Leather interiors and copious legroom used to be the hallmarks of a luxury sedan. But Ford is about to completely redefine what luxury means when it introduces a 30-way adjustable power seats for its Lincoln brand that even lets drivers ensure that both of their bum cheeks are comfortable with individual settings for each.
Originally revealed as part of a concept vehicle at the 2015 New York Auto Show earlier this year, the over-accommodating seats are apparently well on their way to production for an updated version of the Lincoln Continental, part of Ford’s luxury brand. And while 30 different ways to adjust your seat sounds like wonderful overkill, the new power seats can actually help make long drives feel slightly more comfortable.
You may not realize it, but while you’re driving your legs are actually doing two different things. The right leg is taking care of acceleration and braking (most of the time) while your left leg is stretched out, tucked back, or generally just relaxing. So being able to adjust your seat to accommodate the position of each individual leg, and the bum cheek they’re connected to, actually makes a lot of sense.
The new seats should also provide some relief for those who like to keep a Costanza-sized wallet in their back pocket. Or those who are genuinely feeling discomfort because of pre-existing pain on one side of their bodies. And over-accommodating everyone in a vehicle is far from a new idea. Individual climate control options have existed for years—because when everyone in a car is comfortable, that five hour drive to grandma’s feels slightly grueling.