No Bench Seats

No Bench Seats

The American taxpayers bailed out the American auto companies. What do they do? They have designed the vehicles to not be driven by many. First think of our Hero Veterans and Angels of Mercy with bodies that suffered in unbelievable events. As a teen I volunteered at a residential VA Hospital. A number of Heroes of WWII and Korea had their vehicles. I observed them enter their cars. Depending on their dexterity, I saw some enter from the passenger side and slide and pull their wheelchair in to “ride shotgun”. Pull a rope and close the door. The autos had hand controls and off the driver went. Others I watched would get in on the driver’s side, slide toward the center of the bench seat and with the left hand grab the wheelchair and it would collapse. Then the driver would lean forward and place the wheel chair behind him in a two door car. Then the driver would place the right leg over the hump and the left out of the way and operate the hand controls and drive off.

With the new cars, none of the above can be done with those bucket seats and solid center consoles. Heaven forbid a woman has to exit the vehicle in an emergency, how does she get out without causing injury to her anatomy?

I have a handicapped card. I was chairing a meeting at a retreat center. An inconsiderate driver placed a huge SUV beside my driver’s side. It was faster for me to slide from the passenger side than return to my room and await the concierge to arrive in a golf cart. That driver left me the width of an eight by eleven sheet of paper to enter my car.

Yes, my pain pills came in handy. Because of an already suspended drunk driver in another’s car with no insurance, I have suffered. I stopped counting surgical repairs at fourteen some are metal parts. I wear braces on both hands. How am I to operate the
center console control knob and not endure pain each time I must touch it?

My American-made bench seat car is a gem! On cruise control on the Interstate at sixty-five miles per hour, I’ve seen it roll on fifty-one miles to the gallon.

Yes, as an individual I have contacted the maker of my auto and explained my concerns. They listened. Sometime later I was sent a questionnaire. I answered the questions and never heard from them again. My buying one auto will not make them or break them, so why care?