Rivian R1T Production Trucks Rolls Off Assembly Line

On 10/6/2021 at 12:45 PM, David said:

I would totally agree that it would be interesting to know what standard seat position is used to measure the front and back leg room.

Not sure if this is the most current available or not but it is the most free to use ? Bit of light SAE reading for you on legroom measurements.  I'm not going to lie, I did not read it in detail but I am guessing what you are looking for is in there somewhere.

https://law.resource.org/pub/us/cfr/ibr/005/sae.j1100.2001.html

5 hours ago, balthazar said:

^ Where to draw lines here? If a Suburban @ 60.5" is 'full-size', does that make your 57" 'mid-size'?

 

Just comparing it to a typical midsize number. Would have thought full size numbers would have been more.  But full sizers do have wider consoles and wider bodies, but not much wider seats, apparently.  I wonder what vehicle on the market has the most hip room with bucket seats…

^ If you mean literal room, we'll never know. OEMs ignore consoles and report numbers as if everything was equipped with bench seats. It's weird.
GMC Sierra : 61.2" hip room (but mine has a console). The interiors on this generation GM trucks are huge.

8 hours ago, balthazar said:

^ If you mean literal room, we'll never know. OEMs ignore consoles and report numbers as if everything was equipped with bench seats. It's weird.
GMC Sierra : 61.2" hip room (but mine has a console). The interiors on this generation GM trucks are huge.

So the 61.2 inches is door to door incl. the console?  That's weird.  Except for regular cab pickups, bench seats have been long obsolete.

Bench is standard in all current GM pickups; console/buckets is an option. Plenty built in all cab configurations (don’t know about Ram or Ford).

Yeah- the standard never changed as consoles slowly became more common. My truck should probably be listed as having around 45 or 47” front hip room. But no dimensions from any OEM do it that way.

1 hour ago, balthazar said:

 But no dimensions from any OEM do it that way.

SUVs and cars don't have benches anymore, they shouldn't use such an idiotic, obsolete measurement either.   But they seem to be, I saw the Audi A8 listed as having 61.x inches in hip room.  Bench seats are an obsolete artifact of the past, shouldn't be relevant in measuring seat room in vehicles with fixed center consoles...I wonder if Consumer Reports or car magazines do real hip measurements instead of this fake nonsense. 

Nope- never seen an actual front hip dimension from any source; mags don’t take the time and OEMs apparently self-report.

It’s not ‘obsolete’; it’s marketing.

5 minutes ago, balthazar said:

It’s not ‘obsolete’; it’s marketing.

  Considering the vast majority of new vehicles have bucket seats and fixed consoles, it's a totally useless number without accounting for the console.  Bench seats are an obsolete concept, as dead as carburetors or column shifts for the vast majority of vehicles.  It's not 1980.  Sounds like automakers need to update specifications to have realistic measurements.

The probable issue is the SAE standard hasn't been amended for consoles, so OEMs measure using the standard as is, ignoring the console.  I agree it should be updated.

But as stated; bench seats are alive & well in trucks- one of the biggest segments in the industry.

And if BE's become a major segment, they have no need for a transmission tunnel or shifter- so perhaps a bench may come back online there- who knows.

^^^

And column shift...   Since on fossil fueled engines AND on EVs the shifter is a drive by wire  affair anyway, there is absoluuutely no need to clog up a center console with a knob to put a car into gear.  On the dash or a lever on the steering column like the good 'ole days would free up soooooo much space in that area where hips tend to be.

And if bench seats DO make a come back, sexy time in the car up front would be soooooo much more comfortable than it is now.  Yeah...just like the good 'ole days.  

Maybe songs (rock-n-roll hopefully) about cars and makin' out in them could also make a come back because of this little switch.  And good 'ole love songs and rock ballads  could make a return as a result of all that lovin' and soon enough, milkshakes at the drive-in burger joint with waitresses on rollerblades serving you at your car could also return.  

But alas...I wasnt born when all that magic happened when it did happen and if it ever came back, Ill be too damn old to enjoy it.   Bah humbug! 

On 10/15/2021 at 10:37 PM, oldshurst442 said:

And if bench seats DO make a come back, sexy time in the car up front would be soooooo much more comfortable than it is now.  Yeah...just like the good 'ole days.

That's why we have crew cabs now.

On 5/22/2025 at 11:13 AM, Drew Dowdell said:

That's why we have crew cabs now.