Detroit detailing shop owner goes viral for loving his 1998 Chevrolet front bench seat

A Detroit detailing shop owner has gone viral for the amount of love he has shown for his 1998 Chevrolet Suburban SUV and its front bench seat.

In a Facebook post that has generated almost 10 million views, Eric Paauwe from Oakland Auto Detail (@oaklandautodetail) says this one feature makes 1998 Chevrolet Suburbans better than any modern SUV.

Of course, modern SUVs, including the latest Suburban, have extra luxury such as heated seats and steering wheels.

But none of these extras seems to sway Paauwe. He claimed the front bench seat of the Suburban is still its trump card.

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What makes the front bench seat of the 1998 Chevrolet so good?

In the viral video, Paauwe said, “Bring this feature back to trucks,” while walking through the front bench seat.

What makes it so good in his eyes is how simple and easy it was to get close and cuddle up with his wife, Kristen.

The front console smoothly popped up in the video, allowing his wife to sit next to him.

That allowed the two to cozy up as they drove around town together.

Normally, a center console would deny them the opportunity to share such an intimate moment.

But in this 1998 Chevrolet Suburban, there is nothing to stop them from getting close to each other.

It makes us wonder, why did front bench seats disappear from SUVs like the Suburban?

Why front bench seats in SUVs disappeared

The explanation as to why the seats disappeared from cars and vehicles actually makes sense.

According to CNBC, much of it is down to changing tastes in cars, as well as safety regulations.

Bench seats have their origins in horse-drawn carriages, as well as in post-war cars.

It was an easy way to get multiple people sitting next to each other in the front of a car.

It also became popular for those who were going out on dates in their vehicle.

But, as safety standards changed in the 1970s, front bench seats slowly became a thing of the past.

Airbags and seatbelts became priorities, and manufacturers struggled to keep them inside their products.

Separate bucket seating became the norm, and in 2025, it is almost impossible to find an SUV or any car with a bench seat up front.

Yet thanks to classic cars like this beat-up Suburban SUV, we can still experience this feature of a time gone by.

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