Cupholders

[Kent McLean]

Having made the 850 mile trip between NH and NC a few
times now, I really needed a cup older for my '89 200 TQ.
Holding a Pepsi can between you legs does not promote
good driving skills.

I picked up a cheap cupholder at the local auto parts place.
This one had a flexible strap that slips into the crack between
the window and door. It worked OK -- it flopped around a bit,
and the cup tilted too much for my comfort. That is, it worked
OK until I went to pay a toll. I put the window down, threw my
money into the toll basket, and put the window up.  The next
thing I know my Pepsi had fallen down between the driver's
seat and door.  The f*n cup holder, which works with the
window up or down, doesn't work with the window going up.
At least the can was almost empty.

I still needed a cupholder. The VW/Audi piece of foam that
fits in the tray below the arm rest seems like a half-assed
solution. You lose the armrest, you lose the use of the tray,
and the cups are in a bad location.

I was going to get a plastic "sits on the console" cupholder,
and slide two pieces of aluminum into it as legs, to raise it
above the console and handbrake. And then I thought that,
if I'm going to be cutting aluminum, I could make a cupholder.
Take two pieces of aluminum, bend them into U-shapes to
fit over the console, pop rivet them together, one atop the
other, and cut cup-sized holes in the top piece, so the cans
would rest on the bottom piece. I even thought I could get
fancy and make the top out of wood, to match the interior trim.

But then I made my trip to a different auto parts store, and
I found a workable, inexpensive (about $6) solution. It's a
two-can cupholder with a small tray between the cupholes.
One side of it is a long, narrow wedge that fits between the
seat and the console. You push it down into place and you
have a convenient stable place for 2 cans, and a tray for
change and other stuff, plus you still get to use your armrest
and console tray.  When you aren't using it, it pulls right up
and can be stored out of the way.

And naturally, I didn't save the manufacturer information.
But this should give you drinking-and-driving people
something to look for.

Kent
'89 200 TQ, "Night Train"