6 Things Every ’90s Family Car Had

The '90s were an interesting time because of all the advancing technology. But while the tech was progressing quickly, most people didn't have access to the newest models of phones, computers, or cars. Regular families made do with their old things and just adapted them to fit new tech.

The family car of the '90s was an eclectic mix of outdated built-in features and those retrofitted to keep up with the times. It wasn't the most glamorous vehicle, but it was there for your family through day-to-day errands, road trips, and driving lessons.

Here are six things that made every '90s family car dependable and unique to that era.

1. Manual Window Cranks
2. Cassette to CD Adapters
3. Removable Stereo Faceplate
4. Console Ashtrays
5. Cigarette Lighters
6. Maps/Paper Directions

Manual Window Cranks

Do you remember when rolling down the window of your car helped build muscle? Those little hand cranks could give you a serious workout, and every car seemed to have at least one window that stuck. You'd have to use all your strength to shove the handle and get it moving again.

We can open the car windows with the press of a button now, but we still use the phrase "rolling down the window" because of these window cranks. A window seat might have meant extra work, but it was still better than being stuck in the middle seat between your older siblings.

Cassette to CD Adapters

Maybe we were fine listening to our parents' cassette tapes when we were little kids, but as we got older and developed our own tastes in music, we needed a way to play our favorite songs in the car. CDs became the standard audio format long before CD players were standard features in cars, so the only way to listen to your music while on the road was with a cassette-to-CD adapter.

These devices looked like regular cassette tapes, but with a cord coming out of one end. You could plug the cord into your Discman, a portable CD player, and you were good to listen to all of the mixes you burned onto blank CDs. Whether your parents agreed to listen to your music while they were driving was a different matter.

Removable Stereo Faceplate

If your family splurged to upgrade the cassette deck to an in-car stereo system, you'll remember your parents always being careful to remove the faceplate and hide it somewhere, like in the glove compartment. Technically, to be a proper anti-theft measure, you were supposed to take the faceplate with you, but no one really wanted to carry it into the restaurant or the mall.

Compared to cassette decks, these stereos looked almost futuristic, and you seriously felt rich if your family car had one. They did seem to prevent theft, even if it was just because without the faceplate, they looked as if someone had already stolen it.

Console Ashtrays

By the '90s, we all knew how bad smoking was for your health. Between multiple ad campaigns featuring people with voice boxes and holes in their necks, and the D.A.R.E. program, families were aware of the dangers of secondhand smoke. So, smoking in the car became a lot less prevalent, but the cars still had ashtrays in the consoles.

Families found other things to put in the ashtrays besides ash and cigarette butts. Most common was loose change. You know, because coins were still used to pay for things like parking meters back then.

Cigarette Lighters

Another feature we used to see in cars all the time were cigarette lighters. The heated coil used to light your cigarette stopped being used, especially in family cars where little kids could get burned. The socket was either left empty, or your parents threatened that you'd be in big trouble if you ever touched the coil.

Then, with more modern tech, the cigarette lighter gained a new life. Phone charging cords could use the lighter socket with an adapter. By the early 2000s, you could even get a charger for your Game Boy Advance, so as not to let it die on long car rides.

Maps/Paper Directions

Before GPS and the map apps on our phones, you had to know how to read a paper map. For long road trips, the family car would have at least one paper map in the glove compartment, and would gain more throughout the ride as we collected gas station maps as souvenirs.

For local trips, the car's glove compartment and/or the front seat held either the Thomas Guide street map or printed directions from MapQuest's website. The stress of trying to remember all of the directions was so real. And you always felt a little upset when your parents turned on the interior car lights to read the directions at night because you knew that if you had turned the light on, you would have been yelled at.

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