<VV> degrading terminology, was: FOR SALE

[airvair at earthlink.net]

And let us not forget that the Brits call a wagon a "shooting brake". My
Gawd, where on earth did they get THAT term?

So much for trying to compare British terms with US automobile industry
standard terminology.

For the record, American industry standard terminology dictates that a
"sedan" is any car with a full-length, rocker to roof "B" pillar,
regardless of the number of doors. A hardtop is a car that has a fixed
steel roof, but the "B" pillar doesn't go higher than the beltline, and
thus doesn't meet the roof. Today, virtually ALL new cars can be properly
called sedans.

Smitty, you can argue all you want, but it's YOU who's in error.

This despite the fact that it's Chevrolet marketing (and I give them the
responsibility for it) that screwed up the public's perception of what a
"sedan" really is. Chevy marketing called the 4door hardtop a "sport
sedan", despite that fact that wasn't really a sedan. It was simply a
marketing ploy, just like the word "sport", even though the car wasn't a
"sport" anything. It was simply that the hardtop was considered sportier
than its sedan counterpart.

So yes, I am correct in observing that there were NO late model Corvair
sedans.

Personally, I don't like having the "sedan" misused on the LM Corvairs,
because, historically, the hardtop models were always the premium body
style. Take for instance the '57 Chevy lineup. There were 150 and 210 model
4door and 2door sedans, along with Bel Air model 4door and 2door sedans and
2door and 4door hardtops (along with the wagons and converts). The hardtops
were the premium body style. Even thru the '60's this was true. So to call
a LM Corvair a "sedan" is to degrade its value. And haven't others degraded
Corvairs enough, without fellow Corvair enthusiasts degrading each others'
cars?

-Mark


> [Original Message]
> From: Kenneth E Pepke <kenpepke at juno.com>
> Subject: Re: <VV> WAS FOR Sale
>
> PS. for Alan ...
>
> On your side of the pond I suppose the terms would be 'fixed
> head'  and 'drop head'.  :-)
> Ken P
>
> [Original Message]
> From: Alan and Clare Wesson <alan.wesson at atlas.co.uk>
> Subject: Re: <VV> FOR SALE
>
> P.S. And Chevy called them Sport Sedans...
>
> Cheers
>
> Alan
>
> P.P.S. And in this ad:
>
> http://www.vintageadsandstuff.com/viewcorvair29.jpeg
>
> They refer to them as sedans!
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Alan and Clare Wesson" <alan.wesson at atlas.co.uk>
> Subject: Re: <VV> FOR SALE
>
> > What constitutes a sedan is the number of *windows*, and in fact a sedan
> > should have 4 (a closed car with 4 is called a Berlina or a Sedan, 
> > depending
> > whether you are an American or a continental European. In the UK we call
> > them saloons).
> >
> > This is because they were named after the original stage coaches from 
> > Paris
> > to Berlin and Sedan. The Europeans went with the 'Berlina' nomenclature,
> > although some of them (principally the Italians and Germans) use 
> > 'Limousine'
> > for as a synonym for 'Sedan'. The coaches from Paris to Berlin and
Sedan 
> > had
> > 4 windows, because both of those cities are quite far north (so they 
> > didn't
> > need to let lots of sun in).
> >
> > In the UK we use 'Limousine' to mean a closed car with 6 windows. This
is
> > because the stage coach from Paris to Limoges (Limousine is the feminine
> > adjective from Limoges) had 6 windows (Limoges is south of Paris and so
> > there is more sun).
> >
> > It's nothing to do with door pillars - these were unknown in the days of
> > stage coaches!
> >
> > Cheers
> >
> > Alan
>