Ashtrays and cigarette lighters going up in smoke
As one smoker said at the Detroit Auto Show, "Do you know what smokers have to go through today just to smoke? It's like they're trying to erase us from history." More and more carmakers are making it harder to smoke in one's own vehicle by replacing lighters and ashtrays with storage spaces and power outlets.
The trend is driven by "pressure from anti-smoking groups, fewer smokers and the need for the extra storage space." According to the United Health Foundation, about 20.8% of the population smokes, which means about 60 million people. According to Apple, 100 million people have bought iPods. Add that to the 4 million iPhones sold, and the untold millions of Blackberrys, Palms, Razrs and what have you, and it's easy to see that people who need juice on-the-go well outnumber people who need a puff on-the-go.
Not that we're advocating the rarity of ashtrays. While a company like Chrysler hasn't put ashtrays and the like in its cars since 1996, automakers more likely to have humidor-owning customers, like Rolls-Royce, still include places to properly dispose of cigar ash -- and they're beautiful to behold as well. If anything, we do think it a bit unfair that some carmakers make you pay for your smoking gear, from $15 to $100 for a "smokers group" option. That just ain't right, since, like Vegas, what happens in your car, stays in your car...
[Source: Detroit News]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 32)
paul34 7:34PM (1/24/2008)
I'm emo and cut myself a lot. Damn these car companies for not providing gauze and bandages! It's like they're trying to erase us from history!
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AlexP 7:45PM (1/24/2008)
It's funny because they're erasing themselves anyway.
SOhp101 7:53PM (1/24/2008)
No one cares about emo people.
"That just ain't right, since, like Vegas, what happens in your car, stays in your car... "
Except, most smokers smoke with the windows down and keep the cigarettes outside of the car so it ends up going into the air conditioning of the car behind him/her.
You're free to smoke, but do it when you're just standing around. Walking (or driving) behind someone who is smoking is just plain annoying.
Eric Biran 8:55PM (1/24/2008)
I'm with SOhp101: smoke if you want to, but keep it in your car. If I had to make some kind of educated guess, I'd say at least 2/3 of smokers either blow their cigarette smoke out the window or hold their cigarette there when in the car.
No thanks, I don't think the rest of us should have to foot the bill on accessories for your habit. You wanna light up? Spring for the lighter and ashtray yourself. What's next? Standard, no-cost beer cozies for drunk drivers?
And FYI, while people are smoking and driving, they are breaking the law by not keeping both hands on the wheel. Probably not nearly the threat that cell phones are, but you can't deny the fact that they're operating several tons of motive steel while also juggling a stick that is partially ON FIRE. Not exactly a recipe for safety. I'm sure some of those cigarette burns we all come across in used cars are from "accidents."
Not all smokers are bad people, and smoking won't make you a bad person, but all this animosity towards them isn't from nowhere. People genuinely are bothered by having to breathe the smoke. Smokers may not want to admit that (and it's especially easy for them to deny, due to the way that smoking dulls one's sense of smell) but it's true. And while they make efforts to avoid bothering others by not smoking indoors, there are still very few smoke free places outdoors. It's almost impossible to enter large buildings, colleges, apartments, drive with the windows/top down, eat outdoors, or go to the beach without having to breathe second hand smoke.
I'm all for freedom of choice (although how much choice is involved in addiction could be argued), don't get me wrong, but due to the cost-vs.-benefits, I'd just as soon see smoking banned for good. Even then, if you manage to light up and aren't bothering anyone, why would anybody complain? And maybe if you do annoy enough people, you get to deal with an annoying fine or something.
fm 9:02PM (1/24/2008)
I agree with john. Seriously, smoke in your car if you want too but don't flick the goddam lit butt outside. Specially on those dry windy days. Don't you think you can start a brush fire or worse a car fire? Put it out first if you want to throw out. Seriously dude. Seriously. Stop it.
grandmother 5:40PM (1/25/2008)
BUY YOURSELF A LEXUS; 1ST AID KIT IN TRUNK.
JIM 1:52PM (1/27/2008)
HaHa... Paul , I'm an Alcoholic its ashame the car company don't include a Beer Miester and a Puke Bucket... It's like they're trying to erase us from History.... LMFAO....Haa
Seoultrain 7:42PM (1/24/2008)
Aren't almost all lighters in cars power outlets?
