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**The Humble Cup Holder: A Journey Through Time**

I'm Nolan Sykes, and welcome to Wheelhouse. Today, we're going to explore the fascinating history of cup holders in cars. You might be surprised to learn that the first cars didn't have cup holders at all.

"That's no (bleep)!" exclaimed my coworker Bart. "People might be surprised to hear that." Indeed, early cars were quite basic, and driving was a labor-intensive activity, separate from the rest of your life. Roads were rough, and suspensions didn't provide a smooth ride. But that all changed with the rise of drive-in diners in the 1950s.

The drive-in diner was a novel idea where you could drive up to the restaurant, order food, and eat without leaving your vehicle. People loved it, and drive-ins became community hubs, especially for young people. The drive-in gave way to the drive-through, which made fast food even faster. However, this presented a problem: where do you put your drink?

Several inventions tried to solve this problem, but automakers still hadn't thought of cup holders. One of the first examples of OEM beverage stabilization technology was in 1957 in the Cadillac Brougham limousine. It had a little metal tray attached to the glove box that held onto included cocktail glasses.

So, who's responsible for the cup holder as we know it today? We don't really know. Ford says that people used the floor tray as a cup holder in their Econoline van as early as the 1960s, but this might not be considered a traditional cup holder. The first car with real cup holders was the Dodge Caravan in 1984.

The debate between Ford and Chrysler over who came up with cup holders first comes down to interpretation. However, it's clear that most U.S. automakers adopted the cup holder after the 1992 Ford Probe incident involving a woman named Stella Liebeck, who got third-degree burns from spilled coffee. This case convinced car makers to make cup holders standard.

Despite this, Europeans still didn't quite get it. It wasn't until U.S. dealers for Porsche and Mercedes started losing sales because they didn't have cup holders that they realized how important they were. The world of cup holders is still growing, with expanders for giant cups, holders for French fries, and even heated or cooled drink holders.

So next time you're in a car, take some time to appreciate the unsung hero of automotive innovation – the humble cup holder. Thank you, cup holders, for everything. Thanks for watching Wheelhouse. I'll be here every Monday. This episode was suggested by one of our viewers, and we have merch at shop.donut.media. Get yourself a shirt if you like this show. If you like this show, subscribe to Donut. We've got all kinds of shows – Monday it's Wheelhouse with me, Tuesday is field prep with Matt Fields, Thursday is up to speed with James Pumphrey, and Friday is the bestest with Tony. It's Donut, thanks for watching!

