I am SO fed up with all these automotive top ten lists. Yes, yes, I know: TTAC’s Ten Worst Autos list receives more “outside” attention than anything else we do. And for good reason: it’s got balls. And yes, we’re gearing-up for our annual mostly readers’ choice poll. But Jesus, can Forbes and Jalopnik and Autoblog and everyone else in the whole damn autoblogosphere PLEASE lay off the top ten lists? The obvious answer is no. No matter what I think of these self-appointed lists, they garner amazing page views. So, in the great TTAC spirit, I’d like to start offering the most absurd Top Ten Lists we can imagine. How about TTAC’s Ten Best Cupholders? Consider this a semi-collaborative effort. Email a jpeg photo of your choice for best cupholder to robert.farago@thetruthaboutcars.com with CUPHOLDER in the subject bar. Justin and I will arbitraily choose the ten best by Friday. This could be big! Or not.
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Ha, brilliant RF. Brilliant.
I nominate the MR2 Spyder, I’ll try to find a photo.
I bet that the large majority of the links from other sites to the “10 best cupholders” post will be done with absolutely no sense of irony.
The previous Mercedes C-Class had a neat cup holder that rotated and popped up into place. No idea how well it actually held beverages, but at that auto show my buddy and I were both wowed by the deployment.
I seem to remember a manufacturer having a cup holder that worked on a gimbal – or was it a gyro – to keep the cup level at all times. Possibly Range Rover?
I’m guessing the redneck cup holder will be disqualified?
The worst is definitely your groin…unless you get to sue McDonalds.
your hand. in the kitchen where drinks belong.
i miss the old BMW.
OH OH I know. My 911 SC…….WAIT, it doesn’t have any cup holders. Real drivers don’t need any stinking cup holders. Beer between the knees, double clutch down into 2nd (cause the syncros are dead) and off we go in a cloud of dust and smoke!!! Ha ha ha ha
I like the idea. I’ll get a photo for you in the mail of my Jeep cupholders just to give you some extra ammo if you need it. I suggest bucking the trend and have any list TTAC puts out include only 9 or 11 vehicles/cupholders/etc.
Charlize Theron.
She can not only hold the cup but also place it to my lips and tilt the liquid-holding device to the proper angle so the refreshing beverage can cascade down my sated body.
Thank you.
None of them. I’m too busy driving to mess with a cup, can or bottle.
What’s a “cupholder”?
Easy!
The third cupholder in the new Touareg.
Scary good.
Really.
@ Richard Chen :
I think the C class holder is the same one that originated on the mid 90’s E class. Precise, overengineered, and fairly limited in practice. It’s like the Germans gathered all the information ever written about cupholders without ever seeing or using one. Deploying it and watching it snap to attention was cool though…
I assume the preponderance of great cupholders will be found on minivans, but can honestly say, I never really thought about it.
The claims that cars have lost their driver oriented focus, and that drivers used to have no distractions, are largely exaggerated.
Find me an old German car without multiple ashtrays and lighter and then we’ll talk.
As society has shifted from one bad habit, Marlboro Lights, to another bad habit, Diet Coke, cars have simply kept up.
The cigarettes were more glamorous, and probably healthier.
According to Charles Brown (The Da Vinci Code) the best cup holder is Rosslyn Chapel in UK. Since they drive on wrong side, this probably disqualifies my answer.
Austin Greene- a guy I knew used to have one like that glued to the dash of his Ford Escort, it worked very well.
best cupholder, hands down, is the one in the last generation 3 series. Two holes, with clips, in the center console.
The replacement is a botch, coming out of the top of the dash. A horrible copy of the 9-3 cupholder which was scientifically aligned on top of the radio and cd player so when you hit a bump you drenched the radio.
Standard cup holder, center console rules. when Bangle did the cars, the exterior got all the brickbats, but it was the interior that really sucks.
The Lotus Elise SC cupholder is the only one that stands out in my mind:
http://image.motortrend.com/f/9716389/112_0804_04z+2008_lotus_elise_supercharged+cup_holder.jpg
criticize it for lack of practicality, but it’s true to the car’s mission while looking good.
best cupholder, hands down, is the one in the last generation 3 series. Two holes, with clips, in the center console. Even removes for easy cleaning when the Starbucks residue gets intense.
The replacement in the current e90 is a botch, coming out of the top of the dash. It is a horrible copy of the SAAB 9-3 cupholder which was scientifically aligned on top of the radio and cd player so when you hit a bump you drenched the radio.
A Standard cup holder in the center console rules. When Bangle re-did the cars, the exterior got all the brickbats, but it was the interior that really sucked. Something so simple, but most car makers feel compelled to over (uber?) engineer it.
Cupholders? I just get the hooker to hold the bottle of Jack Daniels so I can concentrate on smoking, texting on my cell phone, and making sure the McNuggets don’t slide off the dashboard.
Best cupholder: The thighs of my ex girlfriend. Sort of like the Cialis commercial “If you have an erection lasting more than four hours, consult a physician”, a doctor? Hell, I am calling a hooker!
Loved the subaru – flimsy plastic pullout right in front of the radio and HVAC controls.
No, really I like the mini – holds 2 12oz cans, well, and nothing more.
The best cupholder is the FORD EXPEDITION (Lincoln Navigator)
Its not because the cupholders do anything special…its just that there are SO MANY OF THEM.
