cyl, 5-speed manual, perfection. The only “options” it had were things that were standard for the US market, like AC and power windows, but that’s about it. I miss that car, it was so light and simple, and the hatchback made it surprisingly practical. I’m sad there aren’t more RWD hatchbacks out there.
2003 Ford Escort ZX2. Cloth seats, manual locks, mirrors, & 5 speed. That has been my least favorite car. It was loud, shifter was terrible, CEL cycled on and off for no apparent reason, seats were uncomfortable, and it was flat out ugly AF. Looked like a jelly bean. Don’t miss that turd at all.