The Dumbest Car Invention That No Longer Exists

🚗 Anyone remember these things? Motorized seatbelts were one of the strangest features of late-’80s and early-’90s cars, automatically sliding the shoulder belt into position when you got in—but many systems still required you to manually buckle a separate lap belt. They became widespread as automakers complied with federal passive-restraint requirements, but airbags quickly gained market share, and federal law ultimately required dual front airbags in new passenger cars beginning with the 1998 model year. If you drove a car with one of these automatic belts, you probably haven't forgotten it! 😂

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Anyone remember motorized seatbelts?

🚗 In the late ’80s and early ’90s, automakers widely used motorized shoulder belts as an alternative to airbags. The belt automatically moved into place when the door closed or the ignition came on. The problem? You still had to buckle the… pic.twitter.com/o13YaIRUYf

— RetroNewsNow (@RetroNewsNow) September 2, 2026