It would be great to have a city scene with figures in vehicles. It might be bit difficult for cars with roofs to fit passengers, but they are less noticeable then a convertible driving on your city street. It is hard to find well detailed sitting figures that look good in a convertible that look like car passengers. Any good suggestions??
Trimming and bending standing figures seems to be an option for passengers. But you have to hide the cut joint with some putty and paint.
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Drivers are a real problem if you want to have them look right with the hands on the wheel. For passengers, seated figures like train passengers or people just sitting can be OK.
Arttista makes a few drivers but they are pricey, and the selection is very limited.
Most die-cast sedans will come apart pretty easily to put passengers in them. The better ones are held together with screws. Some of the cheaper ones are riveted, but you can drill out the rivets and then drill and tap where the rivets came out for self-tapping screws.
I'm hoping you get some good answers as I'd like to add drivers to some of the cars on my layout for more realism.
One problem is the seat in cars are hard (train cars as well) and the figure is hard plastic. Cutting the legs off is usually the first thought.
I had had some luck with a dremel to the back of sitting figures to look like they were mushed down in the seat. Most of us don't want to hollow out a seat cushion, so it kinda works to remove material from the figurine.
Be carefull with trying this. Take a look at your wife sitting on a car seat or sofa, and you will see what I mean. Part of here body will be indented in the seat And backrest.
Good points.
For models that are $50-100 or more very detailed do not want to damage or even attempt to pull apart a delicate detailed model.
Many of the figures for passenger cars are pretty flat on the bottoms.
Perhaps time to ask the train companies to make some better more detailed model passengers.
Some engineer figures have potential with a repaint.
I modify all vehicles that will be used on my layout. As a real car collector and model car builder cars on the layout are important in the overall look to me.
All cars get detailed if not repainted. And all cars will get drivers if they are to be on the road.
Circus World made figure kits of seated people. They included different arms that made it easy to place hands on the wheel. Almost all figures had to be cut at the knees and often trimmed on their bottom to sit down into the seat and not float above it.
Even if you just use seated passenger car figures and hands are not on the wheel your cars will look 100% better. Seeing inside a sedan once on a layout is about impossible.
Most of the Arttista "driving" figures do not have legs. I only use them in top-down cars. Figures in closed cars are very hard to see, and, IMO, not worth the cost and effort.
Artistta for most of our convertibles.
You can also use the Seated Beep people, They are a bit smaller than many others.
I have used several in cars on the old layout.
I used an Xacto blade to halve the seating portion in height on the figures while keeping the legs.
You could also shave the back a bit as noted above.
Most of the Arttista "driving" figures do not have legs. I only use them in top-down cars. Figures in closed cars are very hard to see, and, IMO, not worth the cost and effort.
Yes. Just went thru this putting a seated Arttisita driver into a Lionel O Scale truck. Lots of disassembly, holes drilled, windows removed and other grief to cram him in there and I can only see him from the neck down. 
I put figures in the driver's seat, at least, in all my 'Streets conversions. In a car with a roof (as opposed to a convertible) I use MTH or Woodland Scenics figures mostly and just cut them of at the wait of thereabouts so they fit behind the wheel, then glue them in.
This parked car has two seated figures fitted into its convertible interior.
This diecast Ford converted to 'Streets has a figure from the waist up behind the steering wheel.
On convertible 'Streets cars like this '54 Cadillac there is no "interior" because the motor is there, so I cover it with a painted plate and puts busts on it, etc., as shown. It looks okay when the car is moving, actually.
I used a cop figure here, again, from just the waist up behind the wheel, but it looks good.
This is Veranda Turbine as she fits in her '52 Cadillac convertible.
Here she is behind the wheel . . .
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