I’m not quick in jumping to conclusions. None of these objections hold any water.
Including good cupholders is trivial. Good cupholders hold cups. The cupholders in a Toyota Camry are great cupholders. They hold small or large cups firmly, and the cups never fall down. This is not a hard design problem. Yet many cars have featured no cupholders, a single cupholder, two tiny cupholders two inches deep that can’t hold cups, cupholders too narrow to hold anything large than a 12-oz soda, or collapsible cupholders that collapse.
Impede a driver? Impede airbags? Be serious. There’s a massive area of real estate around the armrest, and between the armrest and the stick shift, and in front of the stick shift. A Crown Victoria has a good 3 feet of completely unused space there, and no cup-holder, to the dismay of cops everywhere. It would take another 1 centimeter of width to put good cup-holders in most cars. Secure from spilling? Now you’re arguing against yourself. I was pointing out that many cupholders are not secure from spilling, and you object that cupholders are not made secure from spilling because the automakers might get sued if they’re not secure from spilling.
Real estate is at a premium, but nobody has ever complained (that I’ve seen) that the cupholders in their car were too big and ugly, except for a few Lotus drivers defending Lotus’ old policy of not making cupholders because you shouldn’t be drinking in a Lotus. It only takes an extra centimeter or two required to go from “totally nonfunctional” to “superior”.
Outside of the US, people buy cars that are made to be sold outside the US. Inside the US, we buy cars made to be sold in the US.
I’m not quick in jumping to conclusions. None of these objections hold any water.
Including good cupholders is trivial. Good cupholders hold cups. The cupholders in a Toyota Camry are great cupholders. They hold small or large cups firmly, and the cups never fall down. This is not a hard design problem. Yet many cars have featured no cupholders, a single cupholder, two tiny cupholders two inches deep that can’t hold cups, cupholders too narrow to hold anything large than a 12-oz soda, or collapsible cupholders that collapse.
Impede a driver? Impede airbags? Be serious. There’s a massive area of real estate around the armrest, and between the armrest and the stick shift, and in front of the stick shift. A Crown Victoria has a good 3 feet of completely unused space there, and no cup-holder, to the dismay of cops everywhere. It would take another 1 centimeter of width to put good cup-holders in most cars. Secure from spilling? Now you’re arguing against yourself. I was pointing out that many cupholders are not secure from spilling, and you object that cupholders are not made secure from spilling because the automakers might get sued if they’re not secure from spilling.
Real estate is at a premium, but nobody has ever complained (that I’ve seen) that the cupholders in their car were too big and ugly, except for a few Lotus drivers defending Lotus’ old policy of not making cupholders because you shouldn’t be drinking in a Lotus. It only takes an extra centimeter or two required to go from “totally nonfunctional” to “superior”.
Outside of the US, people buy cars that are made to be sold outside the US. Inside the US, we buy cars made to be sold in the US.