<VV> Sport Sedans (4 door hardtops)

Ken Pepke kenpepke at juno.com
Wed Dec 5 12:31:45 EST 2012


On Dec 4, 2012, at 1:53 PM, Bill H. wrote:

>                                                                           B"H
> 
> Carl:  You are no doubt aware that many Canadian market 4 door hardtops made it to the Australian market back in the 1960s.  For example, GM Holden marketed the Pontiac Parisienne 4 door hardtop in the late 1960s.  It was RHD, used a modified version of the 1965 Impala dash, and (at least in 1968) had a Chevy Impala steering wheel but with a Pontiac "arrowhead" emblem.

>> snip <<

> Each manufacturer had their own designations for marketing their body styles, so in the end, I guess it's matter of personal preference.
> 
> Best regards...Bill Hershkowitz




Not so much.  All US manufacturers follow the SAE naming standards but as variations developed descriptive names were added and then contracted for convenience.  An example would be the style know as 65 Corvairs with two doors and a steel top, no 'B' pillar.  Originally that design was called a 'Convertible styled hardtop 2 door sedan.'  It first got contracted to 'convertible hardtop 2 door sedan' [which does not make all that much sense]  From there it went to '2 door hard top.' A 4 door model without a 'B' pillar was added to make a '4 door hardtop.'  The 'sedan' part as assumed in both these cases.  

Only because the 4 door pillar-less models are no longer produced is the need for '2 door' or '4 door' become less used. Now we just say 'hardtop' for the 2 doors.  The sedan part still remains assumed. 

None of these name evolutions ever served to change the SAE standards set to determine the definition of sedans vs coupes.  None of the 'Big Three' ever built a 'Convertible styled 2 door hardtop' vehicle with a small enough rear seat area volume to qualify as a coupe … except PERHAPS the Corvair.  One non 'Big Three' that did was Studebaker in 1953 and up through the end of the Hawk production.

Somewhere in the 70s when 'bad' became good and 'bitchin' was desirable, some less than knowledgable individuals started using coupe when they meant 2 door sedan.  Oh well …

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


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