Why Rumble Seat ??

[Guest]

O.K. all you auto trivia nuts out there..I have one for you maybe you can answer for me. Why are rumble seats called "rumble seats"??? What gave rise to the term and when was it first used for the little seat in the back. Perhaps an offshoot of a "mother-in-law" seat, or perhaps a "jump seat".

[RoadsterRich]

The early use of "Rumble Seat" referred to the seat behind the body of a carriage on which the servants rode, well before cars existed. I would assume the application to cars evolved from the fact that the seat was indeed behind the enclosed portion of the 'coach' of the car. With regards to the expression rumble seat itself, perhaps it was due to the 'rumble' the carriage made as it travelled, and the open nature of the seat making the occupants more susceptable to the sounds of the rumble? Just a little history, and a little uneducated guessing...<P>Remember, I wasn't there, so anything I say is at best to be questioned <P>Rich

[Guest De Soto Frank]

Roadster Rich,<P>Sounds plausible to me; to put a colloquial spin on the term, my maternal grandfather, who grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains outside of Charlottesville, VA, often spoke of his 1926 Model-T Ford roadster, with a "rumpus seat" (sic) ; $295.00 cash, brand new!

[RoadsterRich]

I like your grandfather! Rumpus seat makes total sense to me, not like anyone can see much of what may (or may not) be going on in a rumble seat, particularly not the driver or passenger in the front. Then again I've always been partial to the term rumpus room, I remember my grandfather calling the family room the rumpus room when I was little, I've been calling them that ever since, I guess as a kid the word 'rumpus' sounded fun...<P>Rich

[Guest De Soto Frank]

Rich,<P>Words which are "fun to say", as in "rumpus", are worth their weight!<P>Anyone able to remember the comic strips "Pogo" and "Krazy Kat" will no doubt remember with a smile the fun that respective artists Walt Kelly and George Herriman had with words & dialects and mutations thereof.<P>As for Grandad, he went to his reward almost twenty years ago; he was a great man in my eyes and I wish he were still around; there's so much I wish I could talk with him about!<BR>And some day, because of him, I WILL own a 1926 Ford roadster, with a "rumpus seat"!<BR> <p>[ 04-05-2002: Message edited by: DeSoto Frank ]