The trunk (American English) or boot (British and Australian English) of a car is the vehicle's main storage or cargo compartment, often a hatch at the rear of the vehicle. It can also be called a tailgate.
In Indian English the storage area is known as a dickey (also spelled dicky, dickie, or diggy), and in Southeast Asia as a compartment.
The trunk or luggage compartment is most often at the rear of the vehicle. Early designs had an exterior rack on the rear of the vehicle to attach a luggage trunk. [1] Later designs integrated the storage area into the vehicle's body, and eventually became more streamlined. [2] [3] The main storage compartment is normally provided at the end of the vehicle opposite to which the engine is located.
Some vehicles have the trunk in front of the passenger compartment, e.g. rear-engined cars like Volkswagen Beetle and Porsche 911, or electric vehicles like Ford F-150 Lightning. [4] [5] This is known as a frunk, a portmanteau of the words "front" and "trunk". [6] The alternative term froot (a combination of "front" and "boot") is also occasionally used. [7]
There are also vehicles with both front and rear trunks, either with low profile rear drivetrains, e.g. Volkswagen Type 3 [8] or Tesla Model S, or with a mid-engine, [9] e.g. Porsche 914 and Boxster, Toyota MR2 and Fiat X1/9. [10]
Sometimes during the design life of the vehicle, the lid may be restyled to increase the size or improve the practicality and usefulness of the trunk's shape. Examples of this include the Beetle redesign to the 1970s 'Super Beetle' and the pre-war and 1950s post war Citroën Traction Avant.
The door or opening of a cargo area may be hinged at the top, side, or bottom.
If the door is hinged at the bottom it is called a tailgate, particularly in the United States. They are used on station wagons and pickup trucks, as well as on some sport utility vehicles (SUV). [11] [12] Traditional drop-down station wagon and pickup tailgates can also serve as a mount for a workbench. [13]
Traditional U.S. station wagons included a roll-down window retracting into the tailgate to load small items or to allow the tailgate to be opened down on its bottom-mounted hinges. Because of the potential for carbon-monoxide fumes, the tailgate window on station wagons should be closed whenever the engine is running. [14]
Two-way station wagon tailgates may be hinged at the side and the bottom so they can be opened sideways like a regular door, or drop downwards as load platform extenders. [15] They are designed with special handle(s) for opening in the selected direction on special hinges after the window is lowered. [16]
A three-way design that was also used by Ford allows for the tailgate to be opened like a door with the window up. [15]
General Motors developed a clam shell style "disappearing" design where the rear window rolls up into the roof and the tailgate slides down and beneath the load floor. [17]
If the door is hinged at the top it is termed a hatch, and a car with a rear hatch a hatchback . [12] [18] A bottom-opening door is now common on SUVs.
The trunk lid (in the U.S. automotive industry sometimes also called decklid or deck lid [19] [20] ) is the cover that allows access to the main storage or luggage compartment. Hinges allow the lid to be raised. Devices such as a manually positioned prop rod can keep the panel up in the open position. Counterbalancing torsion or other spring(s) can also be used to help elevate and hold open the trunk lid. On cars with their trunk in the rear, lids sometimes incorporate a center-mounted third brake light. A rear lid may also have a decorative air spoiler. On many modern cars, the trunk lids can be unlocked with the car's key fob.
The locking of the trunk may be achieved together with the passenger compartment.
Some cars include a function to remotely open the trunk. This may be achieved through a variety of means:
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The usage of the word "trunk" comes from it being the word for a large travelling chest, as such trunks were often attached to the back of the vehicle before the development of integrated storage compartments in the 1930s; while the usage of the word "boot" comes from the word for a built-in compartment on a horse-drawn coach (originally used as a seat for the coachman and later for storage). The usage of the word "dickie" comes from the British word for a rumble seat, as such seats were often used for luggage before cars had integrated storage.
In France, from 1900 onwards, the luggage maker Moynat became a market leader in automobile luggage, for which the company developed a number of patented products including the rear-attached limousine trunk with custom-fitted suitcases. In 1928 came the side or lateral sliding trunk, a mechanism that foreshadowed the development of integrated trunks in vehicles from the 1930s onwards.
