The bench seat was the traditional seat installed in American automobile

Automobile

An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...

s. This seat featured a continuous pad running the full width of the cabin. The second row of most sedans is usually a bench, unless a console is installed in a luxury model such as the Chrysler Pacifica

Chrysler Pacifica

The Chrysler Pacifica is a mid-size crossover wagon produced by Chrysler from 2003 to 2007, for the model years 2004 to 2008.The Pacifica was the first jointly engineered product of the 1998 Chrysler-DaimlerBenz "merger of equals."...

, as is the third row of most SUVs and minivans, which may be forward, or rear facing.

The front bench typically allowed three people to sit abreast, or six passengers to car, nearly the same passenger load as a three-row SUV or minivan, though with less comfort. The bucket seat

Bucket seat

A bucket seat is a seat contoured to hold one person, distinct from bench seats which are flat platforms designed to seat multiple people. Bucket seats are standard in fast cars to keep riders in place when making sharp or quick turns...

 arrangement leaves a space between the two front seats, usually occupied by a shifter and hand brake. Originally, bucket seats were associated with imported cars in the 1950s and 1960s. The Volkswagen Bus was originally available with three rows of bench seats seating up to nine passengers, but since then most minivans have been configured to seat seven or eight with front bucket seats.

Even in the United States, the bucket seat has largely replaced the bench seat; the bucket is viewed as "sportier", and smaller cars have made the middle position less viable. For high performance cars, bucket seats help keep the driver in place during high accelerations. Some larger cars are still available with bench seats, as are some truck

Truck

A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...

s, which would only be able to seat two if bucket seats were fitted, alongside their availability in crew cab models since the work crew sometimes carpools to compensate for the mediocre fuel economy of work trucks.

Part of the success of the Chrysler K-cars

Chrysler K platform

The Chrysler Corporation's K-cars were compact-to-midsize cars designed to carry six adults on two bench seats and were aimed not only to replace Chrysler's nominally-compact F-body Aspen and Volaré, but also to compete with intermediates like the Chevrolet Malibu and Ford Fairmont...

, the Dodge Aries

Dodge Aries

The Dodge Aries is an automobile sold by the Chrysler Corporation from 1981-1989. It replaced the Dodge Aspen as Dodge's family car with "mid-size room" in a size and front-wheel drive format commonly associated with compact cars...

 and the Plymouth Reliant

Plymouth Reliant

The Plymouth Reliant was one of the first two so-called "K-cars" manufactured by the Chrysler Corporation, introduced for the 1981 model year. The Reliant replaced the Plymouth Volaré/Road Runner, which was the short-lived successor automobile to the highly regarded Plymouth Valiant...

, was that by retaining front bench seating rather than adopting bucket seats usually fitted to compacts, they could still function as the six passenger cars they were designed to replace and compete against.

Because the shifter and parking brake cannot be mounted between the seats, the transmission selector or shifter is moved to the steering column, and the emergency brake is activated by a pedal in the driver's footwell.

Bench seats are still common today on pickup trucks. Until recently, they were still favored on large premium sedans, but even in this market they are becoming rare. The Toyota Avalon

Toyota Avalon

The Toyota Avalon is a full-size car produced by Toyota in the United States, and is the flagship sedan of Toyota in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the Middle East. It was also produced in Australia from 2000 until July 2005 when it was replaced in November 2006 by the Toyota Aurion...

 is among some of the newest models to drop availability of this feature, and models such as the Buick LeSabre

Buick LeSabre

1959LeSabre and all other 1959 Buicks not only got new names, but all-new styling as well, adopting the new GM B- and C-body used on all of the corporation's full-sized cars...

 replaced by new models such as the Buick Lucerne

Buick Lucerne

The Buick Lucerne is a full-size car sold by the Buick division of General Motors. Introduced at the 2005 Chicago Auto Show, the Lucerne replaced both the Park Avenue and the LeSabre for the 2006 model year, and was sold through the 2011 model year...

 and Cadillac DTS

Cadillac DTS

The Cadillac DTS is a full-size luxury sedan produced by General Motors, an American automobile company. The DTS replaced the Cadillac DeVille as General Motors' largest luxury car for the 2006 model year...

 in which it is offered as an option. They remain standard equipment on the Ford Crown Victoria

Ford Crown Victoria

-1992–1994:Released in March 1991 as an early 1992 model, the Crown Victoria sedan was completely redesigned with a rounder, eight-window roofline . The redesign reduced the coefficient of drag from 0.42 to 0.34; the suspension setup was also heavily revised...

, Mercury Grand Marquis

Mercury Grand Marquis

The Mercury Grand Marquis was a full-size rear-wheel drive sedan sold by the Lincoln-Mercury division of the Ford Motor Company; the Grand Marquis was the flagship of the Mercury lineup. The nameplate itself had been in use since 1975 as the premium trim level of the Mercury Marquis; the Grand...

, and Lincoln Town Car

Lincoln Town Car

The Lincoln Town Car is a full-size luxury sedan that was sold by the upscale Lincoln division of Ford Motor Company; it was produced from 1981 to the 2011 model years...

. They are optional equipment on the Chevrolet Impala

Chevrolet Impala

The Chevrolet Impala is a full-size automobile built by the Chevrolet division of General Motors introduced for the 1958 model year. Deriving its name from the southern African antelope, Chevrolet's most expensive passenger model through 1965 had become the best-selling automobile in the United...

.