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!
My first car was pretty basic, in terms of luxuries. It was a 2002 VW Polo, with the little 1.2 3-cyl putting out a mighty 65PS (when new… not when I had it)
It had safety features – ABS brakes, 4 airbags, and a decent (for the time) EuroNCAP rating. But it had very little else. No AC. No power windows. No power locks. Just keep-fit windows, irritating manual locks, and a 4-speaker radio with cassette player.
Weirdly though, it did have power mirrors. Very odd spec.
1995 base-model Dodge Neon. Desperately needed AC out here in the desert, and power steering in town. A fun vehicle, when it ran.
1967 and 1970 VW Bugs. A base model 1970 Corona. A Ford Fiesta that didn’t even come with a radio nor a place to mount one.
A ’79 Pinto, which wasn’t just my first car, it had been my grandmother’s first as well – she learned to drive at the age of 65.
It was the typical ’70s cheap American vehicle, with the inside made primarily of painted metal with vinyl-wrapped carboard over the rest. Single-speaker AM radio, no AC, unfortunately with the 3-spd auto that did nothing for the car’s acceleration. The HVAC system was hilarious, with a couple of organ stops to control air direction (top or bottom). It would spit leaves in your face in the fall, and snow in the winter.
It did have a few surprising features: a manual sunroof (had a latch to flip it open for vent, but could be removed completely with a friend), a rear window defroster, and perhaps the best feature abandoned on all other vehicles…a remote manual passenger side mirror. There was a joystick under the dash on the driver’s side with cables running up to the mirror to move it around. I don’t think I’ve seen it on another vehicle, but it’s much easier than the guess-and-check method.
I’ve owned some pretty basic cars over the years but hands down the most basic has to be my 88 S-10. Forget power locks and windows this truck even eschews such luxury items as a brake booster or power steering. Gauges who needs them, we have a light that will conveniently let you know if the oil pressure is low or your engine is overheating. No radio, no carpet, no air conditioning, seriously it is beyond basic. Even though the engine is fuel injected, it only has a single fuel injector doing its best impersonation of a carburetor. Vinyl bench, manual transmission… I mean it doesn’t even have a dome light… And I love this truck, I’ll never sell it.
1991 Sunbird with approximately nothing. Base engine, manual everything. The one luxury that it actually had was an FM radio.
Loved that car, mostly because it got me out of the granny gold 1989 Topaz that I had been driving and into something that was at least a manual transmission. I was in four separate accidents, none my fault: one in front, one and back and one on each side. I used to joke at all I needed was to have something dropped on it and then I would have a whole new car.
When my then girlfriend and I moved from Michigan to California, we towed the sunbird and I wound up trading it in as the down payment on her equally base model neon. She proceeded to drive that neon for something like 15 or 20 years.
Currently. My 2019 Chevy Spark has crank windows, lacks power locks, and is a 5 speed. I wear these badges with pride.
I still own my ’99 base model Clio 2.
It comes with luxurious amenities such as:
– cassette payer
– FRONT electric windows
– FOG LIGHTS!!
– fuel injection
– ABS
– AIR BAGS!!
Don’t be jealous guys, you may be able to afford one some day (in 3 weeks if you save 20 bucks a day).
Afford? Yes
Find one for sale inside the country? Not so much.
Well, they are 25 years old…
Sure but the cost of importing kills the value, not to mention trying to get it through CARB.
User name checks out!
Yes, yes it does.
My first car was an ‘88 Mazda 323. It had no options apart from decadent A/C. Which was actually quite unique because most cars in New Zealand in 1988 did not have A/C. This thing was so basic that it didn’t even have an accessory position in the ignition. When I put a stereo in (first mod all 15 year olds do right?!) there was no permanent live to the radio, so it lost all my presets and clock every day. Which was doubly annoying because the car didn’t have a clock. Just a blanking plug. It had vinyl seats, a 4 speed manual, not 5. A 1.3 liter carbureted engine. You know how on your car there is a little wiring harness going from the car body to the door. Yeah this didn’t have that apart from on the drivers door where there was a little permanent lit light in the keyhole so you could find it at night. Except all it did was drain the battery so I disabled it. Now back to that decadent luxurious A/C. It worked, even though the car was 16 years old when I got it. But it only worked if the car was moving, because at idle the engine wasn’t revving high enough to run both the alternator and the ac compressor, so it would just stall, in traffic it you forgot to turn it off as you approached a set of traffic lights. Also I lived about 20km out of town, it took a good 18 kilometers of driving to warm up so I couldn’t use the heater until I was about 5 minutes from school in the winter. Also the door cards didn’t reach the top of the doors, there was no intermittent wiper setting and I’m not sure if it had intertia reel seat belts in the back… I don’t think anyone ever sat there, cos I only had it six months before crashing it (like any good 15 year old!)
Usually the A/C circuit has a switch to increase the idle speed to compensate for the extra load. Since A/C was unusual in NZ I wonder if that wasn’t a sketchy aftermarket system.
It looked stock, it had both the A/C and the ECON button in the right place from memory. I’m pretty sure it was just broken because it was a 16 year old car that I got from my cousin for $500, I’m fairly certain there was an odo rollback at some point too. The electrics would cut out when I was driving sometimes and would require a cycle of the key to bring them back… it was a pile of junk, but I was 15 and it was my first pile of junk – I didn’t care
1982 VW Rabbit Diesel L, 1.6 litre, 4 speed manual trans, manual window winders, no A/C. SLOW is best description of performance, but at 52 mpg who cares. I did take it to top speed once, at 81 mph, but it took forever to get there. Starting that engine when temperatures were at or below freezing was a treat for the entire neighborhood; the billowing grey smoke was incredible.
I also had an early 80s Rabbit Diesel, with an extended tank in the spare wheel well. Thing could go 800 miles between fill ups, lol. It also had quarter wing vent windows where people (criminals) could pop off the weak epoxy on the latches with just a little pressure…
This made it easy to steal the stereo 6 times (without breaking any glass), which was fine, because that car was so noisy, you couldn’t hear the stereo…
1985 Nissan Micra. My father bought it after our 1975 Civic died – it was used as a beater car over winters in eastern Canada, and eventually succumbed to oil starvation and massive rust holes. I owned the Micra for a year when I was at university, before it was passed on to another family member.
The Micra was the base model available in Canada at the time – it had rubber floor mats and I think a 1-litre engine (though it still had a five-speed manual transmission which made it unexpectedly civilised on freeways). It did exactly what it was expected to do, and never anything unexpected. I had a lot of respect for it.
It wasn’t technically “owned” by me as it was a hand-me down from the parents, but I learned to drive in a 1983 Toyota Tercel. 63 horsepower shitbox that was manual everything except for the 3-speed automatic. We also had a Buick with power everything and good old American A/C but I always preferred the Tercel. That’s where my preference for smaller shitboxes and hatchbacks started and still continues to this day.
Ah, memories… I also had a 1983 Tercel. Mine had the 5-speed and A/C. And lots of rust. It was slow, but it was a 4-door hatchback, so it could haul a surprisingly large amount. We once got a washer and dryer in there, at the same time!
Also had a 1983 Tercel but ours was the 4×4 SR5 wagon with a 6MT. Which was pretty awesome.
Additionally with its standard heater, AM/FM/cassette, weather and noise sealing crank powered roll up windows, steel roof with built in rollover protection,electronic ignition, power brakes, fully adjustable, bolstered head rest equipped front seats, collapsible column rack and pinion steering, internally adjustable rearview mirrors, spin on oil filter, modernish gaskets and general Japanese build quality that Tercel was positively LUXURIOUS compared to my aforementioned 1960 Triumph.
