This revised report organises the key employment details in Gen Z and Retro Car Features: Why Chokes, Aerials and Window Winders Are Becoming Automotive History more clearly while retaining the original information.
For drivers who learned in older cars, a choke, manual aerial or window winder may feel completely ordinary.
For many younger adults, those features are now unfamiliar.
A 2026 survey commissioned by Cazoo of 2,000 Generation Z respondents found large numbers could not identify several pieces of once-common car hardware.
The least recognised feature was the manual choke: 92% of respondents could not identify one.
What did the Cazoo survey find?
The survey asked younger adults to identify a range of older car features that have largely disappeared from modern vehicles.
Among the least recognised were manual chokes, T-bars, aerials, ashtrays, cigarette lighters, cassette players and manual window winders.
The five features most likely to confuse younger drivers
The survey’s top results included the manual choke, T-bar or T-top roof, manual aerial, ashtray and cigarette lighter.
These features were all commonplace in older cars but have been displaced by electronic systems, different safety standards or changing consumer habits.
1. The manual choke
A choke was used on carburetted engines to enrich the fuel-air mixture during a cold start.
The driver pulled a dashboard control to restrict airflow into the carburettor, helping a cold engine start more easily.
Why the choke disappeared
Electronic fuel injection automatically manages cold-start fuelling.
Modern drivers no longer need to manually adjust the mixture as the engine warms.
Why 92% not recognising it is unsurprising
Manual chokes had already become rare by the 1990s.
Many Gen Z drivers have therefore never sat in a car equipped with one.
2. The T-bar or T-top roof
T-tops used removable roof panels with a fixed central bar running front to rear.
They were particularly associated with sports cars from the 1970s through the 1990s.
Why they faded away
Modern convertibles, panoramic glass roofs and stronger body structures offered alternatives.
Removable panels could also leak, squeak or create storage problems.
3. The manual aerial
Older cars often had a metal radio aerial that had to be pulled up manually.
Some later cars used electric extending aerials that rose when the radio was switched on.
Why modern cars do not need the same thing
Aerials are now commonly integrated into windows, roof-mounted shark-fin housings or other bodywork.
Satellite radio, mobile connectivity and digital audio have also changed what an antenna system needs to do.
4. The ashtray
Built-in ashtrays were once standard equipment because smoking in cars was far more common.
Many vehicles included several, including units for rear passengers.
Why ashtrays vanished
Smoking rates fell and attitudes toward smoking in enclosed spaces changed.
Manufacturers increasingly used the space for cupholders, storage and charging points.
5. The cigarette lighter
The original 12-volt socket was designed to heat a removable metal cigarette lighter.
The same socket later became useful for powering accessories.
Why the socket survived longer than the lighter
Drivers used 12-volt outlets for sat-navs, tyre inflators, cool boxes and phone chargers.
USB sockets and wireless charging have now reduced dependence on them.
Cassette players
Another major generational divide was the cassette deck.
Cazoo found 43% of Gen Z respondents could not identify one.
Why cassettes mattered
For decades, the cassette was the most convenient way to choose your own music in a car.
Drivers made mixtapes and carried cases of tapes before CDs and digital files took over.
Manual window winders
About 39% of Gen Z respondents could not identify a manual window winder.
The handle was rotated by hand to raise or lower the glass.
Why electric windows became normal
Electric motors became cheaper and more reliable.
Central controls also made it possible for a driver to operate every window.
Physical ignition keys
The survey found 38% could not identify a traditional key ignition.
Push-button starts and proximity keys have become increasingly common.
The handbrake lever
Twenty-seven per cent reportedly struggled to identify a traditional lever handbrake.
Many newer cars use an electronic parking-brake switch instead.
Why manufacturers prefer electronic parking brakes
They free up centre-console space and can integrate with hill-hold and automatic-release systems.
Some drivers still prefer the tactile certainty of a mechanical lever.
Physical buttons could make a comeback
Interestingly, the Cazoo research found 36% of Gen Z respondents wanted more physical buttons and knobs in cars.
That suggests unfamiliarity with older features does not mean younger drivers want every function moved onto a touchscreen.
Why touchscreens became dominant
A screen can control navigation, entertainment, climate functions and vehicle settings without requiring dozens of separate switches.
Why drivers complain about them
A physical button can often be found by touch without looking away from the road.
Touchscreen menus can require multiple taps and more visual attention.
Safety regulators are paying attention
Vehicle-safety organisations increasingly consider how interface design affects distraction.
Manufacturers are responding by keeping some critical functions on physical controls.
Are old features actually better?
Not necessarily.
Manual chokes required knowledge and patience, cassette tapes could jam, aerials could snap and window winders required more effort.
