Drop Stop is a device designed to prevent items from falling down in between a car's front seats

Car seat

A car seat is the chair used in automobiles. Most car seats are made from inexpensive but durable material in order to withstand as much use as possible.-Ergonomy: Lumbar and thigh support:...

 and center console

Center console (automobile)

The center console in an automobile refers to the control-bearing surfaces in the center of the front of the vehicle interior...

. It was invented by Marc Newburger and Jeffrey Simon of Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

.

Drop Stop is constructed out of black Neoprene

Neoprene

Neoprene or polychloroprene is a family of synthetic rubbers that are produced by polymerization of chloroprene. Neoprene in general has good chemical stability, and maintains flexibility over a wide temperature range...

 filled with polyester

Polyester

Polyester is a category of polymers which contain the ester functional group in their main chain. Although there are many polyesters, the term "polyester" as a specific material most commonly refers to polyethylene terephthalate...

 fiberfill. It has a slot sewn into it where the seat belt

Seat belt

A seat belt or seatbelt, sometimes called a safety belt, is a safety harness designed to secure the occupant of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result from a collision or a sudden stop...

 latch can fit through. This anchors the device, allowing the car seat to slide back-and-forth freely. According to Newburger and Simon, the space between the center console and the front seats is always in dark shadow and thus the black color of Drop Stop matches any car's interior. However, some cars, for example the BMW M3

BMW M3

The BMW M3 is a high-performance version of the BMW 3 Series, developed by BMW's in-house motorsport division, BMW M. M3 models have been derived from the E30, E36, E46 and E90/E92/E93 3-series, and sold with coupé, sedan and convertible body styles...

 and Volkswagen Jetta

Volkswagen Jetta

Although the Golf had reached considerable success, in the North American markets, Volkswagen observed that the hatchback body style lacked some of the appeal to those who preferred the traditional three-box configuration...

, don’t have enough space in the gap to fit the Drop Stop in place. Also, the device is considered expensive for what it is.

The idea was born after the inventors dropped a mobile phone down the gap while driving and almost caused a serious accident trying to retrieve it.