One funny quirk with cars built for America is that so much space is dedicated to putting drinks in places. Remember, there was a time when you could buy lots of different cars in America, and if you wanted to drink a Coke on the road, you basically just had to hold the drink or buy an aftermarket cupholder. Today, Jason gave us a tale about his talk with Nissan’s “cupholder guy,” and Nick Russell got me in the first half:
As a non-American reader, I have always been charmed but bewildered by the American obsession with cupholders. Which is fine, you do you etc. But it would be great if manufacturers could put as much work into providing alternative equipment into cars intended for those of us who inhabit strange and exotic places that just don’t care about cupholders. Where are the monocle bins? The pipe racks? The cravat and hairnet holders? Worthy of an Autopian investigation, I reckon.
Goof also has a hilarious idea:
People love adjustability, and they love as many cupholders as possible. If space were no issue, we’d add another couple in center console.
When do manufacturers completely lean into this, and embrace the market?
When does Nissan release a compact crossover with 17 cup holders named the Quench? Still thirsty for more? Well, consider the Rogue replacement with its built-in coffee dispensers, called the Gulp. Can’t swallow that? Well, Nissan now has a V8 pick-up truck with an in-bed tray of 264 cup holders named the Guzzler.
Your move, Nissan!
The Toyota Grand Highlander comes close! The one I tested in 2023 had 15 cupholders for its 7 occupants.
This morning, Matt wrote a Morning Dump that mentions Tesla’s supposed de-contented Tesla Model Y. There are lots of jokes to be had, but Horizontally Opposed was serious:
I know this topic has been hammered to death for its comedic attraction, but I sure want to see that decontented Model 3: no instrument cluster? No interior door latches? Spartan interior? No exterior color options? Smaller battery size and smaller motors will definitely make a difference but it will feel like what it is: a poor person’s Tesla as opposed to a thoughtful, truly frugal car. 2CV this ain’t.
How are respectable people giving this the benefit of the doubt, “let’s see what they come up with,” is puzzling to me. There is no rabbit, just an empty hat.
Finally. Jason asked the bizarre question of if you’d be okay with being knocked out on a flight. There’s only one true answer here. Mazzaratti5:
I’m in, but only if we’re heading to Fhloston Paradise with a multi-pass.
Have a great evening, everyone!
I think I’ve used the cupholders in my E92 less than 5 times during the 4 years I’ve owned(my first car) it. But yeah, I’m not American.
A couple of years ago Ford sent me a 15-pack of Dr. Peppers as a promotion for their new SUV having 15 cup-holders. I don’t know what was better, my 80s Ford having 0 cupholders or the fact that the 15 can case needed a fake can to fill the 16th can’s spot!
For a great car-size to cupholder ratio, the 2nd Gen Honda Fit has 10 cupholders!
I am reminded of Stef Schrader’s top notch investigative analysis of the
20182019 Subaru Ascent’s nineteen cupholders:https://www.jalopnik.com/all-19-of-the-subaru-ascents-cupholders-ranked-1826242331/
Fuckin’ A, Stef. Fuckin’ A.
My wife has the A4 based Audi Allroad, the cupholders are just big enough for the small sized water bottles or soda can (sans koozie), anything bigger won’t fit and anything taller will hit the bottom of the dash and will also not fit.
The bride also must have containers in the back of the wagon to corral the groceries and such when she goes shopping, can’t have the jug o milk sliding around back there!
My 2003 MINI was even worse, anything bigger than a Red Bull can would not fit in the cupholder.
If I’m doing a long 8-10 hour drive I will also have a small cooler with ice and a few water or soda bottles in it. Need to stay hydrated ya know…..
We carry a well stocked cooler on our annual Big Trip. That and everything else it seems.
As an American, I do not understand the cupholder thing. I do not eat in my vehicles, and if I have a water bottle, it’s packed in my bag for work, not the car. I also occasionally rent cars when I travel for work, and I’m amazed how many cupholders come in some vehicles.
