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There are many types of car body styles. They vary depending on intended use, market position, location, and the era they were made in.
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(April 2019) |
There are many types of car body styles. They vary depending on intended use, market position, location, and the era they were made in.
A station wagon or estate car, is an automotive body-style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door, instead of a trunk/boot lid. The body style transforms a standard three-box design into a two-box design — to include an A, B, and C-pillar, as well as a D-pillar. Station wagons can flexibly reconfigure their interior volume via fold-down rear seats to prioritize either passenger or cargo volume.
A convertible or cabriolet is a passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary among eras and manufacturers.
A hatchback is a car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to a cargo area. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second row seating, where the interior can be reconfigured to prioritize passenger or cargo volume. Hatchbacks may feature two- or three-box design.
A coupe or coupé is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors.
The Ford Galaxie is a full-sized car that was built in the United States by Ford for model years 1959 through to 1974. The name was used for the top models in Ford's full-size range from 1958 until 1961, in a marketing attempt to appeal to the excitement surrounding the Space Race. In 1958, a concept car was introduced called "la Galaxie" which incorporated the headlights into pods inline with the grille and a reduced front profile.
A sedan or saloon is a passenger car in a three-box configuration with separate compartments for an engine, passengers, and cargo.
The Chrysler LeBaron, also known as the Imperial LeBaron, is a line of automobiles built by Chrysler from 1931-1941 and from 1955-1995. The model was introduced in 1931, with a body manufactured by LeBaron, and competed with other luxury cars of the era such as Lincoln and Packard. After purchasing LeBaron with its parent Briggs Manufacturing Company, Chrysler introduced the luxury make Imperial in 1955, and sold automobiles under the name Imperial LeBaron until 1975. Chrysler discontinued the Imperial brand in 1975, and reintroduced the Chrysler LeBaron in 1977 to what was then Chrysler's lowest priced model.
A hardtop is a rigid form of automobile roof, which for modern cars is typically constructed from metal. A hardtop roof can be either fixed, detachable for separate storing or retractable within the vehicle itself.
A liftback is a variation of hatchback with a sloping roofline between 45 to 5 degrees. Traditional hatchback designs usually have a 90 to 46 degree slope on the tailgate or rear door. As such the liftback is essentially a hatchback with a more sloping roof, similar to sedans/saloons from a styling perspective. Some liftbacks may also have an appearance similar to a coupe but with a tailgate hinged at the roof that is lifted to open.
The Subaru Leone is a compact car produced by the Japanese car manufacturer Subaru from 1971 to 1994. The word leone is Italian for lion.
The Buick Roadmaster is an automobile that was built by Buick from 1936 until 1942, from 1946 until 1958, and then again from 1991 until 1996. Roadmasters produced between 1936 and 1958 were built on Buick's longest non-limousine wheelbase and shared their basic structure with the entry-level Cadillac Series 65, the Buick Limited, and after 1940, the Oldsmobile 98. Between 1946 and 1957 the Roadmaster served as Buick's flagship.
The Mercury Turnpike Cruiser is a series of automobiles that were produced by the Mercury division of Ford for the 1957 and 1958 model years. Named to commemorate the creation of the Interstate Highway System, the Turnpike Cruiser was marketed as the flagship Mercury model line, slotted above the Montclair when Mercury was positioned upmarket to luxury status when Edsel was introduced in 1958.
The Mercury Park Lane is a full-sized automobile that was produced by the Mercury division of Ford Motor Company. While not officially introduced as the replacement of the Mercury Turnpike Cruiser, the Park Lane became the flagship of the Mercury model line upon its introduction. The second-generation Park Lane was positioned above the Mercury Montclair.
The Starlight coupe is a unique 2-door body style that was offered by Studebaker Corporation of South Bend, Indiana from 1947 to 1955 on its Champion and Commander model series. It was designed by Virgil Exner, formerly of Raymond Loewy Associates.
A panel van, also known as a blind van, car-derived van or sedan delivery, is a small cargo vehicle utilizing a passenger car chassis, typically with a single front bench seat and no side windows behind the B-pillar. Panel vans are smaller than panel trucks or cargo vans, both of which utilize body-on-frame truck chassis.
A tonneau is an area of a car or truck open at the top. It can be for passengers or cargo.
The trunk or boot of a car is the vehicle's main storage or cargo compartment, often a hatch at the rear of the vehicle. It is also called a tailgate.
A glossary of terms relating to automotive design.
A retractable hardtop — also known as "coupé convertible" or "coupé cabriolet" — is a car with an automatically operated, self-storing hardtop, as opposed to the folding textile-based roof used by traditional convertible cars.
Full-size Ford is a term adopted for a long-running line of Ford vehicles with a shared model lineage in North America. Originating in 1908 with the Ford Model T, the line ended in 2019 with the Ford Taurus, as Ford withdrew from the full-sized sedan segment in North America. Across 111 years, 15 generations, and over 60 million examples of the model line were produced across over 50 model nameplates. By contrast, the longest-running single nameplate worldwide is the Chevrolet Suburban, in use since the 1935 model year.
The estate body, also known as station wagons in some countries, has the roofline extended to the rear of the body to enlarge its internal capacity. Folding the rear seats down gives a large floor area for the carriage of luggage or goods. Stronger suspension springs are fitted at the rear to support the extra load. Hatchback: Although some hatchbacks are in fact saloon bodies with the boot or trunk effectively removed (usually the smaller cars) many hatchbacks retain the full length of the saloon, but the roofline extends down to the end of the vehicle...as with the estate, the rear seats fold down to give a flat floor for the transportation of luggage or other objects. When the tailgate is closed, the luggage compartment is usually covered with a parcel shelf.
Torpedo – Continental term for an open four-seat car with soft hood and sporting tendencies and in which the line of the bonnet was continued back to the rear of the car.