1950's technology?

It is often mentioned that aircraft systems are still using 1950s technology. I have been spending some time digitizing some old 35mm film and ran onto some I took while restoring a 1923 Marmon 34B Four passenger Coupe. Two of the photos are very interesting as we discuss our fuel systems in our modern age. I have been led to believe that Marmon manufactured Liberty engines for WW I aircraft and adapted some of the features into their automotive engines. The engine was entirely aluminum (as well as the body skin and fenders, incidentally) The photos will show: The second set of spark plugs - dual ignition in the sleeved cylinder castings; The carburetor heat box - hot exhaust gases diverted to a ring around the outlet of the updraft carburetor; The mixture control cable; The gascollator. Again, this is from 1923.
Lowell