Few of us think much about the car seats that we sit in; as long as they remain comfortable our thoughts focus on other aspects of our car. But the design and development of car seats is very important to car manufacturers because they know that how the seat in their latest showroom models feels when a prospective buyer slips into the driver’s or passenger’s seat has an almost subliminal impact on whether or not a sale will be made.
So it should come as no surprise to you that the front seats of cars have gradually been becoming wider over the years. As westerners grow bigger with each passing year so the width of the seat grows too.
For example, the 2006 Honda Civic has front seats that are several millimetres wider than the 2005 model. The Lancer Evolution sold in America has front seats that are slightly wider than the same vehicle sold in Japan.
Market research in the US has shown that wider car seats are becoming much more important now that 62% of adults are considered to be overweight or obese.
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