Drop Stop Automotive Car Seat Gap Filler
If you've had issues losing things in the car then the Drop Stop Automotive Car Seat Gap Filler is going to change your experience completely
This article is more than 2 years old
It’s happened to us drivers at one point or another. Probably more than once. You are driving along, the cell phone rings, you go to answer it, and boom, it falls into the black hole of Calcutta. You know, that space between your car seat and the center console. Phones are lost there. Food is lost there. Money is lost there. Sometimes even hopes and dreams fall prey to that gap of nothingness. But now, hopes, dreams, and the occasional french fry have a champion. It’s called the Drop Stop automotive car seat gap filler.
Drop Stop’s story is much like the thousands, if not more, across the country who not only have lost items down that endless black pit but who have also come close to losing their lives while trying to dig items out. Marc Newburger is one of the inventors of the Drop Stop automotive car seat gap filler. It took a near-fatal accident to get that gap closed.
THE IMPETUS OF THE DROP STOP SEAT GAP FILLER
One day, Newburger found himself driving in West Hollywood waiting for an important phone call. He had his cell phone on the center console so he could get to it easily when the call came in. This was back in the day (2006) when distracted driving laws were not even being considered. Newburger got the call he was expecting but had his phone set to vibrate. It vibrated right off the console and into the waiting arms of the bottomless gap.
Like most of us, Newburger thought he could just reach down and find his phone. Well, he took his eyes off the road to reach for his phone, and in doing so, the steering wheel pulled to the right. His car jumped the curb, almost took out an unsuspecting pedestrian and came within inches of smashing a metal pole. It was right then that the idea of the Drop Stop automotive car seat gap filler took hold.
Newburger was clearly shaken. But he was also determined to come up with a solution to what he felt was more than just his problem. He immediately reached out to his partner in crime, Jeffrey Simon, to explain what happened. As he was making his call, he dropped his phone again. It was his sign that the Drop Stop automotive car seat gap filler needed to become a reality.
One week later found Newburger and Simon trying to get into a big Hollywood Halloween Party. As they became more and more frustrated not being able to get inside, they decided instead to go back to their car and stare at the killer crack until a solution presented itself. Although they were dressed for Halloween, that is exactly what the pair did.
TRY, TRY AGAIN ON THIS SEAT GAP FILLER
The early iterations of the Drop Stop automotive car seat gap filler were less than ideal. They thought of a leather flap where drivers would be able to simply scoop out anything that fell from their hands or mouths. To them, it was a sloppy thought, one that wouldn’t take hold. Next came small beanbags that they would be able to stuff inside the scary dark place, but those didn’t work. The bags didn’t allow for the seats to move easily.
What they then realized is whatever their Drop Stop automotive car seat gap filler would end up being, it would have to move easily with the seat. To make that happen, the design would also have to somehow attach itself to the seatbelt catch. They had some work to do.
BIG LOTS AND BEYOND
Newburger and Simon didn’t have a real direction when they went to Big Lots. They grabbed a cart and just started filling it. Whatever item they felt could help create their gap filler, they tossed it into the cart. Cups, tools, tablecloths, car sponges, bedsheets. You name it, they grabbed it.
When they got home, the two sat down and began to put items together. The one thing, though, that they continued to be stumped on was how to make their Drop Stop automotive car seat gap filler slide easily with the car seat. Then Newburger was hit with divine inspiration. He ran to his closet and grabbed a pair of dress socks. He then cut a car sponge and slid it inside one of the dress socks. Still, it needed something. They cut a slit in the sock and sponge. The pair ran to the car and slid the prototype over the seatbelt catch.
FORMING A TEAM
Newburger and Simon knew that if they were going to make their Drop Stop a reality, sacrifices needed to be made. Newburger moved in with Simon, living on his couch while they continued to refine their car seat gap filler. But they also knew that just the two of them weren’t enough to make their dreams become a reality. They needed a team.
Over the next six months, that is exactly what the duo formed. A solid team that included Paul Berman of T2Design, seamstress Stephanie Garrison, and Scoot and Laurie Goldberg of Allman Products. The Drop Stop car seat gap filler squad was born.
QUALITY MATERIALS
The Drop Stop team was determined, that if their product was to go big, they had to offer consumers something with some heft to it. The materials had to be worth it and something that would last even though they were told on more than one occasion to make it cheap and not to worry if they fell apart. People would buy more.
The team wasn’t having any of that. Instead, they went for a more costly option – Neoprene. This is what a diver’s wet suits are made of. True, this material is probably 20-30 times more expensive than most of the other materials they were looking at, but they wanted the durable, stretchy neoprene.
THE DROP STOP SEAT GAP FILLER REALITY
It took time and it also took some investment, but the boys and the rest of the team finally had their product. So, what exactly is the Drop Stop automotive car seat gap filler? Let’s take a look. While the Drop Stop is not difficult to install, they have even produced a short installation video.
As you can see, they are built to fill the gap between your car seat and the console. Long and thin, the Drop Stop is made with a hypoallergenic polyester fiberfill that is surrounded by a neoprene casing. The reason for this pairing was to give consumers durability along with the ability to stretch the material over the seatbelt catch.
The stretch and the fill also allow for buyers to be able to fit the Drop Stop into any size gap without damaging the product. The slit in the Drop Stop allows for easy installation. The neoprene covering is liquid and stain-resistant. Easy to clean, you just remove the Drop Stop automotive car seat gap filler and wash it down with a damp, soapy cloth.
HIGH PRAISE FOR THIS SEAT GAP FILLER
The Drop Stop has been seen everywhere. It has received a lot of talk on shows such as The View, Oprah, Car and Driver, and AAA, as well as on TV stations CBS, ABC, and NBC. One of its biggest backers was Lori Greiner from Shark Tank who fully supported the Drop Stop.
The Drop Stop automotive car seat gap filler is also reasonably priced. For $24.99, you will get two Drop Stop’s, one for the driver’s seat and the other for the passenger side. You also get with it one slide-free pad and one credit card light. We’ve all been in this situation, and now there is a solution. Be sure to pick up the Don’t Stop Seat Gap Filler today.
