Detroit 2013 – The best seat at the show

Jeff Glucker

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2014 mercedes-benz e-class wagon

I needed to get out of the basement that is the Detroit Auto Show press room, and take an automotive walkabout. Finding that stunning redhead Zach Bowman, we set off to find stuff that made us smile. There was a lot of folks wandering around, doing their job; i.e. making crap thirty-minute handheld videos of the front infotainment system in the Kia Rio. That doesn’t make me smile, and it doesn’t make you smile either.

So, eventually Bowman and I found ourselves standing in the Mercedes-Benz booth. A sea of various new E-Class variants splayed out before us, and someone reached out to open the rear hatch on the latest iteration of one of my favorite wagons. What lay hidden behind the hatch? Rear-facing jump seats!

I know the last version had them too, but I never got to see them in person. Now, before me and the Bow Man, there they sat, upright and glorious. I have no desire to have children, but if I did, I would seriously enjoy scaring the crap out of them while their crying faces look to those rapidly disappearing behind us for help.

These seats made me smile.

About

Jeff Glucker

Jeff Glucker

Jeff Glucker is the co-founder and Executive Editor of Hooniverse.com. He’s often seen getting passed as he hustles a 1991 Mitsubishi Montero up the 405 Freeway. IG: @HooniverseJeff

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38 responses to “Detroit 2013 – The best seat at the show”

  1. Alff Avatar
    Alff

    Bah! Kids with any spirit use those seats to torment the drivers behind them.

    Reply
  2. JayP2112 Avatar
    JayP2112

    I disagree… (sorry- had to be done)
    <img src="http://hooniverse.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Audi-RS7.jpg&quot; width="450">

    Reply
  3. Scandinavian Flick Avatar
    Scandinavian Flick

    I dunno about the best seat, but it's certainly nice. I wouldn't mind try….
    …oh, you're talking about the car…
    …right.
    Neat!

    Reply
    1. dukeisduke Avatar
      dukeisduke

      Yeah, except for the phone in the pocket, the seat is pretty nice.

      Reply
      1. ptschett Avatar
        ptschett

        The phone stops mattering once…
        umm…
        I'll be in my bunk.

        Reply
    2. Jeff Glucker Avatar
      Jeff Glucker

      I very nearly made a joke about that… it took all I had not to.

      Reply
  4. pj134 Avatar
    pj134

    This is what it must have felt like when they found out that the Coelacanth wasn't extinct…
    It's glorious.

    Reply
    1. Irishzombieman Avatar
      Irishzombieman

      Best analogy in the history of the universe.

      Reply
    2. Jay_Ramey Avatar
      Jay_Ramey

      You win at the interwebs today, Sir.

      Reply
  5. 5keptic Avatar
    5keptic

    i really don't want a minivan- are those seats really useful? more than to tote your kid's friends along when you have no other choice? could I but one of these and not feel bad about making my children sit in those seats?

    Reply
    1. danleym Avatar
      danleym

      When I was a kid, we had a Taurus wagon with rear facing seats, and those were awesome. I would beg my parents to let me sit back there. No, they're probably not useful for adults, but for 8 year olds, they're amazing.

      Reply
      1. FuzzyPlushroom Avatar
        FuzzyPlushroom

        They're definitely useful for inebriated adults. I miss my old 745.

        Reply
    2. Scandinavian Flick Avatar
      Scandinavian Flick

      I'm sure that being a part of the rear crumple zone isn't particularly safe, but it certainly is fun.

      Reply
    3. mr. mzs zsm msz esq Avatar
      mr. mzs zsm msz esq

      <img src="https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/181987_625376483380_1954333_n.jpg&quot; width="650"> You won't feel bad, it's not for adults, the young will love them, and Jeff's right – these seats make grown men smile!

      Reply
      1. Maymar Avatar
        Maymar

        Hey, I can play this game too!
        <img src="http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/3025_578025915498_1815335_n.jpg&quot; height=500 /img>
        So, yes, not for adults, but about on par with the third row in a lot of crossovers. Except no crossover is as cool as a brown E63 AMG, and no crossover third row is as cool as the jumpseats.

        Reply
        1. mr. mzs zsm msz esq Avatar
          mr. mzs zsm msz esq

          Ha, that's great! I dig the shoes too.

          Reply
        2. Vavon Avatar
          Vavon

          HAHAHA!!!
          P.S. When are you getting an avatar?

          Reply
          1. Maymar Avatar
            Maymar

            I am a cypher, an enigma Tokyo drifitng through the Internets, showing people what they see within themselves.
            So, uhh, when I get around to it?

  6. muthalovin Avatar
    muthalovin

    "Dad, enough with the burnouts already! You want to give us lung cancer?"

    Reply
  7. P161911 Avatar
    P161911

    So does the rear facing car seat go in facing the front or the back? Does this mean the little ones under 2 can actually see the world riding in the car? Did you check for LATCH connectors back there?
    I'm sure the M-B manual and the car seat manual forbid this type of thing. I seem to remember a specific warning against Land Rover Discovery style mid-facing seats.
    As the parent of a 1-1/2 year old these are concerns.

    Reply
    1. Jeff Glucker Avatar
      Jeff Glucker

      Since I don't have kids, I pretty much never look for LATCH connectors. I'm allergic to them…

      Reply
      1. P161911 Avatar
        P161911

        I'm sure you could use them for strapping down/tying up something/someone other than kids.

