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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.
Lightweight off-road vehicle with sparse bodywork. Originally two- or four-wheeled carriages in the 19th and early 20th centuries pulled by one horse, the motorized buggies were developed in the 1960s and grew in popularity and diversity. [1] [2]
Has a retractable or removable roof. A convertible allows an open-air driving experience, with the ability to provide a roof when required. [3] Most convertible roofs are either a folding textile soft-top or a retractable metal roof. Convertibles with a metal roof are sometimes called 'retractable hardtop', 'coupé convertible', or 'coupé cabriolet'.
Two-door car, seating up to four persons. [4] [5] Some two-door cars have only two seats, thus two-seaters. [6] [7]
Car with a roofline that slopes continuously down at the back. The design features a single unbroken convex curve from the roof to the rear. [8] [9]
Used in the U.S. in the funeral industry to carry flowers for burial services. Typically a coupé-style, forward-passenger compartment with an open well in the rear. [10]
Car with a hatch-type rear door that is hinged at the roof and opens upwards. The term "hatchback" can also refer to that type of rear door, which is also used on several sports cars, SUVs, and large luxury cars. [11]
The modification of a passenger car to provide a long cargo area for carrying a coffin or casket. Hearses often have large glass panels for viewing the coffin.
A luxury-type vehicle that is typically driven by a chauffeur with a partition between the driver's compartment and the passenger's compartment. Limousines may also be stretched to provide more room in the rear passenger compartment. In some European usage, the word describes a regular four-door sedan body style.
The smallest size of minivan/MPV.
Vehicle designed to transport passengers in the rear seating row(s) with reconfigurable seats in two or three rows. Typically has a combined passenger and cargo area, a high roof, a flat floor, a sliding door for rear passengers, and high H-point seating. In Europe, some small minivans have been marketed as 'leisure activity vehicles'.
A cargo vehicle based upon passenger car chassis and typically has one row of seats with no side windows at the rear. Panel vans are smaller than panel trucks and cargo vans, both of which are built on a truck chassis.
A pickup truck that has a fully enclosed truck topper in its back, giving it a van-like appearance.
A light-duty, open-bed truck. In South Africa, a pickup truck is called a "bakkie". [12]
An open two-seat car with emphasis on sporting appearance or character. Initially, an American term for a two-seat car with no weather protection, usage has spread internationally and has evolved to include two-seat convertibles.
A fixed-roof car in a three-box design. [13] These form separate compartments for engine, passenger, and cargo. Sedans can have two or four doors. A sedan is called a "berlina" in Spanish and Italian, or a "berline" in French.
Initially, a horse-drawn vehicle used to carry shooting parties with their equipment and game; subsequently synonymous with station wagon / estate car; and in contemporary usage a three- or five-door wagon combining features of a station wagon and a coupé.
Has a two-box design, a large cargo area, and a rear tailgate that is hinged to open for access to the cargo area. The body style is similar to a hatchback car; however, station wagons are longer and are more likely to have the roofline extended to the rear of the car [11] (resulting in a vertical rear surface to the car) to maximize the cargo space. In French, a station wagon is called a "break".
A semi-convertible style used on some sports cars, featuring a fully removable soft or hard roof panel that leaves the A and B pillars in place on the car body.
Based on a passenger sedan chassis and has a cargo tray in the rear integrated with the passenger body (as opposed to a pickup truck, which has a separate cargo tray). In Australia, the term "ute" was originally used solely for coupé utility cars; however, in recent years, it has also been used for pickup trucks.
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.