Sedan definition, was: <VV> 2 door vs 4 door

[Bill Elliott]

Actually, by European standards, all Corvairs (except convertibles) are 
sedans... 2 and 4 door versions. No coupes (which imply a smaller cabin 
and 2+2 seating and often fastback styling). While a Corvair is small by 
US standards, it's not seen that way in the rest of the world and is 
seen to have full 4-5 person seating. The '70's Monza would be seen as a 
coupe.

Bill

airvair wrote:

>With all the talk on this subject, I'd like to note one thing about the
>word "sedan" and that is that, by definition, it does NOT designate the
>number of doors. I am surprised (and disappointed) that there has been a
>concerted effort in the last couple of decades to redefine the word,
>when historically the meaning has been well-established for many decades
>if not centuries.
>
>The first question one has to ask in identifying a car body's identity
>is: 1)Does it have a fixed (main frame portion) or retractable roof? If
>retractable, it's a convertable. If not,
>
>2)Does it have a full-length "B" pillar? If it does not, it's a hardtop.
>If it does,
>
>3)Does it have a full-length roof, shortened roof, or extended roof? If
>it's extended, it's a wagon. If it's shortened, it's a coupe.
>
>Only if it has a full length roof is it a sedan.
>
>Note that there was NO mention of the number of doors.
>
>To place the Corvair models accurately: the early 2door is a sedan,
>specifically a coupe, or more specifically a club coupe; the late 2door
>is a hardtop coupe; the late 4door is a 4door hardtop; and the early
>4door is a 4door sedan. (Note that I did NOT use the word "sedan" to
>designate the number of doors.)
>
>So technically speaking, the only Corvair sedans are the early cars,
>while there are no sedans in the late series. With modern cars, almost
>ALL new cars on the market (that aren't wagons or convertables) are
>sedans.
>
>-Mark
>
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