Page 1 of 4 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 47

Thread: Four door coupes--what are they, the concept, and who cares?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Mansfield, Ohio
    Posts
    392

    Four door coupes--what are they, the concept, and who cares?

    I've been wondering about the deal with the recent fascination over four door coupes.

    I'll accept that a lot of them look good--the Hyundai Sonata being one of the best. However, it seems that Audi has been heading that direction with the A5 Sportback and the A7 Sportback, and Mercedes-Benz with the E-class based CLS, along with the Volkswagen Passat CC. However, all four-door Audis have sort of a tall coupe-like roofline--look no further than the A4 or especially the A6, or even the A8.

    Mercedes seems to want to cash in on this by making the face-lifted C-class avaliable as a coupe and sedan, the coupe being inspired by the CLS. Even though they don't market their cars as such, BMW have seemingly engineered the 3 series coupe and sedan to share the same roof line.

    And, of course, there's the Mazda RX-8, which had small rear suicide doors on it.

    Where did this recent fascination come from? Even cars that aren't coupes at all have a coupe like styling flair to them, such as the Ford Falcon and the Holden Commodore/Vauxhall VXR8. And the Vauxhall/Opel Insigina, marketed in North America as the Buick Regal.

    Personally, I think that Citroen started this with the DS and later the CX. Even the XM and the C6, both of which have replaced the CX, echo it's coupe-like roof line and hatchback rear end. Audi have done the same theme with the A7.

    Why all this fascination over the past 5 or so years over four door coupes, and does the average car buyer care? Does anyone care, and is that type of styling what makes one want to buy a car or does it put one off?
    Power to me is having the ability to make a change in a positive way. Don't dream it, be it.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Reality
    Posts
    3,151
    Coupes look more sporty and aggressive. Those two attributes play a big roll in what sells cars nowadays. Everyone wants a mean and lean ride, but some don't want to sacrifice practicality. So, naturally, the 4 door coupe.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Posts
    430
    Coupe have always held a "cooler" reputation. I guess it stems from if you have a full size four door (Think 4 door Chevy Malibu), vs. a 2 door (like the Chevelle (which shares the same frame as the Malibu)), the chevelle is 10X cooler because its not some big heavy car (despite sharing the same frame).

    So, the key to the 4 door coupe is that they share the same body line as a "cooler" coupe, but with the convenience of a four door.

    I myself have never been attracted to any of these 4 door coupes. I never thought the body shape matters since they have the same wheel base as their full size four door brethren.
    "Don't think your time on bad things
    Just float your little mind around"
    Jimi Hendrix

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Posts
    10,227
    Coupe = 2 doors.

    Sedan = 4 doors.

    Even if this isn't the technical definition, this is how it should be..

    4 door coupes are lies, and they are poor compromises in my eyes.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Reality
    Posts
    3,151
    Quote Originally Posted by Kitdy View Post
    Coupe = 2 doors.

    Sedan = 4 doors.

    Even if this isn't the technical definition, this is how it should be..

    4 door coupes are lies, and they are poor compromises in my eyes.
    They're just a marketing gimmick in my eyes.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Perth, Australia
    Posts
    6,534
    The CLS sold well, so now everyone is doing one.
    Life's too short to drive bad cars.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Victoria, Australia
    Posts
    2,567
    Sedans went the same way as the family wagon and the people mover. People don't want them, because everyone wants an exciting car. It's a trend that has produced V10 wagons and SUVs that blur the line between over-sized yet still sporty behemoths.

    "4 door coupes" are just stylized sedans. It's not so bad. The name is silly, but the concept works.
    All about the t-tops

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Rozenburg, Holland
    Posts
    27,329
    To make things worse, the Mercedes CLS will also be presented in a shooting brake version, (as a four-door car) This nothing else than a normal break with less interior space, which has been offered to present the car as a so-called lifestyle break whereby the rear section is not designed funtionally but esthetically.
    I think Fiat was one of the firsts to do this with the 1500 break from the mid sixties, where the rear window was put at a 45 degree angle in stead of nearly vertical.

