Geez what is with the prejudice against bench seats

It's the dreaded "P" word: Practicality. Bench seats give versatility in seating, even allowing the driver to shift around quite a bit on long drives. Of course there are other activities inside the car which are made less of a challenge with a bench arrangement.

I'm convinced it's the same reason some folks won't give a four-door a second glance.

That said, I'm considering putting buckets in my Valiant. The front bench needs a thorough rebuild - again - and some buckets kind of dropped into my lap. I won't toss the bench just yet, though. There's room in the attic.