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- Cup holders, Americans love 'em.We put them in everythingfrom people carriers,to street legal race cars.My co-worker's FordExplorer has 10 cup holders.But that's nothing.The new Volkswagen Atlas has 17 of them.That's two and a half per passenger.Surprisingly, cup holders area relatively new innovation.So where did they come from?Who was the first person toput cup holders in a car?What's the future holdfor the humble cup holder?I'm Nolan Sykes and this is Wheelhouse.The first cars didn't have cup holders.- No (bleep)!- People might be surprisedto hear that, Bart.I don't know.They didn't have much of anything, really.But I'm not sure you'dwant to drink anythingdriving around back then.The roads were much rougher,usually paved with gravel or just dirt.Early suspensions didn'tprovide a smooth ride.Driving a Model T waspretty labor intensive.You didn't have time tofocus on anything else.Driving was its own activity,separate from the rest of your life.This was the attitude most drivers hadin both America and Europe.That was until a culinary sensationswept the U.S.in the early 1950's.The drive-in diner.It was a novel idea.You drive up to the restaurant,a nice gal rolls up to yourcar and takes your order,and you eat your entire mealwithout ever leaving your vehicle.People loved it.Drive-ins became community hubsespecially for young people.And if American Graffiti is accurate,they'd hang out, talktrash and race their cars.Sounds like a pretty good Saturday night.Must be nice hangingout with other people.The drive-in gave wayto the drive through,which made fast food even faster.But that presented a problem.Where do you put your drink?A few inventions triedto solve this problem.Drive-ins served food on carhop trayswhich hung on your door.But you couldn't take that with you.Several patents were filedfor in-car snack traysthat held on to your food and drink.But those were still modificationsyou had to do yourself.Automakers still hadn'tthought of cup holders.One of the first examples ofOEM beverage stabilizationtechnology was in 1957 in theCadillac Brougham limousine.It had a little metal trayattached to the glove boxthat held onto theincluded cocktail glasses.It wasn't the same as thecup holder we know today,but it was a step in the right direction.So, who's responsible forthe cup holder as we know it?We don't really know.Ford says that people usedthe floor tray as a cup holderin the Econoline vanas early as the 1960's.Is that really a cup holder?I don't really know.What I do know is thatthe Dodge Caravan hadreal cup holders in 1984.It was the first car withcup holders as we know 'em.The debate between Ford and Chrysler overwho came up with cup holders firstkinda comes down to semantics.Like, what makes a cupholder a cup holder?Whatever side you take,it's a fact that cup holdersbecame more and more popularfrom the mid-80's onward.But some people were hesitantto embrace the growing trend.By some people, I mean Europeans.- Why would you want to drink anythingwhile you are driving?You want to drink or eat?Stop your car.Enjoy the meal.We get something.(laughs)- This had become the prevailing attitudeof most European carcompanies from the 80'sthrough the mid-90's, and it makes sense.Because on opposite sides of the Atlantic,driving had become very different.For example, every yearthe average Americandrives nearly twice asfar as the average Brit.Why is this?A couple reasons.One, Britain has waybetter public transit.And two, America's just big.Take a look at this.The state of California is biggerthan all of the United Kingdom.And driving from L.A. to San Franis nearly the same distanceas driving from London to Glasgow.In Europe, a hundred miles is a long way.And in America, a hundredyears is a long time.The average American also drives16 miles to work both ways.Depending on where you live,that could either take 15 minutes,or in my case, an hour and a half.I really need to move.By comparison, the averageBritain commutes about 10 miles.And most of 'em do it by bus or train.My point is, Americans spendmore time in their car.We also have less to do in 'em.In Europe, most cars havea manual transmission.But in the U.S., they'remostly automatics.We don't worry aboutspilling coffee on ourselveswhen we're shifting gears,'cause we're not shifting gears.Since we're not completelyfocused on operating the car,we're free to find otherthings to fill our time.And that's what Europeanautomakers were worried about.The National HighwayTraffic Safety Commissiondoesn't track how manyaccidents are causedby eating and drinking.I'm talking coffee and soda, not booze.So it's hard to say if theirconcerns were warranted.However, in 1992, onecase convinced car makersto make cup holders standard.You've probably heard of this case.A woman named StellaLiebeck got a cup of coffeefrom a fast food placeand spilled it on herself,and she got third degree burns.I mean, she ended up getting skin grafts.I only bring this up because, maybe,this whole thing could've been avoidedif the car she was in, a 1992Ford Probe, had cup holders.This is when most U.S. automakersadopted the cup holder.No automaker was involved in the lawsuit,but what if it happensagain and they did get sued?It was better to play it safe.But the Europeans stilldidn't quite get it.It was only when U.S. dealersfor Porsche and Mercedesstarted losing sales becausethey didn't have cup holders.They're like, guys, we needcup holders in our cars.Like, how luxurious is a carif it can't hold my drink?So, they gave it a chance.But the Europeans weren't quite aware ofhow much holder we Americansneeded for our cups.You know, I wore a mediumsized cup in high school.(quiet mumbled voices)(phone rings)(quiet mumbled voices)(phone rings)One Porsche engineer said thatPorsche team members in the U.S.were sending cups of all shapesand sizes back to Germany.- So many cups!- To make sure that cupholders in the Cayennecould handle anything we threw at them.(banging)So what's next?Well, the world of cupholders is still growing.We've got cup holderexpanders for giant cups.We've got cup holdersfor your French fries.We've even got cup holdersthat hold onto your phone.Automakers even make cup holdersthat heat your drink up or keep it cold.We're living in the future.So next time you're ina car, take some timeto appreciate the unsung heroof automotive innovation.Thank you, cup holders.For everything.Thanks for watching Wheelhouse.I'll be here every Monday.This episode was suggestedby one of you guys.So what else do you want to learn about?We got merch at shop.donut.media.Get yourself a shirt.If you like this show, subscribe to Donut.We've got all kinds of shows.Monday it's Wheelhouse with me.Tuesday is field prep with Matt Fields.He's building a formula drift Corvette.Thursday it's up to speedwith James Pumphrey,he teaches everything you need to knowabout all your favorite cars.Friday, that's the bestest with Tony.He's giving you the top10 of everything coolin the automotive world, check it out.It's Donut, thanks for watching.