When driving by myself, I tend to place my handbag on the passenger seat. This enables me to rummage for lipsalve, tissue or mints whilst speeding along in the outer lane of the motorway and ensures that I am never separated from the source of my sanity and wellbeing.

However, there is one major disadvantage to this arrangement. When one has to brake suddenly, the bag invariably gets thrown forwards, scattering the (many and varied) contents all over the passenger footwell.

Not only does this put the important items-without-which-a-lady-cannot-survive out of my reach, but it also means that I lose many many lipsticks and tampons under the seat, never to be found until Jon decides to get the car valeted.

The solution: a small hook in the front of the passenger seat which can be popped out for handbag securing. When a passenger is in the car, this can be recessed back into the seat (I'm envisioning a similar mechanism to that used for the arm rest in the back seat). The hook should enable the handbag straps to be clipped into place in it very firmly, thereby also preventing the bag from being snatched from outside when the window is open.
-- hazel, Apr 23 2004

croissant for anything which means I have less car cleaning to do.
-- jonthegeologist, Apr 23 2004


I think you should never drive *anywhere*, unless jon is with you, clutching your handbag, as any galant gentleman would do. (You could then also request he hand you the item(s) that you are wanting, as an added bonus.)
-- winsome, Apr 23 2004


me? A passenger? In my car? Madness!
-- jonthegeologist, Apr 23 2004


I have to let him drive [winsome]. Not because he thinks I'm unsafe or anything, even when I am rummaging for lipsalve, but just because he gets stupidly bored and starts fiddling with the stereo, the air con or whatever is to hand (no not what you're thinking)
-- hazel, Apr 23 2004


This is already over baked. All cars these days come with a hook in the top center of the windshield. It will hold your handbag within easy view and reach. Many models even have a little mirror mounted on the tip of the hook so you can keep one hand on the cell phone while doing the make up with the other.
-- kbecker, Apr 23 2004


<kbecker> What cars are you talking about?
-- thedoubler2, Apr 23 2004


[thedoubler2] Sorry, I exaggerated, a friend just pointed out that some RV's don't have this feature because they don't have a rear window. But my VW has it, my Toyota had it. Just look around, you will see all kinds of useful things dangling from the hooks.
-- kbecker, Apr 23 2004


Have a good old fashioned manual choke fitted, they always seemed to be handbag hooks
-- engineer1, Apr 26 2004


Some cars provide this under the glove box and call it a curry hook as you hang your take-away curry from it and it arrives home unspilt (unless you drive very wildly). Admittedly it'd be a long stretch to get anything out of a handbag there without your head dipping below the dashboard.
-- oneoffdave, Apr 26 2004


Good one Hazel, I'm with you all the way. When we went out looking for a 2nd car, for me and the kids, I insisted on a car with space between the front seats for my bag. My husband thought I was joking... I got my way, its an older model Honda Odyssey. However, it lacks hooks for grocery bags, another pet peeve of mine.
-- dentworth, Apr 26 2004


hooks for kids too :)
-- po, Apr 26 2004


Ok, what about accidents? The first thing you’re going to do after getting hit in the face by an airbag is to check your makeup. And...horrors! You can’t go the hospital looking like that. You reach for your purse, but the strap was ripped in two by g-forces. The contents have gone through the windshield, and now lay scattered across the street. Damn! What you really needed was the handbag airbag. Just a tiny airbag that goes off, enfolding your handbag with its precious cargo of cosmetics in a gentle embrace, until the crunching impact and squealing of metal is done, and you can get back to the important things...
-- ldischler, Apr 26 2004


[dents] I have a 2000 Odyssey and I found that the front seat arms that fold up are quite handy for hanging bags, like those plastic grocery bags with the die-cut handles. Its easier to put the bag on (and take off) with the arm in the up position, but once the bag is on the arm can easily be put in the horizontal position. A great place for a trash bag that is accessible from the front and back seat. Or a handbag that is accessible from the front or back seat, but I don't have one of those.
-- joking victim, Apr 26 2004


But I don't want to have to take them out of the handbag [Toad] - that would negate the whole need for a handbag in the first place. Part of the art of the handbag is that it becomes a repository for all sorts of "useful" bits and pieces over time. Taking stuff out to stick it on the dashboard would be tantamount to clearing out the bag, which is almost sacrilegious.

Also, I suspect [jtg] is scared of what's in there.
-- hazel, Apr 27 2004



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