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I'm very pleased w/ the buckets in my 2014 F150. My wife however at 5'3" has the headrest bumping into the top of her head, very annoying. Dealer no help. To modify it creates legal issues in an accident. I would like to meet the designer for a three round discussion.
We have a 2017 Subaru outback. I love the seats! They have multiple adjustments for lumbar support, height, tilt, back to front adjustment, and an adjustment button that returns it to your preferred parameters. Very comfortable.
This bothers me a lot also. I understand that it may not be what most people prefer but there is definitely a market for soft, plush, comfortable seats like they used to make. It does not matter how much you spend, even in top of the line luxury cars they are not available. They may have nice looking quilted seats but they are still hard & uncomfortable. I am just wondering if there is actually some law against this now - for our own good by a meddling government? Does anyone know & if so what it is?
A car is supposed to hold you in place while you drive, not feel like your bed and put you to sleep. At least not until it's a self driving car where you don't have to be awake anymore while driving.
And modern cars are so much better a the job of being cars that it's not even funny. They handle, stop and hold the road so much better, get better fuel mileage and make more power, while being cleaner than old cars were. In order to handle and stop and steer and hold the road better, the seats need to hold you in place better. And they need to help keep you awake and alert, even on long drives at night. Soft, pillowtop couches do neither. And, if you think that seats like my car (that I pictured above) are just planks then maybe you feel the pea under ten mattresses, too, don't you?
They definitely do Not handle or stop any better. I don’t know about holding the road. That could be, but I don’t careen around at speeds to worry about it. Yes, I probably could feel the pea, I always could but with age I , as well as many others, are more sensitive to where we sit & sleep. I also do not believe a vehicle needs to be uncomfortable in order to ‘keep you awake’ - pull over & get a hotel. I could absolutely care less about fuel consumption. Those should be options for those who do care about them, but so should comfort for those of us who care about that.
I hope nobody is counting on seats to keep you awake. No. They are not designed for that purpose, not at all. You are supposed to keep yourself awake, not your seat. If you need to stay awake, drink a 5 hour energy, don't put a 2x4 on your seat to make you more uncomfortable. Actually the distress of being uncomfortable and in pain can make you more tired more distracted and less alert.
Per discussion with GM designer friends:
They do not make the seats intentionally uncomfortable in order to make you more alert. The design has changed to reduce weight in order to meet mileage requirements (necessary to offset added weight for motors, heaters, and the like), to meet government safety requirements, to reduce costs so cars do not cast more than houses (well they cost more than some houses, but not more than average for most areas). Many seats now have almost no metal in them. Performance seats are designed to hold you in place, other seats are not, they are designed to meet standards at the lowest possible price. Some mild "performance seats are made to look like performance seats, but they really do very little to hold you in place. Seats have gotten smaller as cars get smaller and seats have to compete for space with more and more safety features and technology features etc. The materials for seats have improved substantially allowing lighter, stronger safer designs. Safety and weight are the prime objectives. Comfort is subjective, and when people buy cars, they usually spend less then two minutes sitting in the seats. So while they are shooting for not awful comfort is not much of a priority in most cars. Appearance is quite important as well. (My paraphrase of a 20 minute conversation, not a quote)
This part is from another person whom I am less certain of so I may be a bit skeptical:
New cars send them feedback about how you drive, so if you have a Chevy Impala, they know how often you take corners are 40 mph, the assimilation of this data allows them to determine whether they need seats to hold you in place on 40 mph turns in a Chevy Impala (if two people do it, then no, if 20,000 do then probably).
I did not know they already have the technology to report back this detailed information. She said they do, but I do not know her that well and she may be FOS.
Thank you. I was wondering about this. It is pretty much what I figured. Cost & government regulations. I did not know motors weighed more now but figures that comfort is suffering due to all the high tech devices that cars come with now. I would be happy to forego 98% of that myself but sure most others would not. I still fail to see how new cars made of plastic & aluminum could possibly be as safe as a big steel frame around you. I think it is all pretty much so manufacturers can increase their bottom line, not because the product is better. The same as furniture, airlines, & definitely appliances. It is a shame we can’t actually custom order a vehicle to our preference.
They definitely do Not handle or stop any better. I don’t know about holding the road. That could be,
That's handling. And yes, they definitely, handle and stop MUCH better these days. Look at any road test over the last 30-40 years. with ABS and grippy tires, cars stop much shorter AND are more controllable while they do it. Modern suspensions allow for better evasive maneuvers if needed as well as much better cornering. Whether you "careen around at speeds" or not.
Quote:
I could absolutely care less about fuel consumption. Those should be options for those who do care about them, but so should comfort for those of us who care about that.
Sorry, but you're out of date and fuel consumption has been an issue for decades. Keeping the corporate average fuel economy up has been a real issue for all manufacturers. So you're not going to see much of a return to consume fuel at all costs mentality.
The job of a car its to transport you safely from one place to another and staying alert is part of that. Coddling you like a bed is NOT. Maybe when self driving cars take over you can get back to having a bed for a driver's seat.
I still fail to see how new cars made of plastic & aluminum could possibly be as safe as a big steel frame around you.
Simple, the car crumples so YOU don't. It's a basic bit of physics. Those old steel cars transferred the shock of a crash to the occupants. But hey, don't let any sort of actual knowledge get in your way.
Simple, the car crumples so YOU don't. It's a basic bit of physics. Those old steel cars transferred the shock of a crash to the occupants. But hey, don't let any sort of actual knowledge get in your way.
I'll also add material science to this.
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uncomfortable seats
