CNET On Cars - Top 5 Car Tech Flops

Not every piece of tech in cars rewrites history: Here are 5 that mostly just went back to the drawing board.

[LJImutan]

I love hidden headlights lmao. That C4 at 0:30 is the reason I love Corvettes as a little kid and they're my all time favorite car line. The way they flipped like that intrigued me haha

[fontheking]

I like hidden headlights, they are really cool i think :)

[lilman]

Why do I see the hidden headlights as something awesome?
Also, I've always loved the digital gauges as a child :D

[klittle]

Im not sure you can say pop up headlights were a bust considering they lasted almost 40 years. in particular the corvette c2 through c5. Heck Id still say a c5 is prettier than a c6 or c7.

[brandon]

I disagree with this video on a couple points. Pop up headlights are a classic design, and I'm a proud owner of a C5 Corvette which is the last American car that had them. And nothing has me begging for a touch-screen display. For God's sake, car manufactures, bring back buttons. You can't use a touchscreen while driving without taking your eyes off the road like you can with physical buttons that you can feel. I hope Mr. Regular was right when he predicted that buttons will make a comeback over touchscreens in the next 10 years.

[gabbogabbo]

I loved the digital dashes in the 80s. To me, for some reason, it always made me feel as if I was somehow driving a car from the future.

[BKofficer]

Nice list, but I really like pop-up/hidden headlights. Wish we had some today.

Also, I find it funny that brake-by-wire was unpopular, yet everyone's okay with drive-by-wire...

[mattwolf]

Pop-up lights need to comeback. Also they weren't a flop, dozens of cars had those for decades.

[LuisALeonValdez]

WOW!! Who would've thought? You learn something new everyday!

[thischannelisdefunctdonots]

ARE YOU KIDDING FLIP HEADLIGHTS ARE AWESOME

[KLINGY]

Do a tech review on my 1992 BMW 325i, I got power windows, 5-speed manual transmission and door locks that work by turning a key that you put in the driver's door.

[HessannFarooqi]

Nice video, as always. Keep up the good work!

[roadtrip]

Personally I like pop up head lights, it gives most cars a nice touch of stile :)

[fontheking]

Ethanol fuel was a fluke over here, everyone raved about it for a few years, then it went away, mainly due to higher fuel consumptions, and ethanol engines having problems starting in cold weather.
You can still buy it, but the hype is well over :)

[MusicmanHIM]

The digital panel in my 03 deVille looks just fine to me.

[DACR]

I don't know whats so bad about digital dashes, I like them, they give the cars a futuristic and sporty look and not bland and boring like analog even as an LCD panel if its analog = boring, at least we have the Civic today that still uses it :)

[mirelurk-fish]

The Tesla giant touch screen and Mercedes mbux makes the idrive look like a Ancient artifact

[dlwatib]

Hidden headlights weren't a flop. The stylistic need for them was very real back in the days when your choices in the US were sealed beams or sealed beams, and not even clear covers were allowed. Poor Citroen had to be imported without its sexy directional headlights behind clear streamlined covers. The hidden headlights worked well considering they were mechanical. They protected the sealed beams from stones and bugs when not in use. They were very popular on personal luxury cars. If hidden headlights are flops because they are outmoded, then so is the 3 speed automatic transmission, but I think you'll have to agree that's unfair.

I'd argue that automatic start/stop is a true flop in the making. Nobody who has a car with that feature actually likes the way it makes the car behave, and it's pretty ineffective at saving gas, since IC engines burn very little at idle. An IC engine really puts the hurt on when the idling is over and it's time to finally accelerate.

I also nominate huge key fobs that make an unsightly bulge in your pocket as an idea who's time to flop has come. We can control practically everything remotely with a smartphone app. Why not our cars?

[elpollo]

The first generation jdm crx digital dash bad ass. In my opinion that inspired the S2000 digital dash due to the similarities.

[JDMricist]

I LOVED my S2000's digital display..then again after looking at other digi displays, the S2000 was the only good one.