My old truck had bench seats, which allowed three people to sit up front – and two people to sit close, which can be nice. My current truck has bucket seats and so only two people can sit up front and not close together.
Interestingly, both are the same trucks – Nissan Frontiers – with the major difference being my old truck was a 1998 model and my current one is a 2002 model. A lot had changed in between ’98 and ’02, even though the two trucks were still largely the same.
Well, one thing had changed.
By 2002, bucket seats had become standard in my Frontier and they are now standard in pretty much everything. Why? Bench seats are much more functional as well as more comfortable. They not only allow a given people to transport more people, they allow people to stretch out. You can sleep on a bench seat just the same as you can on a couch. That is to say, not sitting up. Bench seats are nice to have for reasons like that. And most trucks used to come standard with them. So did most luxury cars. Because luxury cars did not used to pretend to be “sporty.” That being at odds with luxuriousness, which once-upon-a-time meant soft and plush.
So, what happened? Besides the bizarre-when-you-think-about-it transitioning of luxury into sportiness?
Well, the government happened. Again.
Bench seats, you see, are . . . “unsafe.” More finely, they make it harder for car companies to comply with “safety” regs. In order for airbags to work ideally, the person sitting in front of one must be sitting tightly. Bench seats allow for too much movement – and positioning. Especially as regards the occupant in between the driver and passenger, who is not positioned directly facing one of those built-into-the-dasboard Claymore mines that are blandly styled “air bags.” As if they were pillows – and that styling is deliberate, to soft-peddle the truth about the violence of air bags, which can and have killed as well injured thousands.
But they save lives! Well, that’s fine – unless of course your life is one of the ones snuffed by an “air bag.” We’re not allowed to decide for ourselves whether the risk outweighs the reward (or the reverse). It is decided for us – and imposed on us – by the government. This entity that was once regarded by most people as a perhaps necessary evil that kept people from harming one another that has assumed the parental prerogative of keeping us from harming ourselves.
Even if we’re harmed as a result of such safe-keeping.
So, no more bench seats – which has also harmed us in that our vehicles are less useful and less comfortable. I would need to buy (or rent or borrow) another vehicle to pick up two people because my ’02 Frontier can only realistically carry two people, me and one passenger. My ’02 extended cab truck does have a pair of vestigial, child-sized sideways-mounted rear jumpseats, but these are not realistically usable by adults. My ’98 regular cab did not have the jump seats but did have the bench seat, so I could transport two people in addition to myself.
By 2002, the Frontier was no longer available with a regular cab – or a bench seat. If you wanted to be able to realistically carry more than just one adult passenger, you had to buy the more expensive four-door version with a pair of forward-facing rear seats. It was an upsell, in other words.
The practical truck now cost more rather than less.
Just as it is now necessary to buy a larger car – or crossover, given that there are very few cars left on the market – if you have a family of more than four. In the past, five or even six people could fit in a small car with a bench up front and in the rear. Now you need to buy a three-row crossover to get the same seating capacity as you used to have in most compact-sized four-door sedans.
The subtler harm done, though, is the elimination of alternatives and so the diminishing of choice. And this goes much deeper than just bench seats, which haven’t been formally outlawed but effectively out-regulated.
See that bit about compliance.
Which is also why you’re denied the opportunity to buy a new truck that cost about $13,000 – like the just-launched 2024 Toyota HiLux Champ the government doesn’t allow Toyota to sell here. Not because it isn’t “safe” but because it is not compliant with the latest “safety” regs, a distinction that’s important to make because it reveals the underlying lie regarding the government’s claims about “safety.”
It is also why you’re denied the opportunity to buy a sub-$10k electric vehicle, which could dramatically reduce the costs of vehicle ownership, especially for young people looking to get their first new vehicle – as well as (if you accept the truth of the argument) “save the planet,” since more people could afford one of these as opposed to the $40,000 EVs they’re told are the only alternative.
Would bench seats make a comeback if vehicle manufacturers were not forced to make compliant vehicles?
Wouldn’t it be nice to find out?
. . .
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OT: burning electric car tge mist popular comment is hilarious.
https://youtube.com/shorts/-Mz6lgAaIe4?feature=shared
Forgot to add: right up there with riding a motorcycle without a helmet on a nice day is one hand on the steering wheel and the other arm wrapped around the shoulders of a honey sitting next to you on a bench seat. …Da goobermint & their Nancy’s must hate that.
Or the “,honey” making herself USEFUL, as long as you don’t utterly lose your situational awareness.
Yup, wishing there was choice, where there’s only one-size-fits-all compliance.
I, myself, found the bench seat very much more practical, especially in a truck. I could set long things on the bench, more-so than on bucket seats.
On turns & bumps, things didn’t fall between the bucket seats & try to hide, making it necessary to stop & get out to look for it/them. The same could happen on a bench seat, an item might slide to the side & go over the end, however; with a bench seat the item was often ‘right there’ where you could lay a hand on it to stop the slide. That’s not so quick & easy with a bucket seat just that much further away.
