The Long and Grinding Road

Living in our cars also is taking a toll on our minds and bodies. Half the couples whom Stockton, Calif., psychologist Timothy Miller counsels suffer from commuter stress. "I get frantic phone calls from couples asking to see me before 5 a.m. or after 8 p.m.," he says. The longer the commute, the more likely the commuter will suffer bouts of road rage, which can lead to heart attacks, strokes and ulcers, says Dr. John H. Casada, a specialist in road stress. And Georgia Tech researchers found that every 30 minutes spent driving increases your risk of becoming obese by 3 percent.

No wonder, given all that people are eating in their cars. The dashboard is becoming the nation's dinner table, and the drive-thru its kitchen. Drivers today eat an average of 32 meals a year in their car, according to the researcher NPD Group. And one in four restaurant meals is now ordered from the car. "The fastest-growing appliance in America is not the microwave," says NPD's Harry Balzer. "It's the power window."

This may seem like no way to live, but never underestimate the powers of rationalization. Half the number who took NEWSWEEK's online commuting poll said they don't mind or they even enjoy the ride. One in five said they like their "alone time." Just don't try selling that to their spouses. "My wife hates my commute," says Sam Wyant, 27, who drives 60 miles to his job, "but I value that Zen time."

To take you to a better place in your car, companies are rushing to cash in on our commuting culture. Fast-food joints are rolling out products that fit in your cup holder, like McDonald's Fruit 'n Yogurt Parfait. And convenience stores are cooking up new ways to fill your tummy while you fill your tank. The Sheetz convenience-store chain bolted touch-screen menus onto its gas pumps. The idea is that by the time you're done filling up, your sandwich is ready at the drive-thru. Says Louie Sheetz, an exec at his family's chain: "You're just trying to reduce the amount of time you spend in that pit stop." Coming next: private potties at the pump.

Carmakers have the most to gain by capitalizing on commuting. Sure, they're rolling out more hybrids than ever to help with pain at the pump. But the real action is inside the cockpit. Cup holders, first introduced in 1982, now outnumber seats in many cars. The new Nissan Altima has three cup holders just for the driver: one for bottled water, one for coffee and one for juice. There are even slots for bottle caps. The new Dodge Caliber offers an optional refrigerated glove box, and its front passenger seat transforms into a dining table when you fold it flat. Acura offers real-time traffic on its satellite navigation system, a $2,000 option on some models. When you start the car, a street map blinks on an eight-inch dashboard screen, with gridlocked roads shaded red and crawling roads highlighted in yellow. The nav screen also can find you the nearest gas station, ATM and four-star restaurant.

The next battleground for carmakers: seats that can go the distance. "These longer commutes will change how we evaluate seats," says Toyota marketing VP Jim Farley. "We may see people willing to pay big money for really comfortable seats." General Motors now has a "lead seat-comfort engineer," Mark Grajek, a.k.a. "Golden Buns." He took NEWSWEEK on a test drive last week on country roads around GM's Milford, Mich., proving grounds. Handed a PDA questionnaire, I evaluated everything from backside slippage to the seat-belt click. GM began testing seats only in 1990, but now gives each seat 7,000 hours of, ahem, bottom-line analysis.