2007 Cupholder Designs

Discussion in 'General Motoring' started by SMS, Jan 16, 2007.

  1. SMS

    SMS Guest

    I was at the San Jose Auto Show yesterday, and one thing I looked at in
    all the cars was the cup holder designs, and how they accompany
    different size cups.

    I had along a Contigo Extreme insulated mug for testing
    ("http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=bxgy_cc_img_b_13160581/602-0242754-9761410?asin=B000FE9OP8"),
    since any car I buy will have to be able to accompany a mug with this
    diameter base. My current 4Runner will work with it well, while my
    wife's older Camry (1996) has cup holders that are too small.

    Almost all new cars have larger cup holders than previous generations,
    there were only a few vehicles with tiny cup holders.

    Different designs

    Single size: You have to buy a cup that will fit properly and snugly.
    This may actually be the best design, least likely to ever break, though
    the single size cup holders are too large for holding a soda can or a
    smaller bottle of water securely. You could insert a foam insulator for
    use with smaller diameter containers.

    Laddered: a small circle at the bottom, so the cup stops when it's at
    the smallest circle that the base will fit in. This is fairly unstable
    since you don't get much side support at any of the levels, though you
    could add some foam to make it more secure.

    Rubber flaps: A large diameter cup holder with some flimsy rubber flaps
    that are intended to hold the smaller cups in place. These don't work
    well as the flaps are too flimsy to do much of anything. Once they fall
    off, you could add some foam.

    Swing arm: This type was in a Dodge RAM truck. It was big diameter cup
    holder with a strong plastic arm that swings over to match the cup
    diameter. Did not appear flimsy. A simple, straight-forward design, but
    you need to manually adjust the size. I liked this truck, which was a
    crew cab that seated six. When was the last time you saw a vehicle that
    seated three people in the front seat?

    Plastic flip: This was a spring loaded plastic flap that flips up or
    down to fit different cup diameters. It was very flimsy, and one of the
    two was already broken on the 2007 Camry that was on the show floor. The
    Camry may be a great car, but the engineers clearly missed the class on
    cup-holder design.

    Three spring loaded fingers: This was a good adjustable type. Three
    solid plastic fingers with springs behind them push against the base of
    the cup. These held the cup pretty securely, and appeared as if they
    wouldn't break easily. No manual adjustment was necessary. It took a
    little bit of a push to seat the cup into the cup holder, and a good
    pull to remove it. This type requires a larger console, since the spring
    -loaded fingers need to retract into the console. Only issue might be
    that eventually the springs will fatigue.

    Three foam fingers: These fingers were vinyl covered foam. The cup
    compresses these fingers as you slide it in. They worked fine, but they
    won't last, the vinyl will peel off after moderate use and exposure to
    the elements. The advantage to the manufacturer is that these fingers
    don't have to retract so a smaller console can be used.

    I didn't see any of the super-flimsy slide-out or pop-up cup-holders
    that tend to break very quickly. The only broken cup-holder I saw was in
    the 2007 Camry.

    Research shows that cup-holder design, while not a primary selection
    factor in a vehicle, often is a secondary and deciding factor in
    narrowing down the final choice of vehicle.
     
    SMS, Jan 16, 2007
    #1
  2. SMS

    Ray O Guest

    Car buyers' deciding factors must have changed drastically with the advent
    of the cup holder. Up until now, the top selection factors (in no
    particular order) have been brand, safety, fuel economy, reliability, style,
    performance, and price.
     
    Ray O, Jan 16, 2007
    #2
  3. SMS

    Art Guest

    On GM's new Volt, a plug in electric car due in 10 years, small circular
    motors regulate a camera aperture type design to custom fit the hole for
    virtually any size cup. Tiny sensors feel the pressure as you pull on the
    cup and instantly open the aperture which cannot be damaged since it is
    fully expanded and out of the way when no cup is in place.
     
    Art, Jan 16, 2007
    #3
  4. SMS

    mack Guest

    The car won't make an appearance for 10 years ...but they've already figured
    out how to gadget up the cup holders???? Why does this sound SO much like
    General Motors?
     
    mack, Jan 16, 2007
    #4
  5. Except you haven't quite got a grip on the cup, so it falls straight through
    the hole soaking you with coffee.
     
    R. Mark Clayton, Jan 16, 2007
    #5
  6. SMS

    SMS Guest

    Judging from my neighborhood, the first criteria is to eliminate every
    make other than Honda, Toyota, Acura, and Lexus, and then choose between
    those models based on style, performance, and price. The brands with
    poor long term dependability aren't even in the equation. You see the
    odd Volvo, Subaru, BMW, or Mercedes, but these are rare. Sometimes the
    Koreans, Taiwanese, and Chinese that won't buy Japanese cars, and end up
    with a U.S. brand, or a Hyundai. In my area, people tend to keep their
    cars for a long time, there are a tremendous number of third generation
    Camrys (1992-96), and fifth (1994-97) generation Accords.

    It's once you narrow things down, say between an Accord and a Camry, an
    Odyssey or a Sienna, a Civic and a Corolla, a Pilot and a Highlander,
    etc., that the other factors come into play.
     
    SMS, Jan 16, 2007
    #6
  7. Beats the hell out of my old Dodge Shadow - an inverted pyramid with flat
    bottom. WTF?!? On the plus side, drinks can only spill at up to 45
    degrees, and once you're backed out of the driveway, there's not enough
    left.
     
    ouroboros rex, Jan 16, 2007
    #7
  8. SMS

    SMS Guest

    Yes, the new digital cup-holders are coming. I think the Volt will have
    heated cup holders as well.

