Rear seat pass through

[Haddock]

I went to the Century City mall in LA and sat in VIN 2421. Now I want it even more. I'm a first day reservation holder from Denmark so I probably have a year to wait, still.

One of the few things I missed was an option to open the middle of the back seat so I can transport long items while still having 4 seats. This is great for skiing. Some solutions even have a kind of "sock" mounted on the gap so that the long items being transported don't touch the seats. The sock is also a safety feature because it is sturdy enough to catch the items in a crash.

See for example Rear-seat pass-through with a ski bag module from Dr. Haubitz: crash-fafe even when full

This is available for most German cars and would be a great option for the Model 3, or even the model S.

 

[jelloslug]

That seems to be a Euro only thing. I don't recall ever seeing a pass through like that on an American car.

 

[tashtibet]

more & more is not the answer-model 3 will be so expensive if everything people need is built in there.

 

[Haddock]

more & more is not the answer-model 3 will be so expensive if everything people need is built in there.

It would be an option. I'm not asking you to pay for it.

 

[jelloslug]

It would be an option. I'm not asking you to pay for it.

 

[ezevphl]

I would love to see that on the Model 3, so we can avoid a roof rack and be able to transport longer items like skis. Honestly I wouldn't expect it to be added for a while if ever. While they are going for simplicity, this will be our only car, so we genuinely need it to do just about everything while transporting four.

 

[iluvmacs]

That seems to be a Euro only thing. I don't recall ever seeing a pass through like that on an American car.

My mom's 2000 Toyota Avalon had a ski pass-through. No "sock" though.

 

[bonnie]

That seems to be a Euro only thing. I don't recall ever seeing a pass through like that on an American car.

I had it on a BMW (pass thru & sock). It was really handy for skiing (lived in Colorado at the time).

 

[T34ME]

It would be an option. I'm not asking you to pay for it.

There are any number of auto customizing shops in California who will be happy to modify the rear seat anyway you wish, for a price. I don't see this modification as being particularly difficult. You would lose the cup holders and armrest though.

 

[jelloslug]

There are any number of auto customizing shops in California who will be happy to modify the rear seat anyway you wish, for a price. I don't see this modification as being particularly difficult. You would lose the cup holders and armrest though.

Why would you lose the cup holders and armrest? The pass through could be in the recess left behind from the open armrest.

 

[Twiglett]

I had it on a BMW (pass thru & sock). It was really handy for skiing (lived in Colorado at the time).

BMW doesn’t really count as an American car though does it?

 

[bonnie]

BMW doesn’t really count as an American car though does it?

I thought the reference was to vehicles sold in America. Of course it's not an American manufacturer.

 

[T34ME]

Why would you lose the cup holders and armrest? The pass through could be in the recess left behind from the open armrest.

In the two pictures shown as examples in this thread, no armrest or cup holders. If the skies fit on top of the armrest in the backseat, that puts the tips of the skies at about eye level of front seat passengers and bouncing around with no support.

 

[Moderatefan]

Our Mazda Cx-5 has this middle section in the back seat, comes very handy for skis. No sock though. Is this rare?

• 40/20/40 split one-touch fold-down and reclining rear seatback

 

[Travis Denardo]

I had this feature on my 2010 Acura TL. I liked it for storing essential items that can be reached by passengers, but out of the way. The Ski thing makes sense too.

 

[RedModel3]

That seems to be a Euro only thing. I don't recall ever seeing a pass through like that on an American car.

My 1998 Acura TL had an opening in the middle of the back seat, but no sock.

 

[Zhelko Dimic]

That seems to be a Euro only thing. I don't recall ever seeing a pass through like that on an American car.

If you had any German car, you probably already had it.
But answer to original OP is that most Americans think they need large SUV or minivan if they'll have 4 people in the car. It's just a different, but prevalent mindset, probably fuelled with cheap (as compared to Europe) gas, as well as wide roads, wide parking spots and newish, planned cities that don't encourage small vehicles. This probably informed lots of Tesla engineers, they don't have yet full sensibilities to European needs...

 

[brkaus]

All the cars referenced in this thread w/ an opening and optionally a sock... do they also have seats that fold down?

I had similar in the BMW, but the the seats did not fold down.

Many (but not all) of the use cases for the pass through ski sock are handled by the split seats folding down.

 

[Moderatefan]

Here's how its done in Mazda cx-5

You can also buy a $50 ski bag instead of the sock.

 

[boiler81]

I would think Tesla would address this need in the Model Y. Probably will add the hitch to it as well.