My wife needs at least two cupholders in her car, one for her water and one for her coffee. I bought a steam cleaner so I could clean up the spills that have occurred in the holder; fortunately, she doesn’t use sugar, so the cleanup is pretty straightforward.
My wife and I are a cupholder designer’s dream. Typical trip.
So, 30 minutes into a long trip we have:
(2) 1L things of water
(1) Larger Coffee, half drunk and cool
(1) Huge thing full of warm yuck that used to be ice, coffee and whipped cream that I forgot to throw out.
(2) 20 oz Sodas, both unopened and ignored.
(2) 16 oz cans, one open and being sipped on and the other in reserve.
We only have access to 7 cup holders. We need to upgrade.
PS, I wish I was joking.
PPS. I didn’t even think of if we have dogs. That ads 2 more 1L bottles of water and a 90% chance that one of them will get bored and bite through a bottle of ginger ale that has been rolling around with them for the last hour of driving on a bumpy road.
You are sick my friend. I have a strick no food or drinks in the cars. We’ll stop at a rest area, drink and eat whatever you want and hit the road again.
I’ll allow one single bottle of water ik case of emergency but that is it.
I have a 20 year old van with vinyl everything other than the headliner (dogs). I would say I don’t give a crap, but actually, that is the purpose for all the vinyl.
(My wife runs an animal rescue out of our house and we normally are making runs to and from pounds or vets in this van).
Why the hell you guys need to stay gulping things all the time?
Unless you have to drive for over 4/5 hours, why do you need drinks? We didn’t have any drinks when growing up (except +12 hours trips), and we survived just as well.
I find too many cupholders annoying. Only on long road trips do I ever use one, and even then, it isn’t for long. I would rather have extra enclosed space for the portable battery jump pack / tire inflator, OBD reader, ire pressure gauge and other misc stuff I have in every car.
I love my E46. 1. 1 usable cup holder. It has forced me to get back into sealed water bottles. My wife simply hates that car.. she wants me to get another car. I have told her that an E30 wont be any better.
There’s a rule in my car that there’s no eating/drinking (unless it’s a long trip – but that’s self-serving). Whilst it’s a rule that’s regularly broken by (my own) children, our other car is a complete disaster as there is no such rule.
But I grew up in a household where my dad would eat in his car, and I could not stand how disgusting the driver’s seat & centre console were full of food garbage (think of things like cheese-dusted popcorn). His current car is still a disaster.
Back in the 80’s (or 90’s if you drove a European car), if you wanted to safely drink coffee in the car, you got a coffee mug with a wide base and narrower mouth and set it on the floor of the passenger seat while driving, and only reach over to drink at
traffic lights.
I use one of these at work and receive comments all the time about the weird shape. Sometimes I embrace my inner old man and explain why it is shaped that way.
(Not my mug, but a good example)
https://i.etsystatic.com/11775176/r/il/f045d2/5491627155/il_1080xN.5491627155_eulq.jpg
*Raktajino mug.
I tried to find one recently, but they’re apparently by some design firm and regularly go for $50-150
Those used to be everywhere!
I broke my second-hand Mercedes branded version, and although I found a generic one locally, the correct search terms will bring up a LOT of these in the $15-$40 range. Try “Ceramic no-spill coffee mug”.
If you search “Ceramic no-spill coffee mug”, possibly adding the word “vintage”, you’ll get a lot of hits in the $15-$40 range (after shipping).
Stanley has one with a lid even:
https://www.stanley1913.com/products/adventure-tough-to-tip-admirals-mug-20-oz
I should not be surprised to see that.
The solution for cupholder-ness in my VW busses is a roll of Gorilla tape – sans wrapper. It holds-ish an acceptably-sized liquid container and you can add as many as desired that fit the floor space. Bonus for having Gorilla tape on hand for when something decides to fall off.
