Popular Mechanics has a delightful article called "The 13 Most Dangerous Car Interiors in History." Runner up is
the Lincoln Continental with suicide doors.
"Suicide doors" got their name for a reason. Many early cars didn't have locking doors, door latches opened by pressing downward, and a downward-opening latch often served as an armrest. It was a recipe for catastrophe. Without a seatbelt, anyone chilling in the back of a car with rear-swinging doors could easily fall out, especially since the wind would catch the door and blow it open. The gorgeous 1961 Lincoln Continental had suicide rear doors, harking back to a much earlier era of coachbuilt luxury cars of the 1920s.
That happens to be the subject of a pretty great rockabilly song by the Reverend Horton Heat.
"Suicide doors" got their name for a reason.
ReplyDeleteA couple of reasons, actually, the most common resulting from a passenger exiting the left door without craning his neck to look over his shoulder. His head would get waffled between the door and the frame when the door was hit by a close-passing car.