There was a flat space on a bench between the driver & a passenger, or a dog, to set something like a paper sack of groceries. Nowhere for that, or a ladies purse, with bucket seats except the floor, which is often a very bad & dirty/muddy choice. (It’s in the way of the drivers elbow when set on a center console.)
Switching drivers with the passenger was possible, without getting out into the elements.
A person could pull over & stretch out a bit on a bench seat & take a needed nap. Not happening with bucket seats, especially after the 1990’s models.
With a bench seat I could access items from behind the passenger side, pretty much can’t do that with bucket seats in a truck or suv without going round to the other side.
I never drove a pickup truck like it was a sports car, the bench seat was & is great, and a great work space/table. It’s too bad I’m not permitted to buy a new pickup truck with a bench seat.
“… If government agents can invade your home, break down your doors, kill your dog, damage your furnishings and terrorize your family, your property is no longer private and secure—it belongs to the government.”…
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2024/09/no_author/dont-trust-the-government-not-with-your-privacy-property-or-your-freedoms/
Psft! “On turns & bumps, things DID fall between the bucket seats & try to hide,
Makes a lot sense about the airbag thing, thanks Eric, I didn’t think it through, but always wondered about it.
To me, another reason is the big sedan went away, replaced with FWD smaller stuff, and a lot of us moved to trucks that still had traditional RWD layouts. But they had benches, yuk if you lived in the things as I did. So then you could get up-trimmed trucks with buckets, yay! And then the extended cab to make them more family friendly. I bought the first 3-door trucks! A revelation! Then 4-door, all the way now to full crew (big!) cabs. And now my vehicles are as big as I’ve always wanted, just a little higher now than a sedan, but significantly more capable with 4wd, etc… than the old boats.
I do realize that these modern vehicles will NOT stand the test of time, and I just respond with new every 5 yrs. Costs are a lot relative, so I am sorta playing their game and I don’t see a way out of it. There is NO way I could buy, restore to as close to perfection as possible, a 20yr old truck, and even come close to the drivability, capability, comfort, etc… of a modern big ass crew cab. Even though my brother is so sick of new trucks that he is going to attempt to do just that. I wish him well.
I took the bucket seats out of an 07′ Ranger (where the center console was mounted to the floor) and put them in my dad’s 01′ ranger (which came with the unusable bench passenger seat with folding center console).
The result was something that wasn’t on the options list: no center console and you can get to and use the back sideways jump seats with much more confort.
I don’t miss them. I get the sentiment about the regulatory state, but I can’t stand the bench
Meatloaf could not have belted out “Paradise by the Dashboard Lights” with any confidence had only bucket seats been available in 1977.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C11MzbEcHlw
I have a problem with both.
In a pickup, bucket seats usually mean an extended cab, which means a shorter bed.
I have a bad back syndrome, and for many years was in constant pain, until I bought a car with bucket seats, and the pain went away. I needed the bolster support that they offer.
I do NOT need the nanny state telling me what I need.
Zerohedge has a article about a heroic woman helping an AGW. The AGW was cleared of any wrong doing,,, of course and the stupid woman that retrieved the taser is now a hero.
One can see the cop walked up to the car,,, immediately opened the door and started trying to drag the driver out. The driver which could have been any of us happened to be a illegal. The cop started using the taser right away. Must have taserd him 10 times in the car. Guess he got tired of it and fought back finally managing to get the taser throwing it in the road. Some other stupid woman (the hero) stopped retrieved the taser and gave it back to the cop. and ZH is claiming he kicked the cop in the head several times but the video doesn’t back that up.
Again,,, this could have been any of us. They said he was doing 114 but I don’t think his car could go that fast. Here is a good video of it.
IMO the cop should have asked the person out of the car. If he refused or there was a language problem the cop should have called for backup.
https://www.officer.com/vehicles-fleet/vehicles-equipment/in-car-video/video/55141051/video-accused-drunk-driver-throws-ark-troopers-taser-into-traffic-during-stop
ZH Article
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/i-thank-god-heroic-woman-saves-arkansas-trooper-attack-drunk-illegal-alien
I’m definitely no fan of AGW’s, but maybe if enough of them have such encounters with the invading third worlders it might pressure corpgov to slow down the invasion.
Nah, not a chance. As the ZH article continues the AGW’s in San Diego were told to ignore Special Interest Aliens, i.e. terrorists, coming across the border. We are well and truly screwed.
Hmmmm, ya know, trucks have these things called “beds” in the back.
I’ll be the contrarian: I don’t miss bench seats. As a child I remember our 1970 Chevrolet Impala coupe and later our 1978 Buick Le Sabre had manually adjusted bench seats. As I recall we had to brace our feet against the floorboards and use our hips and butts to shift the entire seat forward or backwards.
But there’s also a practical reason: People come in different shapes and sizes. I have most of my height in my legs. Every car or truck that I drive, the first thing I do upon sitting in the driver’s or passenger’s seat is move the seat ALL the way back. Otherwise my legs start to cramp up, especially around the knees. Conversely my wife has short legs and needs to move the seat much further forward to drive (and prefers to sit further forward in the passenger’s seat than I do). Having separate seats makes for a more comfortable ride for each of us.
