Originally Posted by
WD40
Cars had electromechanical controls. Here's one in action controlling sequential turn-signals on a 1969 Imperial.
Or... many mechanical things were also vacuum operated; windshield wipers for example, rotating or shuttering headlight doors (such as on a 1960's/1970's cars with hidden headlights), cruise-control actuators for a long while - at least up through the 1980s, A/C and heating controls, and of course, power-brakes for the longest while.