Bench seat

The front bench seat typically allowed three people to sit abreast, thus six passengers in most four-door sedans with this type of arrangement. For example, "although advertised as an economical 'compact' car, the [1952] Willys Aero could comfortably sit three abreast on its front and rear bench seats, and deliver excellent fuel economy."{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=yZo8GKToqqcC&dq=Although+advertised+as+an+economical+'compact'+car,+the+Aero+could+comfortably+sit+three+abreast+on+its+front+and+rear+bench+seats,+and+deliver+excellent+fuel+economy&pg=PA74 |page=74 |title=American 'independent' Automakers: AMC to Willys 1945 to 1960 |first=Norm |last=Mort |publisher=Veloce |year=2010 |isbn= 9781845842390 |accessdate=21 August 2013 }} Nash Motors introduced what it called "airliner" reclining front bench seats that could transform into a bed.{{cite web |title=Nash Airliner Reclining Seats (Apr, 1953) |url=http://blog.modernmechanix.com/nash-airliner-reclining-seats/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140624003229/http://blog.modernmechanix.com/nash-airliner-reclining-seats/ |archive-date=2014-06-24 |accessdate=21 August 2013 |publisher=Modern Mechanix}} American Motors promoted its adjustable bench seats on the 1959 Ramblers and Ambassadors as featuring several putatively restful positions, including a "comfortable nap couch for children and older adults."{{cite web|url= http://www.arcticboy.com/Pages/arcticboys50s8.html |title=1950s Nash Rambler Stash - page 8 |last=Wilson |first=Bob |publisher=arcticboy |accessdate=21 August 2013 }} In 1972, the Jeep Commando's center console for the automatic transmission was replaced with a steering column mounted shifter, allowing a bench seat option.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4ywrhvzRCsEC&dq=A+column+shifter+replaced+the+floor+unit+for+automatics,+making+the+much-requested+bench+seat+an+option.&pg=PA152 |page=152 |last=Allen |first=Jim |title=Jeep |year=2004 |publisher=MBI Publishing |isbn=978-0-7603-1979-6 |accessdate=21 August 2013 |authorlink=Jim Allen (4x4 writer) }}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} The 1975 AMC Pacer introduced numerous designs that included the cab forward and room for three on the front bench seat.{{cite journal|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=kUlWAAAAMAAJ&q=The+innovative+but+unusual+Pacer+had+rack+and+pinion+steering,+room+for+three+upfront+on+the+bench+seat,+cab+forward |title=Motor City Meet (part 1) |first=Bob |last=Stevens |journal=Cars & Parts |page=72 |volume=45 |year=2002 |accessdate=22 August 2013 }}

The bucket seat arrangement leaves a space between the two front seats, usually occupied by a shifter and hand brake. Originally, bucket seats were associated with imported cars in the 1950s and 1960s. The Volkswagen Bus was originally available with three rows of bench seats seating up to nine passengers, but since then most minivans have been configured to seat seven or eight with front bucket seats.

In Australia, the Holden Kingswood, Ford Falcon and Chrysler Valiant were fitted with bench seats for many years. Up until its discontinuation, the Falcon Ute was still offered with a bench seat and column shift in the front, and availability of a front bench seat in the Falcon sedan and wagon lineups was only discontinued with the introduction of the FG Falcon in 2008. Holden offered a bench seat on the Commodore in the 1990s, originating with the VG Ute and ending with the end of VS series III production in 2000.

Part of the success of the Chrysler K-cars, the Dodge Aries and the Plymouth Reliant, was that by retaining front bench seating rather than adopting bucket seats usually fitted to compacts, they could still function as the six passenger cars they were designed to replace and compete against.

Because the shifter and parking brake cannot be mounted between the seats, the transmission selector or shifter is moved to the steering column, and the emergency brake is activated by a pedal in the driver's footwell.

The traditional sedans with full-width bench seating offered nearly the same passenger capacity as the newer three-row SUV or minivan. Some models, such as the Chrysler Pacifica, feature a center console in the second row, rather than room for a passenger in the middle.

== Decline ==

Even in the United States, the bucket seat has largely replaced the bench seat; the bucket is viewed as "sportier", and smaller cars have made the middle position less viable. For high performance cars, bucket seats help keep the driver in place during cornering. Some pickup and larger trucks are still available with bench seats which would only be able to seat two if bucket seats were fitted, though some extended and crew cabs retain them to keep costs down since separate availability of bucket seats (captain's chairs) adds to the parts cost.

Until around the mid 1990s, bench seats still predominated in large American premium sedans and minivans, but even in this market they have become rare. The Toyota Avalon is among some of the newest models to drop availability of this feature, and models such as the Buick LeSabre replaced by new models such as the Buick Lucerne and Cadillac DTS in which it is offered as an option. They were standard equipment on the Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis, and Lincoln Town Car until they were discontinued in 2011. As of 2013, it was reported that only one American automobile, the Chevrolet Impala was sold with a bench seat, and the option was terminated in the next model year.{{cite news |last=Popely |first=Rick |date=2013-03-09 |title=Which car/truck has a front bench seat? |newspaper=Ask.cars.com |url=http://ask.cars.com/2013/03/which-cartruck-has-a-front-bench-seat.html |accessdate=2014-11-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304223828/http://ask.cars.com/2013/03/which-cartruck-has-a-front-bench-seat.html |archive-date=2014-03-04}} The front bench seat also declined due to safety concerns as air bags could only protect two front seat passengers (an exception being the Cadillac Air Bank system, dating back to the early 1990s, in which the passenger side air bag is significantly larger than the driver side air bag is, so it can protect the middle passenger in a frontal crash).{{cite web|last1=King|first1=Alanis|title=Why Front Bench Seats Went Away|url=http://jalopnik.com/why-front-bench-seats-went-away-1776706852|website=Jalopnik|accessdate=16 May 2016}}

• List of auto parts

{{reflist}}

{{Car-interior}}

Category:Auto parts