# Rear Facing Front Passenger Seat

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/rear-facing-front-passenger-seat/136609>\
**Category:** General Discussion\
**Created:** [March 17, 2019, 12:13am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/rear-facing-front-passenger-seat/136609 "2019-03-17T00:13:18Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![sguyok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@sguyok](https://community.cartalk.com/u/sguyok)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2019, 12:13am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/rear-facing-front-passenger-seat/136609/1 "2019-03-17T00:13:18Z")

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Has there ever been an American car with a rear facing front passenger seat option?

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**Author:** ![Purebred](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/purebred/32/46796_2.png) [@Purebred](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Purebred)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2019, 10:53am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/rear-facing-front-passenger-seat/136609/2 "2019-03-17T10:53:43Z")

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Yes, might have been a concept vehicle. Cadillac had an executive sedan, the front passenger seat faced backwards. It was for the secretary so he/she could face the boss.

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**Author:** ![old\_mopar\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/6bbea6/32.png) [@old\_mopar\_guy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/old_mopar_guy)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2019, 2:53pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/rear-facing-front-passenger-seat/136609/3 "2019-03-18T14:53:25Z")

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The 1967 Imperial also had a mobile office option where the front passenger seat swiveled 180° so the secretary could take dictation from her boss in the back seat.

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**Author:** ![shadowfax](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/shadowfax/32/13026_2.png) [@shadowfax](https://community.cartalk.com/u/shadowfax)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2019, 3:20pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/rear-facing-front-passenger-seat/136609/4 "2019-03-18T15:20:01Z")

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This was very common in conversion vans until conversion vans fell out of favor in the 2000’s. The passenger seat and mid-row captain’s chairs would be mounted on a swivel that could spin however you wanted.

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**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2019, 3:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/rear-facing-front-passenger-seat/136609/5 "2019-03-18T15:39:48Z")

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The 1947 _Kaiser Pinconning Special_ sedan had such a feature. Unfortunately, because this was a one-off built for a factory executive, Kaiser never produced such a vehicle for the masses.

Just one more example of the creative ideas that frequently came from the independent automakers…

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**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2019, 3:40pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/rear-facing-front-passenger-seat/136609/6 "2019-03-18T15:40:30Z")

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“The passenger seat and mid-row captain’s chairs would be mounted on a swivel that could spin however you wanted.”

And the driver’s seat, too, for when you’re stopped (I hope!).

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![shadowfax](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/shadowfax/32/13026_2.png) [@shadowfax](https://community.cartalk.com/u/shadowfax)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2019, 3:41pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/rear-facing-front-passenger-seat/136609/7 "2019-03-18T15:41:20Z")

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Depends on the era. If I recall, the driver’s seat eventually became fixed for safety reasons, but the others could still swivel.