I dunno, maybe my memory is fading but the buckets in my 60 Morris were comfortable, and the buckets in my 59 bug. The bench seats in my 59 Pontiac too never made my legs cramp or go numb. The 61 merc bench seats were the best though. I think it has more to do writh the depth of the seat and the severe tilt more than anything.
The difference between the drivers seat and passenger or the driver’s seat and the church pew, is movement. You are pretty much locked into a position that allows you to quickly reach the pedals, steering wheel and other controls. When I sit in a passenger seat or couch at home, I can move and change position .
There is a lot of movement , even in sleep that must happen to accommodate the uncomfortable nature of being forced to maintained one position for extended periods. That’s why, for many people, regardless of how the seat is made to fit, not being able to move about will always work against your weaknesses, especially if you are susceptible to back pain initially.
I generally favor adjusting my seat every so often while I drive. My wife’s car with power adjustments for just about every position can easily accommodate my position initially and is equally adapt at making adjustments while driving. That’s the key for me in long term comfort and why it’s the most comfortable long term cruiser I have ever driven. It’s why I feel it’s much more important to have power adjustments for the driver…which most cars do that have power seats. Regardless of how well a seat fits initially just isn’t enough which is where the bench seat for the driver fails for me. For the passenger, not so bad…they can move about on a bench, perhaps even more easily.
It sounds like I’m the lucky one. I’ve been comfortable in almost any car/truck seat, from my first 57 Chevy to our 2012 Durango.
The only torturous seat I remember was back in about 1974/75 when an old girlfriend bought some little sedan. I think it was a Sunbird, or Sunfire, or Sun…something.
I couldn’t sit in that seat for more than 20 minutes before I hurt so bad I was about to open the door and bail out. What a god awful seat that was.
Yosemite
I remember seats becoming uncomfortable for me in the late 1950s when style took precedence over comfort and practicality. Chrysler corporation started this trend in 1957 with its “forward look” finned monsters. These cars were much lower than cars had been and the seats were very low to the floor. The Chrysler styling, though, really sold cars. GM followed the trend with its 1959 models. I remember our family going for a drive in a 1959 Buick at the dealer. My dad had a 1954 Buick. After a three mile drive in the demonstrator, we were glad to get back in the 1954 Buick–the seats and seating position in our old car was much more comfortable.
My brother has a 1954 Buick that he restored much like the one our family had when we were growing up. When I go visit him, we go for a ride in the now 60 year old Buick. I still find the seats comfortable.
There was a big change when the seat springs were replaced with urethane foam. I feel the springs did a better job of conforming to a variety of drivers.
@insightful–Coil springs in the seats were a selling point of the AMC Ramblers of the late 1950s and early 1960s. My 1965 Rambler Classic was the lowest trim line–the 550 series. Yet, its seats were very comfortable. More expensive cars had seats that weren’t as comfortable as the Rambler.
I do appreciate all of the feedback and have enjoyed the evolution of the conversation.
The Accord seat is, of course, fully adjustable; however, the seat length is too long for my legs and the edge wedges under my knee (a circulation problem). The seat angle; i.e., up, down, forward tilt, etc. just does not work for my comfort. I’ve tried lumbar and chair pads and will continue looking, though I’m a bit annoyed that I have do do that at all. As I said, I wasn’t aware of the problems in the newer Accords having read Consumer Reports and other reviews prior to purchasing; however, had I searched “adjust seat in Honda Accord” I might not have purchased the car. There are forums on the uncomfortable seats on various Internet sites.
I doubt there is any car made that everyone fits. The current Accord has garnered a lot of praise for fitting more space into a shorter car. Sorry yours doesn’t work for you. Generally Japanese cars have too little thigh support for me, but I’m tallish. My mom has your problem and has to sit with a cushion behind her back that moves her body forward a bit. It looks terribly awkward to me, but it’s the only way she can drive.
I found the bench seat in my 65 Chevelle more comfortable than the 99 Civic I had, getting in and out of it was also easier than the Civic. While I never drove the Chevelle as long, an hour in my Civic lead me to cramping in my left leg a good bit.
If the seat length is too long, see if you can put a thick enough back pad on the length of the back rest to move you forward.
One thing I’ve done after reading this suggestion is to turn the head rest/restraint around–facing backwards. I had immediate relief from shoulder and neck pain. My shoulders now have support against the seat where they did not before.
I hope you realize it is designed such to prevent whip lash injury to the neck/spine. Can it be tilted Back? I know some could, check your owner’s manual.