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Open compartments are those found in station wagons and SUVs, while closed compartments have a trunk lid and are typically found in saloon (sedan) or coupé bodies. Closed compartments are separated from the passenger compartment by rigid body elements or seats, and are generally trimmed in simple materials, whereas many station wagons are trimmed with better-looking materials as the space is an extension of the passenger compartment. In order to hide the compartment content of station wagons or hatchbacks from thieves or sunlight, a cover may be fitted. On hatchbacks this often has the form of a rigid parcel shelf or a flexible sheet with hooks on the corners, while station wagons and many SUVs have a roller blind in a removable cassette.
To give the space more flexibility, many cars have foldable rear seats, which can increase the size of the trunk when needed.
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The trunk space and its content can contribute to the safety of the vehicle. In vehicles that are partially loaded, the use of lashing eyes to restrain luggage can prevent or reduce damage to the vehicle and its occupants in severe maneuvers. In driving while cornering 'in-extremis', the prevention of sudden weight transfer due to poorly loaded luggage can be enough to prevent the vehicle from losing grip, and potentially avoiding thereby an accident.
If a crash should occur, lashing eyes can reduce the severity of the outcome of the accident by keeping the luggage in the loadspace compartment and thereby preventing projectiles from harming correctly restrained passengers in the passenger compartment. These lashing features may be in the form of fixed or foldable loops, or in the case of certain European vehicles combine sliding loops in a rail system to allow optimal positioning of the lashing eyes. At the same time, this eases the integration of accessories for loadspace management; dividers, bike carriers, etc. into the interior of the vehicle, a principle that has been applied in cargo vans and air transport for many years.
In vehicles with open luggage compartments, some are fitted with metal grids or guards to retain loose items in case of collision, or to simply create a bulkhead between the load in the trunk – for example, animals – separated from the otherwise unprotected passenger space.
Another solution for items that have not been restrained is the loadspace barrier net. These may be directly attached to the body structure or, in vehicles with loadspace cover cassettes, as a combined loadspace cover and barrier net. The net confines luggage to the loadspace in case of emergency braking and minor traffic collisions. These nets have the advantage over metal guards in that they can be rolled-up when not in use, taking up much less space than a comparable guard. A guard may however be tailored for an even tighter fit to the body interior contours than a roll-away net.
Children – and sometimes adults who climb inside to work on the vehicle – who become trapped in trunks can die of suffocation or heat stroke. [27] Once in the trunk, they may not be able to get out, even if they entered through the interior, because many rear seats release to the trunk only from inside the passenger area. Beginning with the 2002 models, a glow-in-the-dark inside trunk release is required on all vehicles with conventional trunks sold in the United States. [28] Hatchbacks, wagons, vans, and SUVs are exempt from this requirement because it is assumed a trapped person can kick out any cargo cover or parcel shelf to gain access to the main interior and passenger doors.
Beyond carrying luggage, the trunk of most passenger vehicles commonly contains various other components often behind the trimmed surfaces of the interior. These components may be accessed by the customer or the service personnel through (in some cases lockable) hatches in the trim, or by removing carpet and support boards etc. Typical components:
Some vehicles offer configurable cargo conveniences such as a shelf or board. They often serve various purposes. In addition to its 65/35 split fold-down and removable rear seat, the multiposition rear shelf on the Chrysler PT Cruiser can be used as a table for a picnic, a second cargo layer, or a security screen. [29] The Citroën C3 has a foldable segmented false floorboard that compartmentalizes the cargo area, makes loading easier, and evens out the load floor when the back of the rear seat is folded down.
Minivan is a car classification for vehicles designed to transport passengers in the rear seating row(s), with reconfigurable seats in two or three rows. The equivalent classification in Europe is MPV or M-segment - and are taller than a sedan car, hatchback, SUV or station wagon.
A pickup truck or pickup is a light or medium duty truck that has an enclosed cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof. In Australia and New Zealand, both pickups and coupé utilities are called utes, short for utility vehicle. In South Africa, people of all language groups use the term bakkie; a diminutive of Afrikaans: bak, meaning bowl or container.
A station wagon or estate car is an automotive body-style variant of a sedan 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 hatchback is a car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to the main interior of the car as a cargo area rather than just to a separated trunk. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second-row seating, where the interior can be reconfigured to prioritize passenger or cargo volume.
