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Bring back the Nash with the front seats that fold into a full size bed !!!
Youngsters reading here never heard of that one !
There is nothing romantic about sexual escapades in a car. Just because you can do "something" in a car doesn't make it romantic. I'm willing to bet most women will agree with me on this. I don't know anyone whose first choice of romantic locations would be seat of a car. It was more that there was no better option available. How many times have you heard, "Where do you want to go for our anniversary? Oh, how about the front seat of your car!" And remember, I am not one of those youngsters who have no idea. I was there.
There is nothing romantic about sexual escapades in a car. Just because you can do "something" in a car doesn't make it romantic. I'm willing to bet most women will agree with me on this. I don't know anyone whose first choice of romantic locations would be seat of a car. It was more that there was no better option available. How many times have you heard, "Where do you want to go for our anniversary? Oh, how about the front seat of your car!" And remember, I am not one of those youngsters who have no idea. I was there.
Apparently, not a candidate for the Mile High Club !
They went away for 2 reasons 1) Most people don't like them and 2) they are unsafe, especially with the advent of airbags.
I know that there will always be a small faction of people who think they are wonderful, but it's not enough to make manufacturing them worthwhile for car makers.
More than the "front bench" going away I'm irritated at the intrusive center consoles. There's no reason for the car to feel like a fighter pilot cockpit unless it's truly a sports coupe.
I specifically bought my 2013 Chevy Impala because it was the last car that year that had the front bench seat. My right leg tends to cramp on long drives and it’s a real pain to move it over a console while driving. I like that I’m able to move around in a nice comfortable car. And a truck bothers my back the way the seat sits up strait. I’ve still kept my Impala just for long trips, it’s like sitting on the living room couch. I feel great after a 13-15 hour long drive.
This x1000. A front bench seat (or split bench) lets you slide your right leg over so it isn't cramped in while driving. My most comfortable vehicle ever was a 1995 Ford Taurus with a split bench. Armrests kept down most of the time, except when I needed to stretch my right leg out, then raise them and use cruise control to drive for awhile. Plus the seats were much more plush than anything sold today.
A long time ago I sold a '74 Nova to a family, it was to be their little girl's car, just got her driver's license. She was maybe 4'10". They wanted a larger, heavier car around her in case she got into a crash. Larger and heavier than a Pinto or VW, anyway.
The girl and I took the car out for a test drive... or tried to. She got in the driver's seat, I got into the passenger seat (front bench seat), and she couldn't reach the pedals. I showed her how to slide the seat forward, and suddenly my knees were jammed hard into the dashboard. I literally couldn't sit in the passenger seat when she was in the driver's seat.
I'm not THAT tall. I'd guess a lot of people in that era had the same problem. And they found that the cars with bucket seats didn't have that problem. And I'd also guess that, even families that didn't have a family member who was 4'10", they would have worried about eventually selling the car, and what if the buyers turned out to have a driver that short. Etc. etc.
Demand for bench seats probably fell off noticeably, especially as more and more people experienced bucket seats and realized they were far more versatile than bench. And eventually car companies started dropping the bench seat entirely... because very few people wanted them.
1965 Mustangs had an optional bench seat available. They're very rare now. Weird looking, too. No way could you sit in the middle of that bench seat.
P.S. I sat in the back seat for the test drive. The girl bought the Nova.
More than the "front bench" going away I'm irritated at the intrusive center consoles. There's no reason for the car to feel like a fighter pilot cockpit unless it's truly a sports coupe.
EXACTLY.
I sat in a $80,000 Cadillac Escalade with a HUGE center console and TINY bucket seats. INSANE !
If I have to squish my butt into a seat - that ain't for me. I don't know why the manufacturers go with these huge center consoles and tiny hard seats.
A long time ago I sold a '74 Nova to a family, it was to be their little girl's car, just got her driver's license. She was maybe 4'10". They wanted a larger, heavier car around her in case she got into a crash. Larger and heavier than a Pinto or VW, anyway.
The girl and I took the car out for a test drive... or tried to. She got in the driver's seat, I got into the passenger seat (front bench seat), and she couldn't reach the pedals. I showed her how to slide the seat forward, and suddenly my knees were jammed hard into the dashboard. I literally couldn't sit in the passenger seat when she was in the driver's seat.
I'm not THAT tall. I'd guess a lot of people in that era had the same problem. And they found that the cars with bucket seats didn't have that problem. And I'd also guess that, even families that didn't have a family member who was 4'10", they would have worried about eventually selling the car, and what if the buyers turned out to have a driver that short. Etc. etc.
Demand for bench seats probably fell off noticeably, especially as more and more people experienced bucket seats and realized they were far more versatile than bench. And eventually car companies started dropping the bench seat entirely... because very few people wanted them.
1965 Mustangs had an optional bench seat available. They're very rare now. Weird looking, too. No way could you sit in the middle of that bench seat.
P.S. I sat in the back seat for the test drive. The girl bought the Nova.
This was a common problem for bench seats. Divided bench seats became available on luxury cars at extra cost, but few of us had them. My mom was of average height, but drove with the front seat all the way up. My dad was tall, and had the seat all the way back. If my mom drove, there was little room up front. When my dad drove, there was little room in the back. It was amazing how cars that were so long back then could have so little rear seat room.
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