Why did they make cars with a manual trans. and no tach?

I just shift until they stop pulling or until the valves float.

Cars have rev limiters so you know when to shift! Who needs the tach anyways?

Duke wrote:

codrus wrote: Cost, cost, and oh, by the way, cost. They used to make cars that only had one side mirror, one taillight, and zero inside door handles to save cost as well.

Porsche charges extra for that.

My 1980 Corolla was a 4spd, had no tach, no passenger side mirror, no a/c, no cruise control, vinyl interior, roll-up windows and the 3/4 windows didn't pop open. I had a blast in that car....until it met an untimely death which was no fault of it's own.

I never missed the creature comforts--- it's amazing how simple (and light) cars used to be.

My 65 Riviera has no driver or passenger side mirrors. Apparently they were both optional. You could also get an $11 credit if you chose option a62: seatbelt delete.

I have a 91 Escort 5 speed with no Tach too! I put a tach on it a while back and discovered that I would often be shifting around 7000+ rpm! I started moderating my shift points and it was no fun so I took it out. It also came from the factory with no AC, power steering, passenger mirror, radio, sound deadening, intermittent wipers, power windows/mirrors, rear defroster or other comfort items! Had an interior light...just one that came on when you opened the door and lacked the little levers to pop the hatch and gas door too! It did come with one of those rolling things to adjust the brightness of the dash gauges so I could feel a little fancy I guess.

Bruce

Model As didn't have tachs. Probably 90% or at least 75% or more of the manual shift cars ever built didn't come with a tach. Now it's hard to find a mommy-mobile complete with a slush-box without a tach. How many people shift their slush-box using the tach for reference? They're looking at their phone, not anything outside the windshield or anything posted on the dash, except of course their touch-screen.

Why would you throw away a perfectly good $5 ignition key & replace it with a $250+ fob that requires a battery to allow yourself to start or stop the ride by pushing a button? Especially since that fancy fob also has a key hidden inside so you can still open the car door when the fob has a dead battery. A Model A had a push-button starter! Haven't we progressed from that?

Now we have many manual shift cars that require the clutch to be pushed before the engine will turn over. Years ago the starter push-button was pushed by the clutch when you pushed it all way down.

Since the Motorola first arrived in cars, we changed the volume and what we listened to by moving knobs. We also adjusted our HV & eventually AC units by sliders, etc. which, like the audio knobs could be identified by touch. No need to look down and miss seeing oncoming traffic.

Now we often pay huge amounts extra to use touchscreen windows which must be on the correct page to even lower the audio volume. What happened to looking out the windshield?

Two words: Fashion, Marketing.

In reply to Cotton: In at least the '40s & '50s the back seat & heater were often options on many name rides.

Rupert wrote: Model As didn't have tachs. Probably 90% or at least 75% or more of the manual shift cars ever built didn't come with a tach. Now it's hard to find a mommy-mobile complete with a slush-box without a tach. How many people shift their slush-box using the tach for reference? They're looking at their phone, not anything outside the windshield or anything posted on the dash, except of course their touch-screen. Why would you throw away a perfectly good $5 ignition key & replace it with a $250+ fob that requires a battery to allow yourself to start or stop the ride by pushing a button? Especially since that fancy fob also has a key hidden inside so you can still open the car door when the fob has a dead battery. A Model A had a push-button starter! Haven't we progressed from that? Now we have many manual shift cars that require the clutch to be pushed before the engine will turn over. Years ago the starter push-button was pushed by the clutch when you pushed it all way down. Since the Motorola first arrived in cars, we changed the volume and what we listened to by moving knobs. We also adjusted our HV & eventually AC units by sliders, etc. which, like the audio knobs could be identified by touch. No need to look down and miss seeing oncoming traffic. Now we often pay huge amounts extra to use touchscreen windows which must be on the correct page to even lower the audio volume. What happened to looking out the windshield? Two words: Fashion, Marketing.

So true, so true.

