Car door
A vehicle door is a hinged partition in front of an opening which is used for entering and exiting a vehicle, it can be opened to leave the opening accessible, or closed to make it more secure. These doors are similar to a doors used in buildings.
These doors can be opened manually, or powered electronically. Powered doors are usually found on high-end or modified cars.
Types
There are many different types of car door. These are the types.
OEM or regular
An OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) door (also known as a conventional door or regular door) is a type of door that is hinged at the front-facing edge of the door and so allows the door to swing outward from the body of the car
Suicide doors
Suicide doors are a type of door that is hinged on its trailing edge.
Scissor doors
Scissor doors are doors that rotate vertically upward and are hinged at a near the end of the windshield.
Butterfly doors
Butterfly doors are a type of door that are similar to scissor doors, but while scissor doors move up, butterfly doors also move outwards, which makes for easier entry/exit and saves space.
Gull-wing doors
Gull-wing doors are a type of door that are hinged at the roof rather than the side. They are so named because, when opened, the doors evoke the image of a seagull's wings.
Sliding doors
Sliding doors are a type of door that open by sliding horizontally, whereby the door is either mounted on or suspended from a track. They are often used on the side of commercial vans, as this allows a large opening for equipment to be loaded and unloaded without obstructing access.
Canopy doors
A canopy door is a type of door that sits on top of a car and lifts up in some way, to provide access for passengers. It is similar to an aircraft canopy. There are no set rules to canopies, so they can be hinged at the front, side or back, although hinging at the front is most common. Canopy doors are rarely used on production cars, and are sometimes used on concept cars.
Door brakes
Vehicle doors often include brakes that slow the door down just before it closes. The current standard is to have a three-stage door brake.
Door brakes exist because the doors on the first vehicles were heavy, so they had to be pushed hard to make them close. Soon after, manufacturers managed to manufacture lighter doors, but users were used to closing doors with force so doors quickly became damaged. Door brakes were then introduced to slow down the door just before the door closed to prevent damage, these soon became standard.
Usage
- Front doors
- Rear doors
- Hatch (categorized as a door in Europe, see “Door categorization” below.)
Door categorization
Hatchback and estate bodies are sold as 'three-door' or 'five-door' models. In these cases, the rear hatch is classified as a door; this is because it enters the passenger compartment. With other vehicles such as saloons and coupés, the boot lid is not counted as a door by definition because it is for a separate storage compartment - these cars are sold as '2 door' or '5 door'. This system is mainly used in Europe, but is less common in North America. In Europe, the American-style labelling is occasionally used.
Usually in North America, cars are only sold as "two-door" or "four-door" models. This American-style labelling only includes the passengers' and driver's doors, and not hatches on hatchbacks and station wagons. This has led to many not understanding that hatches are counted as doors in Europe, whilst the lids to sealed trunks aren't.
Parts
- Door card
- Door handle
- Door switch (A simple on/off mechanism connected to a light on the dashboard, used to inform the driver when the door is not closed, more common on vehicles intended for American markets than European.)
- Glass window
- Door locks which can work on a remote system
- Interior storage compartment
Being doored
Cyclists often refer to colliding with an open car door as "being doored".[1] This usually happens when the cyclist is biking alongside a row of parallel-parked cars, and a driver suddenly opens his or her door immediately in front of the cyclist.
See also
- Automobile
- Butterfly doors
- Gull-wing door
- Scissor doors
- Suicide door
- Sliding doors
- Canopy door
- List of cars with unusual door designs
References
- ^ "get doored (verb)". Word Spy. Retrieved 2007-10-30.
