How come more cars don't have gullwing or scissor doors?

[F14CRAZY]

Why have these alternative designs been relegated to exotic or concept cars? Actually had suicide rear doors on sedans too. Are they impractical in real life? Don't meet crash standards? Too expensive to implement?

The only drawback to gullwing type door that I can imagine is hitting another vehicle in a tight parking spot but it seems like it would be ok if the hinge was more toward the center of the vehicle.

I can't think of any impracticalities with suicides (is the danger that dangerous? ) and scissor/"lambo" (hate that word) designs.

[Buick61]

Originally Posted by F14CRAZY

Why have these alternative designs been relegated to exotic or concept cars? Actually had suicide rear doors on sedans too. Are they impractical in real life? Don't meet crash standards? Too expensive to implement?

The only drawback to gullwing type door that I can imagine is hitting another vehicle in a tight parking spot but it seems like it would be ok if the hinge was more toward the center of the vehicle.

I can't think of any impracticalities with suicides (is the danger that dangerous? ) and scissor/"lambo" (hate that word) designs.

They're expensive. And, in a rollover, you can't very well open a door that's meant to open up, not out. To engineer a go-around for that isn't cheap. Plus, it's not that easy to pull them down when they're way up in the air and you're sitting in the car.

Also...if it's not broke, why waste money trying to fix it? I don't see there being a demand for these kinds of doors, especially in the mass-market. How many people buying Malibus would ask for the gullwing option?

[Olds88]

I can think of several garages that wouldn't be kind to a vehicle with gullwings.

[balthazar]

The rollover scenario is legitimate.
I would imagine the complexity & cost are a prime factor against a scissor door, whereas the only legitimate benefit is less room required in a parking lot situation.

The 'suicide' door supposedly is a safety concern when parking on the street; hit from a passing car they would slam the door on the exiting motorist.... but I read something recently that discounted that as the reason they are commonly referred to as that.... just can't remember what it was.

[RoGuE]

The DeLorean only needed 12 inches of clearance for the door to open. Much better than regular doors.

And the new Mercedes with gull wing door actually have small explosives mounted at the hinges in the event of a rollover.

[F14CRAZY]

Originally Posted by balthazar

The rollover scenario is legitimate.
I would imagine the complexity & cost are a prime factor against a scissor door, whereas the only legitimate benefit is less room required in a parking lot situation.

The 'suicide' door supposedly is a safety concern when parking on the street; hit from a passing car they would slam the door on the exiting motorist.... but I read something recently that discounted that as the reason they are commonly referred to as that.... just can't remember what it was.

But with a regular door, the passing car would both rip the door off and cream you anyway

[artsiistra]

Funny thing is - suicide doors work great on extended cab trucks. The key is the doors are half-size generally. The half size suicide door could work in a coupe. The old Ford Thunderbird (thinking '69-'72...you can wiki it up ) had some nice suicide doors for that car. Actually looked good on that car!

Now the trend is mostly toward crew cabs and away from extended cabs. I fear extended cabs will go away in five years. I see it already in the '10 Colorados coming into the lots.

[F14CRAZY]

Originally Posted by artsiistra

Funny thing is - suicide doors work great on extended cab trucks. The key is the doors are half-size generally. The half size suicide door could work in a coupe. The old Ford Thunderbird (thinking '69-'72...you can wiki it up ) had some nice suicide doors for that car. Actually looked good on that car!

Now the trend is mostly toward crew cabs and away from extended cabs. I fear extended cabs will go away in five years. I see it already in the '10 Colorados coming into the lots.

oh yeah, like the RX8, Saturn ION, and the SC?

[OLDSCHOOLGMFAN]

Originally Posted by artsiistra

Funny thing is - suicide doors work great on extended cab trucks. The key is the doors are half-size generally. The half size suicide door could work in a coupe. The old Ford Thunderbird (thinking '69-'72...you can wiki it up ) had some nice suicide doors for that car. Actually looked good on that car!

Now the trend is mostly toward crew cabs and away from extended cabs. I fear extended cabs will go away in five years. I see it already in the '10 Colorados coming into the lots.

I think that in the pickup market, vehicles that offer so many body-bed-etc combos, there's still room enough for the extended cabs

[isszy]

The other issue with a gullwing is how to operate them if the mechanism breaks. Holding a door up while you try to get in/out would be an problem.

The suicide door in the Mini Clubman really is a suicide door in RHD markets. It opens into the traffic...

+ YouTube Video

[Neanderthal]

1. Don't work as good.

2. Not a big enough pimp market.

[MCGARRETT]

The planned but never completed 1980 rotary/non rotary Aerovette was supposed to have gull wing doors.

[69nova]

Raising a weight (door) means work done which means a linkage system to make it as easy as rotating the door (as is done now). So it will cost more. Minivans and hatchbacks use a system with the air springs and they wear out and are less effective in the winter (I know about this with 2 minivans). All it takes is for somebody to get bopped on the head by a failure and that idea goes out the door (pun itntended).

[Slideways]

Ever try to get four people out of a vehicle with rear suicide doors? All four doors open up and where do they go if there's a car parked beside them? Granted it's more convenient than having only two doors, but not as easy a four conventional doors.

[MCGARRETT]

I recall the both Mazda and Toyota did offer domestic market small hatches in the early 90's that had gull wing/lambo doors, thats about as close as it came to a cheap car with those doors, I cant recall what the models were called though.