My old Mercedes doesn’t have cup holders, so I got one of those pressed cardboard two-cup coffee cup holders from a cafe and put that in the front bin in the centre console. Works ok for short cups.
I spend a fair amount of time in my car, I like having a spot for my water bottle or whatever. My car isn’t even that old (’07) but has 2 cup holders in the front and 2 sadness fold-out cup holders in the back. It’s simply not sufficient.
If you’re going to have 1 per person, I can get with that, but they can’t be the trash spring-out ones that 90s era vehicles had. Give me something that can actually hold a cup full of liquids. Bonus points if it’s graduated and can accommodate a water bottle.
Regardless, I prefer a few intelligent cup holders vs throwing holders everywhere of varying usefulness just to say you have n+1 cup holders vs the competition.
Really, cupholders are fine. Normally they are placed in spots that my arms kind of refuse to articulate to. What really puts sand in my undies is the utter lack of any rational place to put your phone. So they end up in cupholders, or on the floor if you corner too fast. Some cars want you to put them in a special compartment under the armrest, right. There is not a phone or media system in the world that works each and every time you switch on your car. So if it is in the secret compartment you have to dig it out to connect your device. The there are the later cars with the charging mat spot, again in some spot that causes you to have permanent back injury to get to. Of course Apple, you know the design genius. Put the enormous bump on the back of the phone so the charging mats don’t do anything but warm up your phone like an Ember Mug. Still no charge ,since it isn’t flat on the mat. Either the car companies need to put a depression for the bump or wait…Apple why don’t you fill the space that the bump sticks out and put more battery to fill it in. Gosh, I could displace Sir Johnny Ives with that idea, a phone with a big honking battery! Nope, the keep making the bump bigger each and every phone so the mat does not work to charge your phone. Jeeze why don’t they put a little shelf on the rear hatch to hold the phone, it would be better and more ergonomic than what nearly any car has at the moment.
After looking around for a cheap cup-holder converter to phone holder, the expensive ones were OK, but they still didn’t provide an opening for the power cord plugged in at the bottom. I finally found a really cheap one and hacked it up to both fit in my cup-holder (it was made for a bigger opening) and provide access for the power cord. It works and still provides a place for a drink also!
I just keep my phone in my pocket. It worked just fine on my 500 mile day trip from Belfast to the south of England via Scotland. I played music from my phone via Bluetooth the whole way, no need for cables or charging.
I have an antique 2016 iPhone.
I really could not care less about cup holders (but I am only half American, so there is that). Three of my five cars have them, one has more usable ones than the other two. The Mercedes, amusingly, has the best, one BMW has joke cupholders that spring out of the dash, the other BMW has “OK” cupholders awkwardly placed in the center console that you really have to lift the armrest to use.
My Spitfire of course has nothing even vaguely resembling a cupholder, and my Land Rover Disco I has this thing that hilariously pretends to be one, but is actually an automatic cup spiller. And by cup, I mean can, because nothing other than a small soda can will fit. and it will still instantly tumble out.
The Germans really have the right idea – just don’t drink in the car. Or in my case, drink out of soda bottles with caps that you put back on between drinks.
Amen and same same but my fleet is way smaller 🙂
I’m in the UK, and was brought up to drink when you stop. 200 miles between drinks is just fine.
My wife on the other hand likes to drink in the car, to the extent that she opened a can of coke to drive from our house, where we have drinks, to her mother’s house, which is three miles away and also has drinks.
I too was simply not allowed to drink or eat in the car as a kid. But she needs to stay hydrated!
My female bestie is the same, and possibly worse. we went away for a four-day weekend together early on that involved an 8hr drive to get there. She brought a gigantic cooler full of drinks and snacks. Completely filled the back of my BMW wagon AND the back seat with stuff – for a mere *four day weekend*, where we were staying in a luxury hotel, not a tent! I had an underseat-size carryon bag. Women are special. 🙂
Ditto…