Geezer Index

Getting out of my Titan or Jeep is a breeze for my height. Torinos are not bad either. However, my Civic and my fiance's Acura TL are absolutely brutal. Worst car to get in and out of I ever owned was a Triumph Spitfire.

Seats, height, door opening all play a part in this. 6'1 and 225 lbs don't help.

 

Mine's not what I'd call a wagon & no tape measure to get numbers. I've got a '95 Jeep Cherokee. It's easy for me to get in & out of. I'd say the ground to the seat is about hip high, makes it easy to just sit down & swing in. I'm 5' 7" to give you something to guesstimate from. Don't know if that helps you any or not.

 

I forgot to mention, my father is about 6'3", so he does "Fit" in the Camaro comfortably, it's just that the car sits so low, that if it were any lower, it would be IN the ground.

That's why he likes full size wagons, not too high, not too low, doors aren't too long or short, just right.

 

When my car is laid out you basically just roll out of it. I have a buddy of large porportion 6' 4" or so about 350 lbs I lift it all the way up for him to get out, otherwise he is pretty much trapped. The first time he tried to get out with it on the ground I thought I was going to pee my pants watching him struggle, a flip of the switch later I thought he was going to smash me like an ant for taking so long...oh and for laughing.

 

The part I hate to see about those "large boned" people climbing in and out of cars is their usage of the door for leverage. Many door pins and hinges are ruined because of this. And those long doors opened by uncaring people in tight parking spaces. I am not "large boned" but I find the door is now becoming my friend too.
As far as getting in and out, I'm sure glad my 1/2 ton truck has running boards and those "A" pillar grab handles. I had those handles on two vans. Beginning to think they'd look cute on the 55 Chevy wagon!
Since people are insisting on so many laws to make our lives easier I believe all new vehicles need ejection seats. Or sort of like those home EZ-Boy recliners that lift and turn.
Then I could by a sports car again.

 

Kinda sounds like a old song....

Ya put your left foot in, your rite foot out...ya do tha "howkey pokie' and ya shake it all about.

Come to think of it now...with "whoop dee doo" songs like that from way back...... wrap music almost sounds good....


.... Hey, I said almost....well........

 

Cat: What you need are the swivel buckets out of a mid-70s mid-sized G.M. They make getting in and out so much easier! I have a funny feeling that Bertha may end up with them in her. That ought to be interesting. General Motors mid-sized buckets in a full sized Mercury sedan. Hmmm. Got to think about this one. Failing that, the early 60s Chryslers had the same option on their bench seats. Some are even automatic. Open the door, and the seat swivels. Definitely easier for the geezer and geezer wannabe crowd. I may not be a geezer quite yet, but my knees sure are!

 

Amen to that Mike, my knees are shot too.

 

I had a 1957 Chevy 2-door HT with high backed swivel seats.
Also my 1939 Ford coupe has early Dodge high backed swivel bucket seats. Back when I drove them I didn't need any help. My knees, hips, and other body parts were just fine. Cars have either changed a lot or I've worn out my own body parts.
Even with new factory replacement hips my knees and back make jumping... crawling---in and out a job rather than driving experience.
Also, my 55 Chevy wagon has 70's (?) T-Bird front bucket seats and the car doesn't seem to mind.

 

My 1964 Country Sedan
Seat - 22 inches from the ground
Top of door - 31 inches from seat

 

So if mine is 16/33, that means my seat height is 6" lower (due to lowering my wagon), but your seat cushion is 2" higher or closer to the top of the door frame than mine. Sounds about right; my seats are in good shape but have lost some of their cushioning.

 

Which is now equaled out by you being out of shape and having more padding!

 

I guess it depends on where you measure on the seat. I could have gotten more or less depending on measurement. My door top is 53 inches from the ground.

 

That's about right!