    OT, I saw the Saturn Aura at the car show. Someone had mentioned that
    you have to remove the bumper to change the headlight bulbs, and it
    appears to be true, as you cannot reach the bulbs from the top. Scratch
    the Aura from my list.
     
    SMS, Jan 16, 2007
    #8
  9. SMS

    samstone Guest

    sensors like the ones used as the send unit for oil pressure guages?
     
    samstone, Jan 16, 2007
    #9
  10. SMS

    Steve Guest

    Are you KIDDING? You would actually let a stinkin' CUP determine what
    car you buy?

    Sheesh. No wonder modern cars are full of plastic crap if that's really
    a driving force in the marketplace.
     
    Steve, Jan 16, 2007
    #10
  11. SMS

    Steve Guest

    SMS wrote:

    ....that you realize you're deciding between driving dog shit or cat shit.
     
    Steve, Jan 16, 2007
    #11
  12. SMS

    BläBlä Guest

    Keep your cross posted crap out of here scharf.
     
    BläBlä, Jan 16, 2007
    #12
  13. SMS

    pltrgyst Guest

    I once bought a car because its level of performance made me feel the need to
    *wear* a cup while driving at the track...

    Does that count?

    -- Larry
     
    pltrgyst, Jan 17, 2007
    #13
  14. SMS

    Tom Adkins Guest

    Wouldn't it be better to buy a cup to fit your new car?
    Cup holder technology (I say that with tongue in cheek) has actually progressed over
    the years. I recall when the "cup holders" were two dimples on the inside of the glove
    box lid. I can usually find a suitable cup for just about any cup holder design today.
    I'd call that progress.

    Not being a true cup holder afficianado, the oldest car I can recall with true cup
    holders is my 84 Lincoln Mark VII. These were a truly brilliant design that was
    carried on through 1992 in that model.
    The dual cup holder panel pulled forward out of the center console armrest. This put
    your drink(s) squarely over top of the window and mirror switches and ashtray. The
    pull out panel was equipped with (x2) a "ring" that would pivot the cup right and left
    and a "bale" hinged at 90 degrees on the ring from the ring pivots. Sort of a self
    leveling gyroscopic design. Anything but the smallest cup or can put into them was
    guaranteed to tip to one side and douse the switches below with cola or drown the
    ashtray with java. The ring and bale were also guaranteed to snap off when pushing it
    back into the console at some point. This failure actually improved the design
    somewhat. With the useless appendages gone you can set a 24oz styro cup of Starbucks
    finest through the remaining hole and have it sit firmly on the console, atop the
    mirror switch or ashtray lid, with no chance of tipping. Perfect to hold the coffee
    for your morning commute while applying makeup or planning your day on your Palm while
    driving in rush hour traffic.
     
    Tom Adkins, Jan 17, 2007
    #14
  15. SMS

    Ken Weitzel Guest

    Hi...

    Can't help thinking it would be infinitely easier for the manufacturer
    to provide a perfect fit properly designed thermal cup to fit their
    cup holder :)

    And to entice them to consider it, they could even make it a really
    nice one, perhaps stainless steel, and put their logo on it.

    Each time one of us went into a restaurant to have it re-filled,
    we'd be doing a bit of advertising for them :)

    Take care.

    Ken
     
    Ken Weitzel, Jan 17, 2007
    #15
  16. SMS

    SMS Guest

    Perhaps, but try finding a double-wall, stainless steel, vacuum
    insulated, cup that fits the older soda-can size cup holders.

    Also, sometimes you want to hold a paper cup of coffee, a bottle of
    water which may not always be the same diameter, or a can of something.

    While the original post I made was intended to be partially humorous,
    the engineering design of the cup holder may be an indication of how
    seriously the manufacturer takes engineering in other areas as well.
     
    SMS, Jan 17, 2007
    #16
  17. SMS

    Tom Adkins Guest

    Yea, an actual over the counter accessory with the logo, like in the old days. Good
    idea. Hello Ford, Lincoln, Mercury...
     
    Tom Adkins, Jan 17, 2007
    #17
  18. SMS

    Jim Warman Guest

    I knew we were focussing on the wrong criteria for new cars.... to hell with
    crash survivability.... screw tailpipe and evaporative emissions...

    I thought a 4WD pick up with the power to tow my holiday trailer was what I
    needed.... and all I needed to do was take my "go cup" car shopping with me.

    If that little 4 cylinder econobox can't tow my trailer, I guess I could
    always buy a truck and give up drinking coffee....

    Isn't it odd, those incidentals that we agonize over... I'd love to see the
    forest but all these damned trees are in the way....
     
    Jim Warman, Jan 17, 2007
    #18
  19. SMS

    Tom Adkins Guest

    You're not supposed to find a cup that fits "older" cup holders. Yer s'posta buy a
    new vehicle.
    Yes, I agree with what you are saying, but to design a cup holder that would fit
    every circumstance??
    No. It's just prorities. Do you want an engine that lasts 300K, or a cup holder that
    won't spill your drink no matter what you put in it? Priority lines have to be drawn
    somewhere or you couldn't afford the car.
     
    Tom Adkins, Jan 17, 2007
    #19
  20. SMS

    Bill Putney Guest

    Oh geez! I hate to think what fraternities will do with that contraption!!

    Bill Putney
    (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
    address with the letter 'x')
     
    Bill Putney, Jan 17, 2007
    #20
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