    Anyway a four door coupe is only interesting if it also has a fully opening rear section, (something the big Citroens always lacked,) so Mercedes is getting closer to something more funtional. and yet it will always be a compromise. And for me personally, in my own choice of cars, funtion comes before shape, hence I don't like the new C5 being far too much of a life style combi and less utilitarian. It weighs 100 kg more and has 100 liter less luggage space.
    "I find the whole business of religion profoundly interesting, but it does mystify me that otherwise intelligent people take it seriously." Douglas Adams

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Way Down South
    Posts
    2,734
    Once upon a time, sporty foor-doors without B pillars were called hard top sedans to distinguish them from "formal" sedans, though there are several exceptions. Coupes are by definition (among designers, anyway) close-coupled two-door, nominally four passenger cars.
    Think of '60s marketing with so-called "2+2" offerings as slightly stretched coupes. The current trend is not much different.

    Consider too: "break" is being marketed to a certain demographic; similar to declaring a tailor-altered off-the-rack suit as "bespoke".
    Never own more cars than you can keep charged batteries in...

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Perth, Australia
    Posts
    6,534
    Didn't the call it the 'Shooting Brake' because a Shooting Break is a 2-door wagon? Or something.
    Life's too short to drive bad cars.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Way Down South
    Posts
    2,734
    ^^^ Sort of. "Estates" usually are four-door but the term break or brake has been used for both two and four door models.
    Historically customs built for the wealthy with space for 4, a picnic set and the Purdys, hence "shooting break".

    I like to think of breaks as built on sporting models, estates on formal cars.
    Last edited by csl177; 11-09-2010 at 10:23 PM.
    Never own more cars than you can keep charged batteries in...

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Rozenburg, Holland
    Posts
    27,329
    Quote Originally Posted by csl177 View Post
    ^^^ Sort of. "Estates" usually are four-door but the term break or brake has been used for both two and four door models.
    Historically customs built for the wealthy with space for 4, a picnic set and the Purdys, hence "shooting break".

    I like to think of breaks as built on sporting models, estates on formal cars.
    I think the historical term was shooting brake, a sort of horse pulled carriage for the wealthy hunters in the 19th century.
    The french transformed that into Break, which has become the accepted term for anything utilitarian.
    The word shooting brake for cars returned after the second WW when some specialised English companies started to transform sedans or coupes. Aston Martin, Jaguar and even some Ferraris (330GTC and Daytona) fell victim to this hobby. Few of these were also delivered straight from the factory such as the Reliant Scimitar, but also the Lancia Beta HPE.
    "I find the whole business of religion profoundly interesting, but it does mystify me that otherwise intelligent people take it seriously." Douglas Adams

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Way Down South
    Posts
    2,734
    I agree, have read that explanation before. Add the Volvo 1800ES, Fiat 130, Jensen GT, Peugeot 504 Riviera and even Toyota's Corolla Liftback and Honda Accord Aerodeck. Just variations on what us Yanks call sporty wagons.
    Never own more cars than you can keep charged batteries in...

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Barcelona
    Posts
    33,489
    It's funny when the Germans think they are inventing something.

    The first production* "4 door Coupé" was the 1962 Rover P5 Coupé.

    *Arguably Lancia and Pininfarina were there first with the mid-50's Florida prototypes
    Lack of charisma can be fatal.
    Visca Catalunya!

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    brisbane - sub-tropical land of mangoes
    Posts
    16,251
    Quote Originally Posted by Chernaudi View Post


    Where did this recent fascination come from? Even cars that aren't coupes at all have a coupe like styling flair to them, such as the Ford Falcon and the Holden Commodore/Vauxhall VXR8.
    i'm not sure i understand this. the commodore and falcon have never looked like anything other than sported up taxi's/saloons
    Andreas Preuninger, Manager of Porsche High Performance Cars: "Grandmas can use paddles. They aren't challenging."

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •