From: GT on
"Adrian" <toomany2cvs(a)gmail.com> wrote in message
news:891m0vF2j5U4(a)mid.individual.net...
> bod <bodron57(a)tiscali.co.uk> gurgled happily, sounding much like they were
> saying:
>
>> Probably started when hatchbacks came along.
>
> Oooh, is it time for that debate again already?

What debate? I missed it last time round. Can we. Can we. 'Hatchback' - a 2
or 4 door car with a 'hatch' at the back (not a door)...


From: GT on
"Man at B&Q" <manatbandq(a)hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:cff0348b-ffc5-4d46-b034-7249745f1381(a)j8g2000yqd.googlegroups.com...
On Jun 30, 8:20 pm, "GT" <a...(a)b.c> wrote:
> "Nick Finnigan" <n...(a)genie.co.uk> wrote in message
>
> news:i0frmj$alj$1(a)news.eternal-september.org...
>
> > GT wrote:
>
> >> In the world that the rest of us live in, we don't have any other items
> >> where the doors with hinges at the top and doesn't give natural access
> >> to
> >> the useful area of the item.
>
> > Some of us have garages.
>
> Well if the definition of a door is something that can open in order to
> obtain access to an internal area, then a window is a door, a vent is a
> door
> etc. I agree that the location of the hinge doesn't detract from 'door'
> status - garage, DeLorean etc. But why and when did we start naming a boot
> 'lid' a door?

Hatchbacks don't have boots. They don't have boot lids.

Yes they do - have you never seen a hatchback? They have boots just the same
as saloon cars, only when you open the boot lid, the window and the rear
parcel shelf opens along with the boot lid, giving much better access to the
boot space. Generally the rear seats fold down just the same in saloons and
hatchbacks, so the only difference is that the window opens along with the
boot lid, which seems to be the only differentiating reason for calling it a
door, instead of a lid...

What would everyone call the 'opening' through which ice-creams are sold on
an ice-cream van? A 'window', a 'door' or a 'hatch'? Its the same as the
opening on the back of a hatchback - opens to allow items to be moved in and
out of the space, not for people to enter or exit through.


From: GT on
"OG" <owen(a)gwynnefamily.org.uk> wrote in message
news:891rlvFet0U1(a)mid.individual.net...
>
> "GT" <a(a)b.c> wrote in message
> news:4c2b44a6$0$12262$c3e8da3(a)news.astraweb.com...
>>> "Kiteflyer" <ann_marie050268(a)yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
>>> news:5e829366-b237-40ec-8853-125ee87107fb(a)g19g2000yqc.googlegroups.com...
>>> I've always had 5 door cars and been able to get cheap roofracks.
>>> Went to Halfords to price a roofrack for my new 3 door, and they said
>>> the only one that would fit a 3 door is a Thule at �175! I'm not
>>> paying that for a roofrack.
>>> They said it was hard to get one for a 3 door as they had to be
>>> specially modified.
>>> Anyone know where I can find a cheaper one?
>>
>> Why do we call them 3 door and 5 door cars? They don't have 3 or 5
>> doors - they have 2 or 4 doors. A family saloon and a family hatchback
>> have 4 passenger doors and a boot. With a hatchback the window opens
>> along with the boot metal, on the saloon, the glass doesn't move when you
>> open the boot - its still not a 'door' though!
>
> Simply, it distinguishes saloons (2/4 doors) from hatchbacks (3/5 doors).

Seems the most logical point so far!


From: Nick Finnigan on
Mortimer wrote:
>
> I wonder what terminology was used for estate cars - which are
> effectively hatchbacks with a slightly longer boot section and a more
> vertical, less sloping back end. Was an estate car with four passenger
> doors and a lifting rear end ever described as having five doors?

... only if it was also available with two passenger doors and a lifting
rear end. OTOH Morris Minor travellers only came as a 2+2 I think.