Why don't Car MFGs care about the Passenger?

[quaddriver]

You do realize the Caddy is just a different styling of the Envision for more money right?

Oh and to get Leather and a decent Stereo, we are now over $50k

yessir, the envision is the same as the caddy with completely different sheetmetal, layout and powertrain but sure, I can see that ;-) Here is a 2018 comparo: https://www.asburyauto.com/compare/2018-cadillac-xt5-vs-2018-buick-envision/146590

and if an 8 speaker bose isnt a good radio in a car I guess you need the 14 speaker bose...

go price em, and then take msrp and negotiate. It is possible to get a luxury trim (which exceeds your requirements in all facets) out the door for under 50...

 

[KingBubba]

I'm holding on to my 2003 Suburban for as long as possible.

 

[Wildcat]

They keep making the Console compartment as well as the whole console way too high.

We would have bought the Buick Envision if my wife didn't bruise her elbow getting in it the first time.

I don't understand how many of gm's cars are so effing claustrophobic inside. On many of them, they design the dash, console, etc. to "wrap" around us, and I hate that. I can't move in any direction without hitting something. I test drove a '92 Bonneville back when it was new. My folks had an '87. The '92 had all this plastic shit that made the driving position like a cocoon--hated it, instant claustrophobia. Felt smaller than our '88 Accord inside, which it wasn't. There was just no room to move!

It was a Chevy Impala, they were the last to have a full bench and we loved it. Sure is awkward fooling around with bucket seats and a console

Where there's a will, there's a way! (Now we really know why you want an SUV!) I actually never liked bench seats, due to sliding around every time I turned a corner. Wasn't so bad with cloth seats, but in the typical mid 70s cars, vinyl was king. Vinyl also made wearing shorts a challenge. And I don't think that any of the bench seats we ever had in our cars ever locked properly--the passenger's side tended to flail around a bit until it finally locked while someone was sitting in it. (We was poor...we didn't have no power seats. )

The only car I have owned where you have an internal door release for the gas is the Rav4 I am selling.

Every Honda I've owned has had the internal gas door release. The 2017 Civic didn't, though, and it took me a few minutes in the gas station to figure it out--I felt like an idiot. I don't know if it is unlocked when the car is unlocked, or if anyone can go up to it when parked and open it. I live in a high-crime part of the state that I would think I'd want something locking!

 

[Hyfi]

I don't understand how many of gm's cars are so effing claustrophobic inside. On many of them, they design the dash, console, etc. to "wrap" around us, and I hate that. I can't move in any direction without hitting something. I test drove a '92 Bonneville back when it was new. My folks had an '87. The '92 had all this plastic shit that made the driving position like a cocoon--hated it, instant claustrophobia. Felt smaller than our '88 Accord inside, which it wasn't. There was just no room to move!

The dash of my 2014 LacRosse is like that and I constantly whack my knee getting in or out. The 2015 was redesigned to be more straight and you no longer whack your knee.

 

[quaddriver]

On many of them, they design the dash, console, etc. to "wrap" around us, and I hate that.
!

Buy nothing german then, ESPECIALLY VAG

 

[Wildcat]

Buy nothing german then, ESPECIALLY VAG

I bought German once in my life; never again.

 

[Harvestor]

The dash of my 2014 LacRosse is like that and I constantly whack my knee getting in or out. The 2015 was redesigned to be more straight and you no longer whack your knee.

 

[Hyfi]

Yep, Chevy Impala was the last. Mine was an 02.

 

[nasadowsk]

Ugh, the bench seat. Ever been a big passenger in a car with a small driver? BTDT. It sucked. Thankfully it was just a few blocks, I'd have gone nuts if I had to go the whole trip with my knees in my face...

The big issue is folks want SUVs or 'crossovers' with AWD they don't need, and all that stuff has to squish in somewhere. Most folks never sit in the passenger seat when they buy a car, and the dealer on the test ride is there to sell it to you.

Oddly, for me and my friend, we're both pretty big and we find my Mazda 3 to be a great road trip car. Though it'd be better if the passenger side seat was power, too...

 

[Chip Chester]

I'm holding on to my 2003 Suburban for as long as possible.

Me too.

My mom's Buick LeSabre had an almost bench seat, with a flip-down armrest in the middle. Split so both sides could move independently. Dual-zone climate control, probably seat heaters, etc. We called it 'The Couch'. But not an SUV.

I'd be surprised if a Suburban short-changed the passenger, even with a center console. Cars with high beltlines give me that closed-in feeling.
(Pretty sure rear seat height doesn't matter if no one is back there...)