My 84 S-10 had the tach option, I think I have seen 1 other with it. Wish I had kept it, or at least took a picture. My '88 didn't have one, but got lucky and stumbled over one in a junkyard. Looked cool once installed! The later trucks (91-93) only got tachs if you opted for digital guages. Of course you needed the highest trim level to select that option...

Seems like newer cars have them more often. I may not "need" a tach, but I like haveing it there. Don't get me started on all the other guages that aren't in newer cars....

In reply to Gearheadotaku: Do you mean oil pressure and/or temperature gauges? Don't need them! Just make sure the fancy Mom Mobile SUV has a tach & of course the full off-road package should she need it in the Costco parking lot!

Rupert wrote: A Model A had a push-button starter! Haven't we progressed from that?

I thought the Model A was a hand-crank start?

I use the tach in the Samurai, because the speedometer is way off and/or not working. I use the tach in the truck, because it will slip the lockup in the torque converter on occasion, so I keep an eye on it.

Other than those, they aren't very useful to me.

Rupert wrote: In reply to Gearheadotaku: Do you mean oil pressure and/or temperature gauges? Don't need them! Just make sure the fancy Mom Mobile SUV has a tach & of course the full off-road package should she need it in the Costco parking lot!

WHERE THE HELL IS THE DIPSTICK!!!!

It was an insurance thing many years ago. Cars with tachs were classified as "sports cars" so you had to pay a premium on your insurance policy.

I don't need a tach, I shift when the pushrods start leaving dents in the hood!

wearymicrobe wrote:

Duke wrote:

codrus wrote: Cost, cost, and oh, by the way, cost. They used to make cars that only had one side mirror, one taillight, and zero inside door handles to save cost as well.

Porsche charges extra for that.

Porsche's don't have rev counters, their gauges display Undulations Per Minute

My Subaru came from the factory with no tach. One of the first things I did was hit a junkyard and snag one from another Impreza.

codrus wrote:

Rupert wrote: A Model A had a push-button starter! Haven't we progressed from that?

I thought the Model A was a hand-crank start?

It had both, in case the battery was too weak. I think the button was on the floor though. The big solenoid to engage the starter gear and connect the power contacts was a later development, you used to do that manually.

You could always get the Alfetta Gt, the Tach was front and center other gauges over to the center of the dash.

I find it interesting that older manual trans cars didn't have them but auto cars did when they need them less.

My Nissan truck has a tach but you don't need it. It's so rough above 4,000 rpms you don't to go any higher.

OEM tach's are a relatively resent thing … AFAIK all the cars (American cars with the excepting of the 'Vette) came sans tach when I was coming along … the first non 'Vette that I ever saw with an OEM tach was a '65 Impala 396 4sp

Duke wrote: In all honestly, the only time I look at the tach in my E46 is to find out why the car is suddenly stumbling all over itself. *Real* easy to find the rev limiter in that thing...

I almost did that today. Got on the highway and moved over a few lanes before I looked at the tach and noticed I was still in third. Still perfectly smooth, I guess my mind was elsewhere.

wae wrote: I also recall a lot of cars having that obnoxious upshift light on the dash as well. My memory -- which may be incorrect -- is that some cars had that light instead of the tach, although I know my 97 Saturn had both the tach and the goofy light. Did that light finally go away, or are there still some cars out there so equipped?

When I set my Heads Up Display to Track Mode it has a shift arrow that I've been able to get used to and use while on the race track. I wish it were brighter, or colored differently than the rest of the info.

Rupert wrote: Why would you throw away a perfectly good $5 ignition key & replace it with a $250+ fob that requires a battery to allow yourself to start or stop the ride by pushing a button? Especially since that fancy fob also has a key hidden inside so you can still open the car door when the fob has a dead battery. A Model A had a push-button starter! Haven't we progressed from that?

I'm going to disagree here and explain why. My Corvette has the fancy fob and push button starter and I love it. The keys stay in my pocket all the time, car unlocks when I walk up automatically, hit the button to start or stop the engine, and when I walk away the car locks automatically. I never find myself wondering, "berkeley, did I hit the lock button when I was walking away?" Yes this has happened to me many times with my Tundra. I usually did lock it but the paranoia sucks.