In a television ad for the 1977 Olds Cutlass, a couple is overjoyed they can get in and out of their car with the latest in modern conveniences—front bucket seats that swivel.
Their miracle buckets not only move front to back. On top of that, they turn to face out and let the Mom and Dad make a dignified entrance or exit.
GM had the feature on a bunch of vehicles between 1973 and 1977, including:
- Chevrolet Monte Carlo
- El Camino
- Chevelle
- Cutlass
eBay Motors offers both complete seats and parts to restore these rare interior options.
The History of Swiveling
The Aurora Safety Car of 1957 was built with seats that could swivel to protect occupants in a crash. (Photo: Andy Saunders)
The pedestal-mounted front seats on the 1957 Aurora Safety Car swivel around 180 degrees if riders thought they were in danger of crashing.
A Connecticut minister built the prototype. The swivel was popular on high-end Chrysler cars of the 1950s and 1960s such as the:
- Dodge Royal
- DeSoto Adventurer
- Chrysler 300F
- Plymouth Fury
An ad for the ’59 Adventurer states,
Touch a lever in the new DeSoto and your half of the front seat swings out. Enter, and it swings you gently in and locks automatically in place.
Here’s the Mobile Director option on a beautifully restored 1967 Chrysler Imperial Crown.
The seats meant saying goodbye to the benches that were popular then. They needed bigger cars for room to swivel.
The idea also worked better on two-door cars, with no B post to get in the way. That explains the Mobile Director option on the ’67 and ’68 Chrysler Imperial Crown Coupes.
The passenger seat swiveled around and a wood-grained table (doubling as a padded armrest) folded out.
This way, people could conduct business while the chauffeur drove.
The show car also featured a:
- High-intensity gooseneck lamp
- Two-way radio telephone
- Dictaphone
- Typewriter
- Television & stereo
- Early version of the FAX machine
The production vehicle got rid of most of the gadgets. For $597.40 (in 1967) you got the swiveling seat, the lamp, and the foldout table.
GM kept the option for ’68. But the price dropped to $317.60. Might be because few honchos were taking the bait.
Swivel seats—and a table—were introduced for second-row passengers in 2008 Chrysler minivans.
Swivel Revival
Chrysler brought back the swivel seat idea on its 2008 minivans. They were the Town & Country and Grand Caravan.
Second-row Swivel ‘n Go seats could turn 180 degrees, as well as move forward and backward.
The option also included a table that could click into place, or stored when not in use. It was like a mini RV.
Unfortunately, choosing swivel seats meant you couldn’t have the much more popular Stow ‘n Go. That tucked the second row under the floor.
Chrysler discontinued the swivel option with the 2011 model year.
In 2010, Renault tried swivel seats as a $2,150 option on the Clio. Think of it as a Nissan Versa, but not offered in the US.
But that didn’t fly either. The concept has been a non-starter.
But let’s remain optimistic, we may yet enjoy swivel seats in our cars.
They may become common in the self-driving cars coming soon. With the driver freed from facing the road, a range of seating makes sense.
Take a look at this Mercedes-Benz F15 Luxury in Motion show car. The design shows off the autonomous interior of tomorrow.
The Mercedes-Benz f 105 Luxury in Motion offered a glimpse of what self-driving seating might look like. Swiveling seats—on both rows—make total sense when attention to the road isn’t required.
The fact remains, though, riding backward is sure to make some passengers car sick.