 

[gadget73]

If nobody makes a car you want new, buy an old one that is what you want or have the new one customized. Thats really the only practical option. Cars are built for the driver since most of the time only one person is in them.

 

[arts]

I cut out an article from the Detroit Free press in 2013 about the last car made with Bench Seating in front Without the center column..or Console

I did so because I Miss the cars where 3 people could sit in front.... because I DON'T LIKE BEING CONFINED in the Front and miss the WIDE OPEN SPACE !!... I wouldn't have 3 people in the front.....
I miss our 1981 Tornado, our 1966 Tornado, our 1984 Pontiac Parisienne, and the many GMC Suburban's WITHOUT CENTER Columns!. .. or Console

Hear hear!! And while they're at it,unless it's a manual transmission,put the gearshift back on the bloody steering column where god intended it to be

 

[sanford12]

The seats in th Lincoln MKS are excellent .red both heated and cooled and very ajustable.. People will miss sedans when they're gone. I'd still like a station wagon. I find it odd that some of the SUV's/crossovers look suspiciously like a mini van and are only a sliding door away.

 

[gadget73]

Hear hear!! And while they're at it,unless it's a manual transmission,put the gearshift back on the bloody steering column where god intended it to be

I'd like to see a revival of the column shift manual transmission. That would trip people out.

 

[KingBubba]

Considering the cost of a new Suburban, I could replace my engine and transmission at least a couple of times and still be nowhere near the price of a new Suburban. Buying a new car is not in my list of things to do.

 

[Hyfi]

I'd like to see a revival of the column shift manual transmission. That would trip people out.

My first car was a 64 Ford Falcon with 3 speed on the column

My mom who will be 90 next month still drives a stick shift, only had an automatic for a year one time.

 

[savatage1973]

Back to the OP, regarding why mfgrs don't pay as much attention to passenger comfort? Most mfgrs "assume" that the driver is the one paying for the vehicle, so the focus is there for features and the associated costs that increase prices.

I recently went shopping for a full-sized sedan--now there is a rare bird these days. If you want any amount of interior room, and especially back-seat headroom and leg room, you are almost "forced" into an SUV, or something well above the $50K mark. Even the big Benzs don't have much rear headroom due to their "sporty, coupe-like styling". Basically what I was looking for was something like an "old-school" Town Car with a serious performance package. I ended up with a big Jag with an equally big price tag.

 

[quaddriver]

I'd like to see a revival of the column shift manual transmission. That would trip people out.

they did, its called paddle shifters for the 8-9 gears they got today

 

[mfrench]

I'd like to see a move towards basic simple vehicles, with manual windows, manual locks, mirrors that require you to have the passenger adjust their side, or, you have to get out to do it yourself. I'd love to see one made without bluetooth or wifi, and maybe even to be able to use the steel body as a shield to prevent cellphone service.
Please, more manual transmissions. Maybe make the little zingy imports so that the kids can't make them sound like mad sewing machines.
I'd really like to get cars back to affordability, and get away from all of this needing to make sure my ass was air conditioned, or heated. I don't need my sideview mrrior to tell me that my blinker is on. Staying in my own lane? Shit, I haven't even had a parking ticket in (goes to check his Auto Club card,... be right back)... 36 years.
LED lighting,.... why does a car have to be cyborgish?

Really,... you can lease our new Lexus jelly bean for a mere $750 month.
Or,... Why does a pickup truck need to cost $100k?? really?

/rant

 

[Hyfi]

I'd like to see a move towards basic simple vehicles, with manual windows, manual locks, mirrors that require you to have the passenger adjust their side, or, you have to get out to do it yourself. I'd love to see one made without bluetooth or wifi, and maybe even to be able to use the steel body as a shield to prevent cellphone service.
Please, more manual transmissions. Maybe make the little zingy imports so that the kids can't make them sound like mad sewing machines.
I'd really like to get cars back to affordability, and get away from all of this needing to make sure my ass was air conditioned, or heated. I don't need my sideview mrrior to tell me that my blinker is on. Staying in my own lane? Shit, I haven't even had a parking ticket in (goes to check his Auto Club card,... be right back)... 36 years.
LED lighting,.... why does a car have to be cyborgish?

Really,... you can lease our new Lexus jelly bean for a mere $750 month.
Or,... Why does a pickup truck need to cost $100k?? really?

/rant

I like simpler cars too. The Forester I was test driving the other day even had Facial recognition for the memory seat settings and more.

I recently figured out why Pickup Trucks cost so much. Several years ago they did cost less than an SUV and were almost as nice. Many people figured that out and started buying the Pickups. Once the MFGs caught on, they raised the prices on the Pickup Truck and nobody stopped buying them at the new high price.