The Expedition has 4 cupholders for just the driver and passenger.
It has 4 cupholders for the 2nd row passengers. THEN it has TWO MORE for the 3rd row.
11 CUPHOLDERS in a car designed for a maximum of 9!
HOW THE F*&% DO YOU BEAT THAT?
Remember the old plastic cupholders you’d hang on the door?
Ok Robert, your photo doesn’t count because everyone knows the E39 530I doesn’t “really” have cup holders, that device coming out of the ash tray must be some sort of ejection handle.
That’s a total after market cup holder in that picture up there. That’s an E39 5-Series, and I’m very familiar w/ that console considering I drive one, and that is not what usually comes out of that little thing. My car has 2 very thin and pointless cup holders coming out from the front of the lower dash in front of the shift lever, and that thing is a little padded opening for coins.
Blast the 5-Series’ AWFUL cupholders! It makes up for it though.
I’ll tell you what DOESN’T have the best cupholders, that’s the Pontiac G6 I rented in Detroit last week. Two holders lined up in between the front seats, aft of the gear shift — just where you want to rest your right arm. Problem is you actually put a bottle or cup in one, now you don’t have a place to put your right arm.
That’s the annoying thing. My Civic places the holders in the same spot, but has a proper arm rest to keep your arm off the cups.
Why can’t GM get that right? WHY WHY WHY?? Just copy the goddam Civic!
Flashpoint : The best cupholder is the FORD EXPEDITION (Lincoln Navigator)
Its not because the cupholders do anything special…its just that there are SO MANY OF THEM.
The Expedition has 4 cupholders for just the driver and passenger.
It has 4 cupholders for the 2nd row passengers. THEN it has TWO MORE for the 3rd row.
11 CUPHOLDERS in a car designed for a maximum of 9!
HOW THE F*&% DO YOU BEAT THAT?
Like this:
My Ford Ranger has 6 cup holders and 2 seats – 4 in front and 2 in the extended cab area. That’s 3 cup holders per person.
Ford’s new slogan should be:
“Ford. Will a shitload of cup holders make you want to Drive One?”
I guess I’m one of the few that couldn’t care less about cup holders. Always makes for pleasant conversation with my wife as she has nowhere to put the Starbucks cup.
@Lamborghiniz
I feel your pain. The e39 cupholder is large enough to hold one of those small styrofoam cups, and that’s it. I would have rather had them take that space and make a better stereo.
I don’t drink and drive, so I can’t comment…
The best cupholder is the one in my ’87 BMW 535is. Wait…maybe the one in my ’72 2002. Yeah, it’s definitely the stock cupholders that came with earlier BMWs.
The Nissan Frontier/Xterra/Pathfinder front console cup holders are awesome except for the rubber insert you have to discard with EXTRA LARGE cups, but with the insert in it fits just about anything and has a little insert to the side for phone/coins.
The worst is by far the rear cup holders in the Isuzu Rodeo. They do not hold anything and the thing doesn’t stay folded up since you never want to use it anyway. It can’t even hold a can since the tray everything sits on is too shallow and everything just tips over with any turn.
I may be wrong but…..is this a top ten list that Chrysler (Dodge) can win? I’ve never looked at one but doesn’t the Caliber have heated and cooled cupholders?
The Jaguar XF has nice cupholders with stainless steel bottoms.
I think it has options for cup cooling and cup warming.
The 2003-2007 Accord cupholder is the best I have had the pleasure to experience. Its beveled, spring loaded fingers lovingly caress my cup with precise pressure, keeping my vessel upright for hours at a time.
That cupholder is one of several nice features (including electroluminescent gauges) decontented from the 2008+ Accord.
I like the one on the neolithic oxcart in the Musee D’Orsay. Holds a large drinking gourd. But those tripartite wheels… sheesh! weigh a ton.
I’ve got an XJ that didn’t come with a factory cupholder and I’ve gotta nominate the aftermarket factory-look cup holders that were made especially for XJ owners:
http://www.cherokeexj.com/interior/cup-holders
It’s incredible that a single model could sell so many cars that the aftermarket would actually make a part this specific. The things wouldn’t fit in any other vehicle.
Older Infiniti G20s didn’t have cup-holders, so a popular mod was the ones from a pre-’98 Passat. I went down to a VW dealership to get one for my sister, and they are indeed an example of fine German engineering.
pictures
@night driver:
The new Civics also have those cupholders. They even have a sliding cover that can conceal anything you’d want to drop in there: keys, phone, ipod, whatever. They’re wide and deep enough for anything you want to throw in there, and those four spring loaded tabs keep anything secure. I nominate the current Civic/last gen Accord for best cup holders IN THE WORLD.
C’MON GUYS! EMAIL ME THE JPEGS: robert.farago@thetruthaboutcars.com
The one in the Pontiac Fiero. Very few even knew it was there.
I think you can beat 11.
I seem to remember reading long ago that one of the Chrysler Corp. minivans had 18. However, some of them were designed to hold 1-liter bottles, so maybe they don’t all count as cupholders.
Anyone else remember this?
The worst cupholder was in the first generation Miata. It was a snap-in part that took the place of the ashtray on the center console. So you could drink or you could smoke, but you couldn’t do both.
my hand is a pretty good cupholder
considering my Porsche doesn’t have any
to me this is like a zen koan. “what’s the best cupholder?” “the one that’s not there.”