I have an '85 900 that's desparately in need of a cup holder. Have there been any aftermarket ones made for this year? Or, maybe, does anyone know of any plans that will instruct me on how to make my own?
I don't have any kind of console between the seats (just the ignition switches and a switch for the dome lights). I do have the console beneath the dash with the ashtray and storage compartments.
Years ago there was a company that put out a nice armrest/cupholder combo that bolted to sides at the back of the center plastic section. I can't remember the name but I'll go through my archives and see if I can find it.
Here it is... Made by Husco. Not the best, but pretty good. It kind of makes it harder to get the ignition/handbrake area, but it does work. I had one of these in my '85 900 and moved it to my '88 spg.
This one requires a centre-console. My 1983 900S and 1985 900i both do not have centre consoles so the only DIN slot available is the one in the main dash section. They're used by stereo's. 8-)
I'm hoping to get a centre console from a later C900 to try out but it has to come from the UK or locally so it suits right-hand-drive cars.
There are some cupholders being sold on Ebay but none are really of any use in C900's since there's nowhere to mount them that's secure and doesn't get in the way of legs.
Hmmm, that URL is difficult to cut-and-paste using PINE. 8-) Do you know what the Ebay item number is (assuming it's a single listing - not someone's Ebay shop URL)?
Just my personal preference, but I like to keep two hands on the steering wheel while driving except when shifting gears. So, I have no need for a cupholder in my Saabs. When I drive, I drive - when I drink I drink :-) and the two don't mix, even it it is just water. Also - I don't use my cellphone. I let voicemail take the calls. There are enough distracted drivers on the road, I don't need to increase the number by one . . .
Even if one perfers not to drink any beverage while driving, that doesn't mean that the passenger won't want to (unless you prohibit that, too). In my case, I always take something with me to drink at the office each morning. I don't drink it on the way but it is VERY distracting trying to keep it upright w/o a cup holder.
BTW, there are a lot of people who drive when they should be sleeping. I know they're not going to stop and take a nap, so I'd rather have them distract themselves sucking down caffeine than to doze off and cause an accident.
The one I referenced (message above) screws to the door and there's a fair bit of real estate available there for placement out of reach of elbows and knees.
Objective studies have shown that drinking coffee, even Starbucks does nothing to wake up a tired driver. Remember the words "objective studies". The official recommendation is to get enough sleep and if you find yourself too tired to drive while driving, pull and get some rest. Again, coffee does nothing to enhance the performance of a sleepy driver. However, it has been proven that drinking anything and driving causes accidents . . .
As for passengers drinking - I ban that too. My wife allows the kids to have drinks in the minivan - nonalcoholic of course :-) They have "glued" the sliding doors of the minivan shut twice with spilled soda. She has spilled enough soda to gum up the sealtbelt mechanism. Guess what - NO DRINKS in my Saabs!! No soda, no spills, no odors, no glued doors, no problems . . . sounds like the start of a country song.
I am lucky, my office provides free coffee. I don't need to bring any drinks. It also has real dairy cream and hot chocolate mix. With the ice dispensers and a mixer I can make just about anything I can buy :-) When I was working on a Federal account, they provided free Starbucks
I always marvel when I see this item listed on e-bay, particularly when the description includes the phrase "VERY RARE, DASH FITTING COIN & CUP HOLDER". This is a Ford part that was used as a DIN filler on sparsely equipped US Ford Taurus models of the early 1990's. The Taurus was the most popular car in the US during that period and was often offered by Hertz as a rental. I think you can still buy this at a Ford dealer parts counter. There is not much rare about it in the US.
I drew the line at our neighbours (at the time - they are now gone and trying to sue us and my wife's folks over trivial stuff!) borrowing my wife's Mazda 121 and transporting their kids around in it while the kids drank coffee mixed with milk out of baby bottles. 8-) Some of it spilt on the seats... ewww.
There is *no way* they would have ever got to drive my Saab! 8-) I still have not worked out a good way to add cupholders. Not having a centre console reduces the potential for mounting extra devices.
Lol well I'm a train driver for work, and given that it's irregular shiftwork with starts as early as 2.45 am and as late as 6 pm, coffee is almost a necessity. Thankfully our local supermarket usually has big jars of various Moccona blends on sale every couple of weeks. 8-)
I start at 2.45 am tomorrow morning as it happens! And also on Sunday. Fun fun fun... Good thing is that I finish work before lunchtime with starts earlier than 4 am.
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