My dad, brother, and I restored my 78 Civic CVCC in 1988. It was bright red and beautiful. Nothing power-assisted except the brakes. The HVAC consisted of a 2-speed blower that only blew at your feet- designed that way. Manual choke. Cable-operated clutch, but at least it was a 5-speed.
I went and put a smaller Grant steering wheel on it, which made parallel parking feel like trying to twist the head off a granite statue. But at speed it felt like a go-kart.
Speaking of speed- 65mph in that car felt like warp 8, if you had a few minutes to kill to get it going that fast, and those tiny brakes demanded that you plan ahead.
God, I would punch a puppy to have it back.
My 1982 Datsun Pickup was super-basic. Single-cab with a contraceptive cloth bench seat, nominally adjustable, but “all the way back” was the only viable option. It had 4WD, with manual hubs out front and a manual transmission. The transfer case shifter required a notch in the center of the bench seat, hence “contraceptive” — nobody was getting pregnant in the cab of that truck.
No headliner, AC, or carpeting. Manual door locks, hand crank windows, welded pipe bumper out front, AM/FM radio through two tinny speakers in the doors, although I eventually added a cheap cassette head unit so I could Van Halen in my truck (go ahead and judge me, it was 1987 in ranching country, I’m ok with my past). No passenger side rear view mirror. Custom tow hitch because it wasn’t offered by Datsun, so I had a local welder fab one.
Overall, it was cheap, crappy, and utterly charming. It’s my favorite truck ever. Too bad there are so few survivors.
I LOVED my 1991 Honda Civic DX hatch. It was manual windows and locks and had only one passenger mirror. Weirdly it was an auto and did have AC. It was so honest and a riot, peak Honda. It was so light if you pulled the hand brake in the snow it slid but immediately gripped it you let go, almost no inertia. I miss lightness…
Looking at the big picture, as a vehicle and not as a place to sleep or carry things–my Econoline was pretty basic.
But one of the two vehicles I learned to drive in and still had plenty of time behind the wheel was the family 2005 Ford Focus ZXW (wagon). Power windows and locks, admittedly, but it’s definitely one of the more spartan vehicles I’ve ever used for any length of time.
There’s something cool and honest about the “3 purely mechanical dials” climate control method, albeit I understand they have limitations that are hard to get around.
A sibling’s Chevy Aveo hatchback was definitely the bottom of the barrel in my memory though, manual locks and windows. Not a criticism–just definitely the most basic car I’ve ever experienced.
I had a 1980 Jetta manual and a 1969 Plymouth Valiant Signet 100. Neither had working radios. The Valiant was manual everything with the extra wide brake pedal so you could stand on it to lock up those drum brakes.
1980 (forget exact year) faded gold VW Rabbit diesel, paid $300. Vinyl seats, window handles were long gone, no radio, certainly no AC, clock where tach would be, 5spd manual, never got the title so never registered right, sunroof opened though! Metal on metal brakes (just slapped on pads and ran it). Was hot AF in the summer, again sunroof for air. My girlfriend as the time hated that car.
Base model 1990 Chevrolet Sprint two door, in white. Had a key and a heater. Tougher than nails.
1997 Mazda Protégé DX that I purchased well used for $1,500 in 2004. The only option it had was A/C and that was necessary in Florida, where I lived at the time.
It had roll-up windows, manual locks, 5 speed manual transmission, manual seats, and an AM/FM radio.
Ran and drove fine. The previous owner apparently held meetings of the Central Florida Heavy Smokers club in the car, so it needed a good bit of detailing to get the smoke smell out of it, which I did after 3 or 4 passes with the steam cleaner on anything upholstered as well as 3 cans of Lysol sprayed through the cowl cabin air intake with the heat on full blast.
Not a bad little car for getting back and forth. Got great mileage, of course. But in stop and go Orlando traffic on I-4, the stick shift was annoying at best. Its nickname was “T.A” as in Transportation Appliance.
