When I was just a pre-driver, I would see the cool older guys, cigs wrapped up in their T-shirt sleeves, cruising along with their honeys snuggled up next to them, while they drove one handed off to wherever. Of course, back then, my idea of the ultimate ride was a '62 ice blue hardtop Impala, so,...

My tastes have possibly matured since then, (well, Ice Blue, I'm telling you,..!!), but the idea of the utilitarian possibilities of a bench seat just boggles the mind!!!! Bucket seats in 4 door wagon seem to be pointless.
Remember your dad leaning back across the front bench seat, yelling "if you don't stop teasing your sister, I'll,....(fill in the blank)? "If I have to pull over this car,..."?
If he had had single seats, he actually would have been able to do some damage, right?! So, maybe a bench seat is a sort of child safety item? Write your regional Volvo distributor, or your Congressman, or the NTSA!