Oh, I wasn't talking about protecting the rod in a PVC case, although that IS an excellent idea. I just mentioned the 10 foot sections as an example of just how long of an object I can get into it. I just fold down half of the split rear seat. Then I insert the length into the trunk, slide it forward past the folded down seat back, and if necessary, keep it going up into the front passenger seat. For the 10 footers, I have the back end of the piece in the rear left corner of the trunk, and the forward end up in the passenger seat, resting on the dash.
I don't need to fold down the front passenger seatback; the object either simply goes over the top of the seat or it fits in between the two front seats. I carry my 8 foot launch rail that way, too. Folding one half of the rear seatback down is a piece of cake. No bending or reaching needed. I just reach in from one of the rear doors, press a release button on top of the seatback next to the head rest, and then pull the back down. I can also slip a 6 foot rod into the back seat diagonally and fit it up between the two front seats.
As long as you don't jam it up against anything or have anything lay on it, I don't see how putting a launch rod into the car will get it bent. Placing it inside a case made from PVC pipe, a couple of slip-fit threaded couplers (glued on) and a couple of threaded end caps will provide even more protection. None of my launch rods have ever been bent even a tiny bit, even when I carried them inside the car.
I have been carrying them this way for years. It simply has never occurred to me to have someone make a rod that could be separated into two pieces, mainly because I never felt the need for something like that.
MarkII