Why nostalgia makes them attractive
Older controls provide a mechanical connection that many enthusiasts enjoy.
They also remind people of an era when cars had more visibly distinct interiors.
Why classic cars require different skills
A driver used to keyless entry, automatic headlights and electronic parking brakes can be surprised by the routines required in older cars.
Starting, warming and operating a classic vehicle can involve more manual decisions.
What younger enthusiasts can learn
Understanding old technology helps explain how modern systems developed.
It can also make classic-car ownership safer and less intimidating.
Why this is not a story about Gen Z being less capable
People recognise technology they encounter.
A driver born in 2002 has little reason to know a control that disappeared before they were old enough to sit in the front seat.
Older generations face the reverse problem
Drivers who learned on analogue cars may be unfamiliar with lane-keeping systems, regenerative braking, app-based keys or complex EV charging settings.
Automotive knowledge always changes
What counts as basic knowledge is shaped by the technology of the time.
Today’s obvious touchscreen gesture could look just as mysterious to a driver from 1980.
Conclusion
The Cazoo survey is less a criticism of younger drivers than a snapshot of how quickly vehicle design has changed.
Manual chokes, aerials, ashtrays and cigarette lighters were once routine. Now they are becoming historical curiosities.
The more interesting finding may be that many young drivers still want some of the simplicity older cars offered — especially clear physical buttons and knobs.
Sources and further reading
See Cazoo’s 2026 research on disappearing car features and Car and Driver’s guide to older automotive technology.
Why a commissioned survey needs context
The research was commissioned by Cazoo and surveyed 2,000 Gen Z adults. That is a useful snapshot, but it does not mean every young driver is unfamiliar with older technology.
Survey results depend on the sample, wording and images shown to respondents. They are best read as evidence of a generational shift rather than a test of intelligence.
Pop-up headlights
Half of respondents reportedly struggled to identify pop-up headlights, once a defining feature of sports cars such as the Mazda MX-5, Toyota MR2 and several Ferraris.
They disappeared partly because of changing pedestrian-safety standards, aerodynamic priorities and the complexity of the lifting mechanism.
Why some younger drivers still want them back
Cazoo found that a portion of younger respondents who recognised pop-up headlights said they would like the feature to return.
That illustrates a broader nostalgia cycle: people can become interested in technology precisely because it disappeared before they personally used it.
From cigarette lighter to power socket
The old cigarette-lighter outlet outlived the smoking accessory itself because it became a convenient 12-volt electrical connection.
For years it powered sat-navs, dash cams, air pumps and phone chargers. Modern USB-C ports and wireless charging are now taking over much of that role.
From cassette to CD, Bluetooth and streaming
In-car audio moved through several generations quickly. Cassette decks gave way to CD players, then auxiliary sockets, USB connections, Bluetooth and integrated streaming apps.
Each transition removed a physical object from the dashboard. A young driver can therefore be completely comfortable with music technology while having no reason to recognise a cassette door.
Manual handbrakes versus electronic parking brakes
A mechanical handbrake gives direct physical feedback through a lever and cable system. Electronic parking brakes use a switch and electric actuators.
The newer system can integrate with automatic hold and hill-start functions, but some drivers prefer the simplicity and tactile feel of a lever.
Keyless entry changed another familiar ritual
Traditional ignition keys required the driver to insert and turn a metal key. Many modern cars detect a key fob automatically and start with a button.
That convenience also created new security challenges, including relay theft, which manufacturers and owners have responded to with improved systems and protective habits.
Why physical controls are returning to the debate
The most interesting part of the Cazoo survey may be that 36% of Gen Z respondents wanted more physical buttons and knobs.
Drivers often value controls that can be found by feel without looking down. Touchscreens offer flexibility, but deep menus can make simple tasks slower.
Classic cars teach mechanical literacy
Older vehicles make basic systems visible. A driver may learn what a choke does, how a carburettor differs from fuel injection or why a mechanical handbrake needs adjustment.
That knowledge is not required for operating most modern cars, but it can make automotive history and maintenance easier to understand.
Today’s normal features may disappear too
The same process will happen again. Traditional gear levers, physical mirrors, dedicated instrument clusters and even conventional ignition buttons may become less common as electric vehicles, cameras and software-defined controls evolve.
Future drivers may look at today’s interiors with the same curiosity Gen Z now brings to a choke cable or cassette deck.
Why the generational divide is mostly about exposure
Technology that disappears before someone learns to drive naturally becomes unfamiliar. The reverse is also true: an older driver may need help with regenerative braking settings, driver-assistance menus or app-based digital keys.
Automotive knowledge changes because cars change.
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