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Re: 2007 Cupholder Designs

I was at the San Jose Auto Show yesterday, and one thing I looked at in

> all the cars was the cup holder designs, and how they accompany > different size cups.

Wow, 2 or 3 more reports like this and you'll be eligble for a PhD from any number of online life-experience "colleges". :-)

I don't mean to mock. I found your report interesting and I thank you for offering it.

In my Prius's center console there's one molded cupholder that would leak any spill and one fold-out cupholder that would contain any spill. I think all should be the containment variety.

The Prius also has a water-bottle recess molded into each front door pocket. That's handy, but only for the bottle. It would be a bad place for a cup because of the awkward reach.

For the back seat occupants there's a sturdy fold-down arm that is a no-spill unadjustable holder for two cylindrical somethings. As my wife and I never have backseat occupants on long trips, I've installed a tall plastic tumbler as a substitute for the trash holder that for us would have been a better choice as standard equipment.

Three spring loaded fingers: This was a good adjustable type. Three > solid plastic fingers with springs behind them push against the base of > the cup. These held the cup pretty securely, and appeared as if they > wouldn't break easily. No manual adjustment was necessary. It took a > little bit of a push to seat the cup into the cup holder, and a good > pull to remove it.

That scares me. I don't want to push down or tug up on a full cup of coffee. As the up-tugging is likely to rely on the rim of the lid, there'd be a good chance of its detaching with an attendant loss of control of the cup. All other things being equal, I'd bypass that vehicle. Of course, few other things are equal.

A 5-passenger Accord coupe I looked at had seven built-in cupholders. I figure for most trips that's coffee for the driver and a six-pack for the passenger. :-)

Reply to
Pemaquid
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Good point. I always use mugs that seal, and that have screw-on tops, but I can see how a paper cup with a snap-on lid could be a problem.

The best leakproof containers for mobile use that I've found are:

-Contigo Extreme Vacuum Insulated Leakproof Mug (with or without handle) "

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-Thermos Nissan Leak-Proof Travel Mug JMQ400 "

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-Thermos Nissan Backpack Bottle "

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"(This fits even smaller diameter cupholders) These are all also usable on a bicycle, with the appropriate bottle cage. See "
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" In the back seat of my SUV I have food/beverage trays attached to the rear headrests. I eschewed the fabric strap, and used a long L shaped pieces of aluminum for each one, with holes drilled for the headrest posts to go through. See "
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" but Wal-Mart sells these at less than half the price of that eBay merchant. While I'd prefer no eating in the car, this would mean much longer rides when going up to the mountains for skiing. So it's best to ensure that everything is as secure as possible.

Reply to
SMS

If one worked for a car company and one's co-workers saw that setup in one's car, one would become the laughingstock of the office. Back in the good ol' days before cupholders were invented, a road warrior demonstrated bravery and ability to ignore pain by holding a steaming hot cup of coffee in place on the driver's seat with thighs. Fries are tucked above the visor, and the burger is held in the left hand with the steering wheel to avoid having the burger fly out of the right hand when shifting in a spirited manner.

The advent of cup holders (it is common for vehicles to have more cup holders than seats), automatic transmissions, and cruise control has taken the thrill and skill out of dining while driving.

Reply to
Ray O

Well those devices are not for the driver, they are for the rear seat passengers, usually kids.

It's still rather a challenge for the driver to eat messy food while driving. An In 'N Out hamburger is not easy to eat while driving. Burger King once made mini-hamburgers that were intended to eat while driving. The prevalence of cup holders has eliminated one thing to hold though.

We don't have any place selling "sliders" out west, no White Castle, Krystal, or Royal Castle.

Joking aside, the interior design of an automobile is often a big factor in the buying decision, especially when choosing between two vehicles that are equally safe and reliable, i.e. a Camry versus an Accord.

Reply to
SMS

With the proliferation of cup holders, feeding kids in cars is very neat and easy now. As a Scout leader who has driven many kids on many outings, I have some experience in feeding kids on the road with minimal stains and spills in the wife's car. Each one gets a 1 liter plastic bottle of the soda of their choice. The 1 liter bottles will not fit in most cup holders, so they have to hold the bottles in their crotch - training for when they have to hold steaming cups of coffee with loose lids there. The 1 liter bottle also guarantees that one of the kids will ask for a bathroom stop before one of the adults, thereby avoiding the need for the adult to make up excuses to stop at the next rest stop. Until the kids learn to hold a package of fries in one hand and a burger in the other {around 15 yrs old for most kids} the only solid food allowed behind the front seat is Twinkies and Twizzlers. Twinkies don't shed chocolate pieces like HoHos do and don't drip barbecue sauce or ketchup like fast food does.

I highly recommend Simple Green all-purpose cleaner. It cleans up black coffee spills, cola, anything that squirts out of any food available at a drive-through, vomit, and it is non-toxic to the dog when the dog tries to lick the vomit or fast-food spillage from subsequent spills. Knowing that that any spillage can be cleaned up effectively takes the stress out of worrying about spills and allows the driver to tune out the kids and concentrate on driving.

Yup, I missed White Castles while I lived in the Bay Area, but now I miss burritos the size of a football wrapped in foil and Tick-Tock burgers. Those giant burritos are the perfect road food, after Twinkies and Twizzlers. Giant burritos have the essential parts of the food pyramid (meat, rice, cheese, hot sauce) and can be eaten with one hand, thereby freeing up a hand to drive.

Sadly, this is true too often.

Reply to
Ray O

The most important beverage to ban in the car is milk. You will literally never get the milk smell out of carpet or upholstery. You'll do extensive cleaning, carpet shampooing, etc., but the next time the weather is damp, the spoiled milk smell will be back. You have to tear out the carpet and padding and replace it, as well as replacing the seats.

I have an aunt who once broke a gallon bottle of milk in her car. She finally gave up and sold the car. This was in Florida, and the heat and humidity ensured that the car would always smell of spoiled milk. To this day, when I buy milk and bring it home from the store, I'm anal about keeping it upright and in plastic bags.

Reply to
SMS

Yuk!

Reply to
Ray O

coffee spills, cola, anything that squirts out of any

the dog tries to lick the vomit or fast-food

cleaned up effectively takes the stress out of worrying

never get the milk smell out of carpet or upholstery.

weather is damp, the spoiled milk smell will be back.

replacing the seats.

gave up and sold the car. This was in Florida, and

To this day, when I buy milk and bring it home from

A cars carpet is rubber backed and water tight (far as I know) so you can really go to town cleaning it and never get the padding wet.

A past girl friend had a Mazda RX7 that had most the fur melted off the rear hatch area's carpet when a battery tipped and drained the acid. But even that never touched anything under it. Just gave the carpet a huge bald spot. lol

Dan

Reply to
Danny G.

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