I'm a do-it-yourself kind of guy. I prefer to roll up my own windows, lock my own doors, and shift my own gears. I'm also kind of simple; I'd rather give hand signals than complicate a roadster with a turn-signal assembly.
But every once in a while I'll rent a fully loaded car. While I can convince myself that I can live without the satellite radio or the cruise control, I secretly covet two things. Furthermore, my desire for them makes me sound pretty sissified. My forbidden fruit? Heated seats and lumbar support. For shame, indeed.
Call it rationalization, but I have my reasons: I own a roadster and I tend to drive, rather than trailer, my car long distances. As I found out in my late-model Buick sedan research laboratory on a late-fall expedition, toasty seats gave me greater low-temperature endurance while bounding along country roads. With the windows up, I found I hardly used the heater, even when the mercury hovered in the mid-40s. In fact, the seats heated up far faster than the heater itself did, and that itself scored serious points.
If the factory lumbar supports could make modern OEM seats more comfortable (they did), it stands to reason they could really make the difference in vintage seats (they do). As I found out in a friend's roadster, an aftermarket lumbar support installed in the same brand of seat I use kept my throttle leg from falling asleep. While my seat is comfortable, it now feels a little, well ... inadequate.
The support works by propping up the lumbar region of the back, the small of the back if you will, which thereby promotes good sitting posture. It does that without smacking you in the back of the head and barking at you to sit up straight like your mother used to (or still does if you're from that kind of family). Here's the best part: Unless you actually sit in a lumbar support-equipped seat, you'll never notice the installation. That means a lot for vintage-themed cars, as a sculpted seat (which may only look ergonomically correct anyway) will, without a doubt, spoil that timelessness.
It's for those reasons that I regard Editor Brennan with envy rather than contempt for installing seat heaters and lumbar supports in his roadster. He's proven himself quite the road warrior over the years (even in his car), and this installation can only make his long-legged jaunts more comfortable.
As I grow up, I'm softening my stance on simplicity and coming to the conclusion that heated seats and lumbar supports are more necessity than luxury. Who knows, I may even abandon some of my do-it-yourself mentality-especially if someone can nab Brennan's seat for me. Give me a call; I know where he lives.
