Motorists take safety, comfort and reliability for granted nowadays.

The modern car is an incredibly complicated piece of machinery, but it wasn’t always like that. Decades ago we were expected to spend our cash on an array of accessories to make our lives easier and more comfortable – although how useful many of these products were is debatable.

We’ve been delving into our archives to bring you some of the best gadgets and accessories from years gone by – and what we found was fascinating…