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I'm tired of having my heart broken; every time I think I've found my car, I sit in it and find my chin shoved down toward my chest.  These active restraint "safety" headrests are killing me.  My spine is fused, so I must sit upright.  I can't recline and I can't slouch.  Apparently I can't buy a new car either, unless I'm willing to remove the headrest entirely.  Which seems pretty unsafe.  

I would like to start with the headrest, then see if I like the car.  Can anyone suggest makes and/or models where the headrest is a little less aggressively jutting forward?  

first and foremost...

you need to find a model that you can get in and out of without bending your neck to clear the upper door jam...


now that you have narrowed down a model....

see if there is a local decent auto upholstery shop or even a decent furniture reupholstery shop nearby..  or one where you can take the boss to lunch near the car dealer.. have them examine the seat... see if they could make a tapered foam insert with matching cover..   that fastens around the neck of the head rest.. and makes a complete loop around the bottom to hold it into place...   you cannot apply fastners to the edges of the seat back as a LOT of seats have air bags in the sides...

this would allow you to have the seat reclined a notch or two more so your head is upright and your back is fully supported..

he might even want to glue two different densities of foam together to form the full length wedge    

the back side would either need to be elastic with multiple rows of snaps take it in  when it starts to get loose.. or big panels of velcro..   it could even use straps that can be adjusted..

think of a big belt that has clasps on the back side of the seat..  with the wedge on the front between the side bolsters.. bering the center of the seat valley up to give you a level area with the front of the head rest..

this sort of special need.. might really require the use of the rent a car for a few days.. and the prep of a single prototype.. to see if you can actually get in and out of the car without bending your neck.. and to see if the wedge is comfortable  enough for more than a short drive...

a few days rent a car  costs are a huge money saver verses comfort in the long run.....  

Thanks for your reply.  Unfortunately putting yet another layer on the headrest would make the problem worse, not better.  Reclining the seat of most of these cars an extra notch or two is sufficient to support my head, but that is only acceptable in the passenger seat - I can't drive like that.  It's only when I move upright into a driving position that the headrest hits the back of my head and pushes it forward.  I'm actually fairly short; my head is nowhere near the door jamb.  

Would an auto upholstery shop be able to dissect a headrest and take out enough foam that it didn't hit me in the back of the head as soon as I sit down?  

you missed my point...

the tapered filler pad.. starts below the headrest and continues to the bottom of the seat...



what an upholstery shop can do depends upon the talent and the experience of the shop workers/owner..

some shops can modify seats to allow over 7 foot people to sit without bouncing their head on the headliner.

so.. changing the shape of the seat cushion.. or headrest would not be a challenge to some.. and others could barely get the seat unbolted from the base..

 

I see; sort of a customized back pillow.  This is a possibility.  I think it would be hard to determine how comfortable the seat will be in the end, though.

Should I just give up on searching for a car with an acceptable headrest?  Is this a futile quest, are they all like this now?  I never had problems buying cars before.  

I am a shorter female and I have test driven all of the new 2012 model cars on my list (and one new 2011) - then even some not on my list.  As soon as I started the process of looking for a new car, I encountered the annoying head rest problem.  I didn't even bother test driving some of them because the head rest was immediately uncomfortable when I just sat in the driver's seat.  All of them except for the Hyundai Accent had some version of annoying headrest.  When I sat in the seat, it felt like sitting in a coffin.  Some headrests were worse than others.  A couple of cars also had seats that hit the back of my knee in the wrong place and were uncomfortable.  Another one had too much lumbar support - it pushed out into my back.  One car salesman told me that cars are designed for people who are 5'10" and he has had other shorter people complain about discomfort with the new headrests and the seats.  I am also finding that most new cars have some type of leather, such as leather wrapped steering wheel and shifter, even in cars with cloth seats.  At this point I don't think that I will be able to find a new car to purchase, but I don't want to put more money into my old car.  This is a big problem.  

Maybe that's my problem.  

I guess I have no strong objection to giving my car budget to my mechanic instead of to a dealer.  My car is 11 years old but in decent shape, and I have a good mechanic who can probably keep it running for a long time.  I wanted something new and reliable, though.  And sooner or later I'll have to buy something.  But if there really are a bunch of us who can't drive 2012 cars I have to assume there will be a third party solution within a few years.  Or maybe they'll start making seats adjustable.

I'll try the Hyundai Accent.  And I've been told german cars are better than american and japanese, so maybe there's a possibility there.  

if there is a local good vehicle fixtures store or even a good fixtures reupholstery store regional or one where you can take the manager to meal near the car seller have them analyze the chair. See if they could make a tapered memory space-age foam place with corresponding cover that fastens around the fretboard of the head rest.  
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