How did i just notice this ?

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So om driving today (the 06 Milan) and was looking for the second power port as my cell was taking up one. I couldnt find the second one i see so often in cars so i though, ill just use the cig lighter.. Guess what, there isnt one.. No cig lighter, no ash tray nothing.. So i laughed to myself thinking about my other car/truck and nope, none of them have a ash tray, and only my Silverado has a cig lighter.. all the stuff in my signature is 06 or newer..

Is this completely common now with most cars/trucks ?
around what time frame/years did this start to happen ?

anyone in the know ? why do you think the auto makers have gotten away from this ? This is not a smokers bashing thread, im a x-smoker myself..

I guess being a non smoker i wouldnt pay attention to this sort of thing, however even when i did smoke i never used to do it in my cars as i didnt like to stink them up.
 
Interesting post.

The '99 Accord in my sig has no lighter, just an outlet and, now that I think about it, no ashtray unless one considers the coin tray on the lh side of the steering wheel.

But the 2000 Windstar has both a lighter and ash tray. The lighter outlet is way more convenient to use than the two other outlets in the vehicle. No smoker's package of which I'm aware, but I'd need to check the sticker buried in the glove box...
Kevin
 
The Accord and Uplander do not have cigarette lighters, and thats a good thing. People should not be smoking.
 
As a nonsmoker, I hate ashtrays and cigarette lighters. I remember when the first car was produced without an ashtray or lighter, it was kind of a big deal in the media - it was the '95 Cirrus and Stratus.
 
Originally Posted By: dishdude
As a nonsmoker, I hate ashtrays and cigarette lighters. I remember when the first car was produced without an ashtray or lighter, it was kind of a big deal in the media - it was the '95 Cirrus and Stratus.


so around the 95 mark eh ? my last cars/trucks before these in my sig were a 1998 GMC Yukon (equiped with a lighter and ash tray.. and a 1994 Mustang GT that i honestly dont recal.. I think it had them but im not 100%
 
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My 95 Mustang has an ash-tray, my 98 did not. The 95 has the fold out cup holder thing from the center console that anything more than a .5L bottle of water would break.
 
Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
My 95 Mustang has an ash-tray, my 98 did not. The 95 has the fold out cup holder thing from the center console that anything more than a .5L bottle of water would break.


yep, now i remember..
 
I was in a late 60's S class that not only had a cigar lighter for every passenger but the center console opened to reveal a custom set of crystal glasses. Just in case you wanted to have a brandy or scotch on the ride home.

Oh how the world has changed!
 
In the mid/late part of the 00s, a lot of cars, in particular domestics, were being decontented since the industry was in a crisis and they had to save money everywhere they could.

By the time that was over, there was less of a need for the old round 12V outlets, as many cars are now equipped with USB ports, and most portable electronics can charge off a USB port.

My truck did come with two round 12V outlets, one cigarette lighter, and a slide out ashtray, as opposed to the "butt buckets" that many smoker's packages had at that time. The ashtray in my truck is quite thought out...it has a holder for a cigarette, a holder for a smaller cigar (Black & Mild sized), a spot to extinguish the smokable item, and a release tab to pull it all the way out of the dash to empty it/clean it. It's an ashtray in the 1970s sense. My 2001 Ranger, a base model XL, just had a small cubby hole in the spot where the ashtray is in my 2002 XLT.

I drove Colorados at my last job, 2010-2012 models, and while those did have two power outlets near the bottom of the dash, they did not have lighters or a provision for an ashtray. They weren't loaded trucks, but they were decently equipped, one even had power windows and locks. I didn't see an area where an ashtray would go at all. The interior in those trucks was designed just under a decade after the interior in my Rangers.
 
Our 2008 Uplander has two power ports near the floor in the middle, and one near the rear hatch on the driver side. No cigarette lighters or ash trays though.

My 1996 Maxima has an ashtray (never used) and a power port with a plastic plug in it.
 
I knew there was no cigarette lighter in my '98 S70, but I honestly could not remember if there was an ashtray. Out to the garage to check, and sure enough, an ashtray with nothing in it. But, with the shifter forward in "P", it would not come out. Had to look in the owner's manual to discover that Volvo designed the ashtray to only be removed for emptying with the shifter all the way back in "L."

You learn something new every day.
 
Both of my Mazda's have a cigarette lighter and metal ashtray. I doubt the new ones do since that's the way newer cars are these days.
 
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