This builds on the question of cheap cars that wear their cheapness proudly. I guess my most basic car was a Hyundai Excel, aspiriationally named but frankly a blatant lie. You could go up the big hill in fourth gear, or you could have the AC. Not both.
Forget fifth gear. Fourth required getting the runup just right.
As a kid I grew up in the back seat of an Opel Kadett, the bargain model of a pedestrian brand, though ours wasn’t quite the bottom tier. The Rallye L nevertheless had the 1.1 liter engine that meant all sporting intentions were strictly imaginary.
Later the parents got something less basic so each of us kids got our own door in the 4-door Citation, though Dad still refused to plump for AC or even a radio.
Since the Hyundai I have refused to live without AC in the car. A manual transmission is preferable but I like hybrids so there won’t be a lot of choices there. A cruise control is essential and if a car doesn’t have it, I’ll add it. I want a decent sound system but don’t care for connectivity beyond Bluetooth; my phone is sufficient for everything I want and that leverages my one subscription to do more things, rather than signing up for another subscription to do just one thing.
So. Compared to what I grew up in or even the wretched Hyundai, my current daily is a very posh pocket of swaddling luxury. But if I start to feel too coddled, I can drive the truck. It has *doors.*
“As a kid I grew up in the back seat of an Opel Kadett”
My Dad bought a 1968 Kadett fastback new too! Same model that Lutz rolled over in that infamous photo.
Dad’s was white w/ red interior.
He bought it as a second car to my Mom’s Chevy II wagon, which was replaced the following year with a new dark blue 1969 Galaxie 500 2 door that we drove to Michigan when we were relocated there in 1971.
The Opel was pretty basic – except for the wad of Wrigley’s Spearmint I got on the front passenger seat one hot summer day….
1986 Volkswagen Golf Mk 2 in almost exactly the same blue as Doug’s Civic. It had manual windows and manual locks. It’s naturally-aspirated, throttle body injected 1.8L inline 4 drove the front wheels through a five-speed manual transmission. It weight 2,200 pounds. I could and did push-start it myself. It was fun to throw around corners.
1998 Isuzu Hombre. Manual trans, seats, doors, and windows. Radio/cassette with 4 speakers. Rear brakes were drums, but it did have rear-only ABS. Super slow, 4 cyl. Cloth seats, vinyl rear jump seats! It truly isn’t that basic compared to the cars of my youth, but it’s the most basic I owned.
I’ve had several pretty basic cars. My first car was a 1973 Ford Galaxie 500 (yes, it was still around then as a decontented version of the LTD); no A/C, no radio at all (although I did install a junkyard AM unit and separate FM adapter not too long after), crank windows, bench front seat in cloth. The closest thing to an upgrade might have been a vinyl roof, and even that I think was used to cheap out on the joins between the roof panel and the rest of the car.
My Mazda B2200 pickup was also quite basic but a fantastic little trucklet. It did all the “truck-y” things I needed it to as a new homeowner and served as a reasonably economical daily driver to boot.
Finally, I had a Saturn SL2 that I drove for 16 years. Obviously it had the upgraded DOHC engine, and it had electric door locks and A/C, but the rest was pretty basic with plain cloth interior and crank windows.
My son is still driving the car that we bought for him in 2015, a 1992 Civic in DX trim. He has upgraded the instrument cluster and installed an aftermarket head unit with Bluetooth but otherwise it’s very stock. It has taken him from 135k to over 250k miles and it’s almost a badge of honor for him to keep it going instead of burning money on another car.
Although basic, each and every one served me well during the time I drove them.
2005 Pontiac Sunfire. The only option it had was the six speaker stereo, for some reason. Manual locks, manual windows, manual transmission. I was good with all of those except the manual locks. Not being able to lock everything with a fob and having to reach over to unlock the passenger door every time I took someone with me was a PITA.
Oh, and it came without cruise, but I had an aftermarket one added because having driven one car without it when I was in high school all I can say is: Never again.