        Reply
    2. Maymar Avatar
      Maymar

      I had to open up one of these seats this week – to the best of my recollection, there were no LATCH connectors back there (there's definitely nothing on the seat unit itself, and there don't appear to be any in the cargo hold itself).

      Reply
  8. jeepjeff Avatar
    jeepjeff

    I used to haunt ffcars.com, and they've got a thread for special moments in a C*bra. While I cannot find the thread, one that stuck with me was a Dad taking his son somewhere, and when he was stopped before hitting a highway on-ramp, his son said "Go Five Fast!" The kid was referring to the tach. He'd figured out the correlation between RPM and powerband, even if he only understood it as seat-of-the-pants feel vs number on a gauge. My memory of how that post ended was after a moment of being stunned, he realized he hadn't wrung it out in a while and gave it the beans once he got on the ramp.
    Kids figure out fast=exciting=fun pretty quickly. (There's the odd timid child, but for the most part, they'll get with the program.) You might get one good scare, and then they'll egg you on for not going fast all the time. (This also goes for things like skiing. If you show a four year old how to tear down a hill on skis, well, you better be ready to do some chasing.)

    Reply
  9. GG_YYC Avatar
    GG_YYC

    As a former owner of a Volvo 960 wagon this gets thumbs up from me. My daughters always had a blast and there was lots of communicating with drivers coming up behind us.

    Reply
  10. Rust-MyEnemy Avatar
    Rust-MyEnemy

    Trav'lin in the trunk is inifinitely cooler if you have a set of 0.303s.
    <img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Avro_Lancaster_VR-A_tail_turret_2.jpg/800px-Avro_Lancaster_VR-A_tail_turret_2.jpg&quot; width=400>
    Well, we used to call it the tailgunner position when I was growing up, anyway.

    Reply
  11. schigleymischke Avatar
    schigleymischke

    Let's talk about this. Why don't we see rear facing seats like this anymore? Of the few remaining wagons available in the US, only the Mercedes E-class wagon offers them. None of the SUVs offer them. My gut reaction is it's about apparent safety. You kids wouldn't be any safer in a forward facing 3rd row seat, but at least they wouldn't see it coming. So, you feel safer putting them back there.
    Here's another question. Why have we never seen forward facing 3rd row seats in a wagon? That was always an option that SUVs had over wagons, a 3rd row. If you can make the 2nd row fold forward for access in an SUV, why not in a wagon? And, if you don't really care about foot room or actual comfort in the 3rd row of an SUV, why would you in a wagon?

    Reply
    1. JayP2112 Avatar
      JayP2112

      Probably the rear axle would cut into the foot well of the car-based wagon.
      The CUVs like the Rondo and MPV are taller and the rear suspension is less intrusive.

      Reply
      1. schigleymischke Avatar
        schigleymischke

        That's what I meant about not really caring about comfort. Most 3rd row SUV seats barely have room for your feet. I've ridden in the 3rd row of a Suburban before. The seat was barely elevated from the floor, and there was nowhere for my feet. Had my knees at chest height and my feet up on my toes.

        Reply
    2. danleym Avatar
      danleym

      Bigger and taller doors in SUVs, more space to be able to get in around the folded seat.
      Just a guess, best I could come up with.

      Reply
    3. mr. mzs zsm msz esq Avatar
      mr. mzs zsm msz esq

      Because not French?
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&a...
      Three across, facing forward, in the way back, Viva La France!

      Reply
      1. Vavon Avatar
        Vavon

        <img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3068/2702736900_518d0ce989_b.jpg&quot; width="670/">
        Vive la France!

        Reply
        1. mr. mzs zsm msz esq Avatar
          mr. mzs zsm msz esq

          Wow, I had not idea, that's great! I had that car (matchbox sized) as a wagon in blue as a little boy as well.

          Reply
    4. mr. mzs zsm msz esq Avatar
      mr. mzs zsm msz esq

      <img src="http://www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/71-interior-e1332799685740.jpg">And I did not mis-remember! "1971-76 GM wagons was the third seat faced forward" Link to CC post

      Reply
    5. ThirdPedalGirl Avatar
      ThirdPedalGirl

      "Why don't we see rear facing seats like this anymore?"
      One reason may be the current generation of parents and their helicopter parenting style. Parents don't have a hope of seeing what rear-facing ankle-biters are doing while Mom or Dad is in the front seat, driving. Heaven forbid they lose complete micro-control of the child's every movement for a half an hour or so.
      Also, a trend towards smaller families, plain and simple. Even the modern minivan rarely has all 7-8 seats loaded, where once upon a time families with 3-4 children (and more) were quite common.

      Reply
      1. P161911 Avatar
        P161911

        If you do have 7-8 seats full in a minivan you won't be taking luggage for that many. Most people I know with more than two kids have a Suburban, Expedition, or full size van.

        Reply
        1. mr. mzs zsm msz esq Avatar
          mr. mzs zsm msz esq

          We've taken three vacations with eight in a minivan, to as far away as FL from IL even. It works, you can cram stuff under the seats, between the two front seats, and (in the Honda) under the floor. We did not even have to use the roof rack. I am the guy that made three kids (two in car seats) work with a Golf though.

          Reply
  12. Van_Sarockin Avatar
    Van_Sarockin

    Children out back behind the driveline? That's my idea of traction control.

    Reply