<VV> Late 4-doors

[Ken Pepke]

OK, Clark … 42+ years as a design engineer at Fisher Body [and continuing on after they deleted the Fisher name] taught me that in the automotive industry [SAE] the definition of a SEDAN is a vehicle with a row of passenger seats behind the driver seat.

A SEDAN can be two doors or four doors.  It can be with a 'B' pillar or without.  It can be a convertible with 2 or 4 doors.

A STATION WAGON can be 2 or 4 doors and generally has two rows of seating, or one row of seating and a load floor, behind the driver.

Originally a COUPE was a 2 door that had no row of seating behind the driver.  Later the 'Club' Coupe added an abbreviated row of seats behind the driver and differed from a two door sedan by the smaller volume of the space behind the driver.  It may or may not have a fixed 'B' pillar.  

So, both EM and LM 4 door Corvairs are SEDANS by virtue of their row or seating behind the driver.

The real question is are EM Corvairs two door sedans or coupes?  How about LMs?  I have never seen published the volume of either so I cannot compare it to the SAE standards … and visually it is kind of close to call.  My guess they would be SEDANS.  The convertibles would both be coupes because the top mechanism reduces the volume of the area behind the driver seat.

Ken P
Wyandotte, MI
65 Monza 110hp 4 speed 2 door
Worry looks around; Sorry looks back, Faith looks up.

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On Dec 3, 2012, at 3:47 PM, Clark Hartzel wrote:

> Is it time to start the argument that late 4-doors are not sedans?
> Sedans have a B pillar.  The Corvair is a 4-door hardtop with no B pillars.
> GRIN, Clark Hartzel