A sedan or saloon is a passenger car in a three-box configuration with separate compartments for an engine, passengers, and cargo. The first recorded use of sedan in reference to an automobile body occurred in 1912. The name derives from the 17th-century litter known as a sedan chair, a one-person enclosed box with windows and carried by porters. Variations of the sedan style include the close-coupled sedan, club sedan, convertible sedan, fastback sedan, hardtop sedan, notchback sedan, and sedanet.
There are many types of car body styles. They vary depending on intended use, market position, location, and the era they were made.
A trunk, also known as a travel trunk, is a large cuboid container designed to hold clothes and other personal belongings. They are most commonly used for extended periods away from home, such as for boarding school, or long trips abroad. Trunks are differentiated from chests by their more rugged construction due to their intended use as luggage, instead of the latter's pure storage.
A liftback is a variation of a hatchback car body style, with a more gently sloping roofline, roughly between 45 and 10 degrees, whereas traditional or archetypal hatchback designs tend to use a 45 degree to near vertical slope on the top-hinged tailgate.
The Nissan Prairie is an automobile manufactured and marketed by Nissan from 1981 to 2004. Considered a mini MPV or a compact MPV. It was also marketed as the Multi in Canada and the Stanza Wagon in the United States. In Japan, it was exclusive to Nissan Bluebird Store locations, then later at Nissan Blue Stage sales channels. The Prairie had a very flexible seating capability and sliding rear doors on both sides of the vehicle, with a liftgate in the back. The name "prairie" was derived from French which means an extensive area of relatively flat grassland, similar to "steppe" or "savanna".
The Toyota Sera is a 3-door 2+2 hatchback coupe manufactured and marketed by Toyota from 1990 to 1996. It was only officially sold in Japan.
The Austin A40 Farina is a small, economy car introduced by Austin in saloon (1958) and A40 Countryman (1959) estate versions. It has a two-box body configuration. It was badged, like many before it, as an A40, consistent with Austin's naming scheme at the time, based on the approximate engine output in horsepower; and to distinguish it from other A40 models, it was also given a suffix name – this one being the Farina, reflecting the all-new design by Italian Battista Farina's Pinin Farina Turin studio.
ZAZ Tavria is a range of front-wheel-drive subcompact cars produced by the Soviet and then Ukrainian manufacturer ZAZ.
A glossary of terms relating to automotive design.
Chevrolet used the name Chevrolet Greenbrier for two distinct vehicles. The first was a six-to-nine-passenger window van version of the Corvair "95" panel van. The Corvair 95 series also included the Loadside and Rampside pickup trucks, featuring a mid-body ramp on the right side. These variants used the Corvair powertrain in a truck body. Production of these vans was from 1961 until 1965.
The configuration of a car body is typically determined by the layout of the engine, passenger and luggage compartments, which can be shared or separately articulated. A key design feature is the car's roof-supporting pillars, designated from front to rear of the car as A-pillar, B-pillar, C-pillar and D-pillar.
A continental tire or a continental kit is the common U.S. term for an upright externally-mounted spare tire behind an automobile's trunk.
A car door is a type of door opening, typically hinged on its front edge, but sometimes attached by other mechanisms such as tracks, for entering and exiting a vehicle. Doors most often integrate side windows for visibility from inside the car and can be locked to secure the vehicle.
A cargo barrier is a vehicle accessory installed into motor vehicles to aid occupancy safety when carrying loads or domestic pets, in the rear section of a vehicle. Other terms used for cargo barriers include: dog guard, mesh partition, load separator, pet barrier, and mesh grille.
The VAM Lerma is an automobile that was designed and manufactured by Vehiculos Automotores Mexicanos from 1981 to 1983. The Lerma shared parts with other vehicles by VAM's license partner American Motors (AMC) to reduce manufacturing costs. It was VAM's top-of-the-line flagship model after the discontinuation of the Classic (Matador) line in 1976. The VAM Lerma was unusual in offering a hatchback design focused at the top-end luxury market. The model was an indirect replacement of the VAM Classic and to some extent the VAM Pacer lines.
The Honda N-Van is a microvan produced by Honda for the Japanese market. The origin for the vehicle's name expresses "next generation light van" proposed by N series as see in the N-One, N-Box, and N-WGN: it is part of a renewed line-up of Kei class city cars. The use of the letter "N" in the name was used by Honda for the late 1960s and 1970s Honda N360.
Project IV Cavalier identical; so were the hood and trunk lid.