Perhaps the best compromise is like my first Cadillac: A 40/60 or 1/3rd – 2/3rds split bench seat that allows the driver to adjust their seat separate of the passengers.
One other thing I thought of: I find the bucket seats on modern cars are much more comfortable and give better butt and back support than old bench seats. It’s much more fun to drive long distances.
Sorry Eric, not shedding a tear for bench seats going the way of tail fins. Now losing tail fins, that I may agree was a loss. 😉
I don’t think the issue is going with bench seats or bucket seats but rather having the choice to do so.
Hi Mack,
My intention was mainly to highlight the choice that’s been taken away – and not only as regards bench seats.
Here’s the beautiful thing that is true of Merica more so than other automotive markets. You can pretty much do anything you want to your vehicle.
Make / adapt / install a bench seat. No one is stopping anyone.
I am a big fan of a particular sports car marque. People constantly putting in low back whiplash seats. Roll bars / cages that are certain to crack your skull or kill you in what would otherwise be a minor accident.
In this regard, we are still free. Well except maybe you can’t put a machine gun in the back of your Cyberyuck. LOL!!
Totally agree. Bench seats suck!!!
Miserable contraptions that are uncomfortable to sit “on”. On being the operative word. More often than not were vinyl. Offered less than zero lateral support when cornering at anything over 0.1g. Less than zero because depending on what you were wearing and the temperature the vinyl was like ice and had about as much friction to keep you in place.
Don’t miss those miserable driving experiences of bench seating at all.
Here in Texas, the trucks are driven like sports cars so I doubt bench seats would be popular.
Since the V8s were effectively regulated off the roads, even in the “secretary” Mustang, the White Truck has replaced the BMW as the vehicle to give a wide berth if you see one coming on the freeway.
It’s not just the buckets but also the massive intruding center console in the footwell and knee area.
Thankfully I have both the column shifter and the 40/20/40 bench in my ’01 Silverado.
I used to go with my friends to antique car shows. There were many around, and some really interesting ones too thanks to Bethlehem Steel. The old guys kept their 60s era vehicles in the garage after ’73 and the first “peak oil” scare. By the 1980s they all had antique plates and only came out for sunny days.
Anyway, I remember someone had a 67-70 Pontiac Bonneville convertible. This was during the “wide track” design days and it certainly lived up to the description. There were 4 sets of seatbelts across the front and rear bench seats. Probably marketing hype, but still if it didn’t have power windows there’s no reaching over to roll down the passenger side on a hot afternoon!
Wide, low and long. How did we ever come to the tall and narrow SUV? Especially in the post-HFCS body time.
Do you know how many babies were made on a bench seat? This is just another Dystopian plan to keep people from having sex, making babies, and populating the world. Maybe if bench seats were reintroduced American birth rates would not be decreasing and young adults would leave their gaming chairs to actually drive somewhere.
evil bastards ruin everything…..
LOL, so true, Nasir. So true.
Good to see you posting. Hope you are doing well. 😊
Hi RG, Yes all good here thanks, hope life is also treating you well. Was quite busy with work for quite some time, now no longer working so after a bit of travel, taking it easy trying to figure out what to do next with life. Always good to come here, read Erics articles and the comments to remind myself there are sane and sensible people in the world, and there just might be hope !
Lol. Yeah. I remember trying to contort myself to copulate with a chick in my new car with buckets. Not too easy, nevertheless, it was fun. The best compromise is a 60 40 bench. This whole world is raising male cortisol levels through food and general stress as to eventually make reproduction impossible. Of course, there are 8 billion plus in the world. …
In high school the name for bucket seats was birth control seats.
Trust me. . . . They aren’t.
Or Somebody.
Has any one else noticed that those bucket seats are a lot more confining than the bucket seats of decades ago? Also that the new buckets seats are a lot taller than they were in the past?
On an off topic note; did anyone notice that Elon Musk allegedly and remotely shut down at least one of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov Cybertrucks? I guess heavy machine guns are not an approved upgrade, bastard’s won’t let you enjoy what you pay for. Were next.
Hi Landru,
I’m worried that the next “update” to my iPad or sail fawn will turn it into a time bomb.
The better to SPY upon you with!
“Has any one else noticed that those bucket seats are a lot more confining than the bucket seats of decades ago? ”
Two reasons
1). Americans are much larger now – especially as we age
2). The domestic OEMs first attempts at bucket seats were pathetic. Barely offered any more lateral support than the bench seats they replaced. Eventually the domestics moved more toward the Japanese / European bucket seating.
They got taller because of more regulations. They have to have taller head rests….
I love my 1958 Dodge D100 with it’s 318
The Poly! One durable engine!
Interestingly in the UK the new defender is offered with a front bench seat…. though its not exactly a cheap and cheerful car everyone can afford anymore !!
In 1969 a buyer, with some vehicles, had a choice – that somewhat
strange word today – of bucket or bench seat.
I ordered a 1969 SS396 Chevelle with a bench seat.
It was most useful for my carpool and for dates.
Early GTOs could also be ordered with a bench.