Rumble seats and automotive design

[1935Packard]

I have a question about the history of automotive design: Why were rumble seats popular with car buyers in the twenties and thirties? They're incredibly impractical: they take up trunk space, they're hard to enter and exit, they're dangerous, you get wet when it rains, and it's hard to talk to the driver of the car. But based on the popularity of rumble seats on 2-door cars of the 20s and 30s, presumably they looked at rumble seats differently back then: Presumably they thought it was one of the better solutions to a problem.

I wonder, why? I can see liking the sporty design of a 2-door and the option of having more than one passenger. But there's always the 5-passenger coupe body style (or a victoria body style for open models),kind of like a 2+2 of today. Was that too expensive to manufacture for some reason back in those days? Or maybe they thought no one would want to sit in smallish back seats?

[Restorer32]

Why do people like rumble seat convertibles today? I suspect the reason is the same. Automobiles have always been more about style than practicality, otherwise we'd all be driving white 6 cylinder 4 door automatics.

[1937hd45]

In the day the roadster was the lowest priced model in almost every manufacturers line, the rumble seat just made the 3 or 4 passenger option available. In 1929 a Buick Roadster listed for $1,325 and the 5 passenger Victoria was $1,865. You could take the $540. differance and buy a 1929 Ford roadster and have $90.00 left over for gas money.

[Restorer32]

Price of course is and always was a consideration but I doubt few people bought a '31 Packard 840 Roadster or Caddy 16 cylinder Roadster because they were cheaper.

[1935Packard]

1937hd45,

I think your point about price is an excellent insight. So it may be that a rumble seat was the cheapest way you could manufacture a car with seating for four. Just throw some seats in the trunk, have the trunk open forward, and put some steps on the side and voila -- it's two extra seats. So that made the style a popular one for people who didn't expect to have a lot of passengers or need a lot of luggage space -- and besides, back in the day you always had luggage racks and trunks if you needed that space.

Restorer32 rightly points out that there were some extremely expensive rumble seat roadsters. I agree that style could be part of it; some people would want the roadster look, which was harder to do with "real" seating for four. Still, if the general body style was made popular in part because of price, I would guess that it's the popularity of the body style that would matter most.

[1937hd45]

If you were single in 1931 and had either of the above mentioned cars the last thing on your mind would be company in a runble seat.

[michel88]

I think that for some it is a fun and exciting ride. When I was about 11 years old I got to ride in rumble seat I believe it was a 1938 Ford. I have never forgotten that ride, and that was in 1954.

[Guest Skyking]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 1935Packard</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

I wonder, why? I can see liking the sporty design of a 2-door and the option of having more than one passenger. </div></div>

Maybe it was a place for the Mother-in-Law to sit.

[Tom M]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: michel88</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I think that for some it is a fun and exciting ride. When I was about 11 years old I got to ride in rumble seat I believe it was a 1938 Ford. I have never forgotten that ride, and that was in 1954. </div></div>I had the same experience and now I own the car that I had the ride in. Now that I own it I have given my Nephews and dog a ride with them in the rumble seat. You should have seen the smiles on their faces. Priceless