“And I somehow survived riding in the front seat with only my mom or dad’s arm to save me from kissing the metal dash when the brakes were hit.”
When we went on vacation when I was a kidlet, my Dad would put 2 coolers on the back seat floor. Then he had a cloth covered board cut out he laid on the seat and the cooler that would basically turned the back seat into a play pen.
Loved it!!!
I remember oldsters complaining about the lack of room in the back seat of cars in the 50s & 60s. While in college I rode home in a Dodge/DeSoto/Chrysler four door from the early 40s. You could not touch the front seat with your feet when sitting in the back seat.