I have always thought that a sedan had to have four doors and any two-door car was a coupe; the body-style designation of my state DMV also labels any four-door car as a sedan, while two-doors are coupes.


I have been reading "Cars of the Fifties" and nearly all of the manufacturers offered a TWO-DOOR sedan, as well as also offering coupes; so, now I am somewhat confused.


What seperates a two-door sedan from a coupe ??


One old-timer seemed to think it had more to do with wheel-base length, thus more rear-seat leg-room, than whether the car had two or four doors.

Thanks.

 

Explains it in the history section.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coup%C3%A9

MikeyB

 

According to the old definition there is no such thing as coupe anymore. It there are no window frames (posts) on the doors and no b-pillar then it is a coupe. If it has a b-pillar behind the drivers door then it is a sedan.

 

Thank you; and, that is good reading, by the way.


Speaking of window frames, on looking at pictures of some of the pillar-less/frame-less doors/windows, what sealed the gap between the front and rear window ??

I would think a track or guide or something would surely have to be on one glass, in order to keep it lined up with the other and seal out the weather.



Also, I don't see frameless windows anymore; are they illegal now ??

Thanks.

 

Back in the fifties, most manufacturers offered two coupes - - one the traditional couple where the roof sloped down right behind the front seat lowering headroom in the rear seat and less legroom in the rear. The two door sedan had a more flat roof design going almost to the rear of the car making higher headroom and the rear sloped down at a steep angle. The trunk on the sedan opened out toward the rear and up - - the coupe opened up. The two door sedan was the same basic configuration as the four door sedan with only two larger doors.

 

Cars cant pass the new side impact requirements with the post less windows. Thats why the new challenger and mustang's rear windows do not roll down. Also the windows without the post have more wind noise than the postless. IIRC there is a window track and weather strip on the front of the rear window for the front window to seal to.

 

The traditional 2 door sedan had a door post around the window, or a window frame.

The 2 door coupe, or hardtop, has no window frame. So when the windows are down there is no post between the front and rear side windows. In the '60s Oldsmobile and Cadillac had 4 door hardtops.

The coupe is more sporty looking and the sedan is a stronger and tighter body.

On the coupe, the driver's side and passenger side glass has a metal strip and rubber insert that seals against the rear glass or the strip is on the rear glass and seals against the front side glass. The top of the glass seals against a rubber gasket mounted along the roof instead of, as on the sedan, going up into a groove in a door frame.

Today you don't have a choice, but in the fifties and '60s you could get either one. The '57 Chevy and the '68 Plymouths are good examples.

Sometimes it's called a "Tudor Sedan", as in the '40 Ford Tudor Sedan. Sometimes the coupe is called a tudor hardtop or a two door hardtop.

 

Also you will hear them called post or non post cars.