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Mr. Blake 7:45PM (1/24/2008)
Yes, but you can have a power outlet that is not a lighter.
Seoultrain 8:21PM (1/24/2008)
Right, so a "smoker's package" is really just a 50-cent lighter stuck in an existing power plug? Or do they specifically design power plugs that can't be used with the push-in lighters? Seems really dumb either way.
chuck 9:40PM (1/24/2008)
My understanding is cigarette lighter sockets are the same as power outlets except that power outlets usually are rated for a HIGHER current draw. They also may run on different circuits/fuses.
Smoking packges are at least the added cig lighter and a redesign of (or added) console inserts suitable for ashtrays. Low take rate would also drive up cost some.
tekdemon 11:50PM (1/24/2008)
It actually depends on the car...some manufacturers have plugs that specifically state that they cannot be used with a cigarette lighter, whereas other manufacturers have plugs that will work but you just gotta buy the cigarette lighter thingy.
I think most Hondas have sockets that warn you not to put a cigarette lighter in. I remember in my old Civic there was a spot for where the cigarette lighter was supposed to be in the Euro or Japanese spec cars, but it was filled in with plastic instead. But there was also a power plug that did work. So Europeans would get a power plug plus a dedicated cigarette plug, while Americans got just the power plug.
If you think about it though, since used cars are worth less money if they're smoked in, as a car company you improve your cars' residual used values if you simply don't make them smoker compatible, since less smokers would be likely to choose your car.
On a side note, each cigarette statistically takes off about 11 minutes of your life. This is an estimate based on the average # of years a non-smoker lives longer than a smoker, and the average # of cigarettes a smoker smokes in their lifetime. I don't think there's actually any numbers for second hand smoke.
With smoking, it's not so much the lung cancer that'll get you, so much as getting a stroke or a heart attack. It's really strokes that scare the most out of me personally, since if you don't die you're sometimes just a paralyzed shell of your old self and I don't really want to live like that. People think cigarettes might just kill them, so they figure it's not such a big deal to die young, but the reality is a lot less pleasant for a lot of people.
P.S. If you're a smoker, please don't chuck your cigarettes butts in the air while driving. Almost lit some dried leaves collected by my windshield once-not cool.
Guenther 11:04AM (1/25/2008)
Cigarette lighter (cigar lighter in Japanese literature ;) sockets must be designed to withstand higher temps and are typically rated for 30A draw. the other power sockets may or may not have the same rated capacity, depending on the vehicle. Most smoker kits are just a lighter and ashtray insert, and those vehicles that can be equipped with them will always have lighter approved sockets. Remember, its about the bottom line- if I can reduce the price of a Camry by $3 by omitting the lighter and ashtray, I just saved Toyota over a million dollars.
Smokers- don't pay for a smokers pack- just make the sales-weeny give you one.
Last, Saying that 2nd hand smoke will have a specific effect is ludicrous- why? Because it fails to define concentrations of 2nd hand smoke.
Seoultrain 7:44PM (1/24/2008)
.. and smoking affects you how?
While smoking isn't the smartest activity, people should be free to smoke without self-righteous people on their ass all the time.
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Ian 7:47PM (1/24/2008)
What kind of storage space is replacing ash trays? I like having a drawer that things can't fall out of.
I don't smoke and I like ash trays.
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2004m3driver 7:57PM (1/24/2008)
Yeah I put gum and trash in there!
Chris Vitale 7:49PM (1/24/2008)
Woah...Take a chill pill man.
Are you also upset because the fat people are hogging all the Jell-O at your local Sizzler?
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theone 7:56PM (1/24/2008)
They throw the cigarettes butts out of the window and pollute the road anyway. They need ash tray outside the window not inside the car.
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jack 1:03PM (1/27/2008)
sohp101: you're either a blood hound or a total paranoid freak,,,,,,,,,,,, so you can smell the smoke of a cigarette from the car in front of you? gimme a break..
speedball3 8:03PM (1/24/2008)
I wonder how many smokers would actually put their cigarette butts into their ashtrays if their cars had one. It feels like I see someone toss a cigarette out of their window every day now... is that due to less ashtrays in cars or smoker apathy? I mean, sure, you can smoke in your car (even though it bothers me when at a stop light and my window is down or I'm not recirculating air). But it becomes a problem when you feel you can drop your trash out the window.
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