When you ’re patronise for a new railway car , you ’ll discover more pick than ever these day , include built - in WiFi , in - car air fragrance systems , massage butt , autonomous drive and evengaming systems . But what about cupholders ? Are the cupholders in your car indispensable , critical constituent of your well - being ?
Well , considering automakers are offering as many as 19 cupholders in one car , it for sure seems like Americans ca n’t live without them . Way back in 2007 , aPricewaterhouseCoopers reportrevealed that the bit of cupholders in a vehiclewasone of the most crucial factors to potential emptor . But what about today?Americans do spend more time in our automobile than everbecause of longer and more traffic - heavy commutes . But do tenacious commute times require the motivation for virtually 20 cupholders in a car ?
Before we develop down the worst offenders , lease ’s take a quick face back on when cupholders first showed up . In older , smaller cars , there wassimply no roomfor cupholders , specially in those withmanual transmissions ; the shifter took up considerable space inside the vehicles and necessitate drivers to use both hand at all times . The first patent for a fomite cupholder wasgranted in 1953 , though it was an add - on accessory . Thedrive - in eating place boomof the fifties , along with thrust - in movies , surely helped put up to their popularity .
But the cupholder craze kicked off when the1984 Plymouth Voyager minivanbecame the first fomite to feature an integrated center console that could hold two , 12 - ounce ( 354 - milliliter ) cups . And the movement just spirals out of control from there , as automakers set about to prioritize cupholders above all other animal comforts we expect in a railcar .
The Worst Offenders
And that ’s where we are today , with some of the most cupholder - fit out vehicles ever introduced on the market . Most vehicle with inordinate turn of cupholders are midsize or large sport utility vehicle with three rows of seating that can hold seven or eight passenger . There are some interesting exception , though , such as theToyota Tacomapickup hand truck , which can seat a maximum of five passenger but has 13 cupholders . Thirteen ! That ’s nearly enough for three drinks per rider .
TheNissan Titan XD , another compact getaway , offer the same seating area capacity as the Tacoma but includes14 cupholders . In some cases , like the Nissan Pathfinder , several of the cupholders are insert away in fold - down armrest .
TheVolkswagen Atlas , a midsize SUV , features 17 cupholders , including six just for the front tooshie passengers . Now does n’t six cupholders for two people seem excessive ? Volkswagen ’s inclusion among the cupholder elite is peculiarly funny , considering German auto manufacturer tenacious and notoriouslyshunnedthe inclusion of cupholders — and anything else that distracted from the very serious business of driving . However , as VW wasquick to point outduring the Atlas ' launching , it was designed by VW ’s U.S.-based team specifically based on the feedback of American household . We ’ll see if this course influences other Modern Volkswagens .
The2020 Hyundai PalisadeSUV is another violent competitor , boasting 16 cupholders . moreover , it includesseven USB portsfor machine file ( though we are definitely on board with this trend ) .
And that brings us to theSubaru Ascent , a three - row S.U.V. that is the brand ’s largest vehicle so far . What ’s sorry is that it was n’t the fact that it was Subaru ’s prominent car ever that made headlines when the Ascent launched in 2018 ; what got the most tending was the car’srecord - break 19 cupholders . That averages out to just under 2.5 cupholders per passenger , the most excessive currently on the market . Kristen Lee , a writer for the gondola site Jalopnik , dedicated an total articleto finding all 19 . give thanks goodness because we ’re not sure if we would ’ve been capable to without her stellar investigative reporting . Apparently the Ascent would have had a nice round 20 cupholders but part of the HVAC system had to be routed through the left armrest in the rear row , taking the spot of No . 20 .
So what have we instruct here , other than carmaker seem keenly aware of our need to hydrate while on the route ? Nothing really , except that perhaps this cupholder tendency seems idiotic to some ( 2.5 per somebody ? ) but a good way to apply place to others . And for now , the delirium looks like going nowhere but up .
