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Sliding door (vehicle)
Encyclopedia
A sliding door
is a type of door that opens by sliding (usually horizontally), whereby the door is either mounted on or suspended from a track. These aren't usually used in small vehicles, but generally they're most commonly used for minibuses and buses to provide a large entrance or exit for passengers without obstructing the pavement. They are often used on the side of commercial van
s as well, as this allows a large opening for equipment to be loaded and unloaded without obstructing access.
Sliding doors are often used in mini MPV
s such as the Toyota Porte
and Peugeot 1007
and Renault Kangoo
, but are more commonly used in full-sized MPVs
like the Toyota Previa
, the Citroën C8, the Peugeot 807, the Chrysler Voyager
and the Kia Sedona. Their use has increased over the years as MPVs have increased in popularity, because it gives easy access and makes parking in tight spaces possible.
A pocket door
is a sliding door that slides along its length and disappears, when open, into a compartment in the adjacent wall, or as in terms of vehicles, into the car's bodywork
. Pocket doors are often used in architecture, but rarely in vehicles.
was the first and only car manufacturer
to feature pocket doors, although not all of their cars had pocket doors. To date, no other vehicle has utilised pocket doors. Their unique pocket doors slide tidily into the front fender, which leaves the vehicle looking a lot more aesthetically pleasing than the doors sliding outside of the bodywork.
The bonnets on these Kaisers are significantly longer than most bonnets, because the engine can't be transversely mounted, as it has to have space for the doors to slide into. This means the car is longer than necessary and so less manoeuvrable.
, usually on a rail or track.
The BMW Z1
's unusual vertical-sliding doors are one of its most interesting features. The doors slide-vertically down into the car's chassis
. This means that they slide into a compartment within the car's body and so are also technically pocket doors, but they aren't classified as such because they don't slide along their length into an adjacent compartment. The inspiration for these doors came from traditional roadster
s which often feature removable metal or cloth doors. Because removable doors did not fit within BMW's design goals, the vertical-sliding doors were installed instead.
Because the doors slide vertically downwards into the body, the top halves of the sides of the car slide into the bottom half. The high sills can make entry and exit harder, although they do offer crash protection independent of the doors, so the vehicle may be legally and safely driven with the doors up or down. BMW never imported the Z1 to the U.S. They are legal in the U.S., but only when the car is imported under the NHTSA's Show & Display exemption for techologically and historically significant vehicles.
The windows can be operated independently of the doors, although they will automatically retract if the door is lowered. http://www.bmwz1.co.uk/
concept car's doors slide into the frame underbody and disappear from view. By doing this, it eradicated the problem of a high door sill that the Z1 experienced. However, this design is much more complicated, so the risk of failure is increased. Also, all of the mechanisms to make the doors work add a significant amount of weight to the car, slowing it down, and making it less efficient.
This was designed because Lincoln
executives were concerned about the large heavy doors on the Mark VIII and wanted to improve them, especially for cities with tight parking space
s. They had the idea of a Mark VIII that had doors that disappeared beneath the car and would require no additional space outside the car's wheelbase
for the doors to open in order to allow people to enter or exit. At this time it was usual for the large car manufacturers to sub-contract their concepts to other companies who specialized in making concepts reality. In this case, this Mark VIII was sent to Joalto Design Inc. near Detroit. Joalto still holds many US Patent
s for with this vehicle's chassis and body construction.
Joalto Design Inc. created this one-of-a-kind concept car and shipped it back to Lincoln for executive approval for production. Unfortunately, the executives didn't like the design and ordered for the car (and the concept) to be sent to the scrapheap and destroyed. Fortunately the car wasn't destroyed, and was sold on Ebay
in September 2007.
on the exterior of the vehicle, this type has it inside and on the side of the door itself. This allows the exterior to remain clean in design and yet the door can slide past the trailing edge of the car. However, this design is very unusual and can only be found on the Mitsubishi RVR
. Invented by Mitsubishi Motors, it was designed because the RVR is a short car compared to the size of the siding door, making it incapable of having a track on the exterior of the car. Thus, the inner-track mechanism was used so the sliding door can slide open wide enough to let passengers enter and exit the car easily. The new Mitsubishi EK Wagon also uses this type of sliding door, but has it only on one side while the driver's side door of the back seats is a normal hinge door. The sliding door of the EK wagon is also electric-powered.
Sliding door
A sliding door is a type of door which opens horizontally by sliding, whereby the door is either mounted on or suspended from a track. Types of sliding doors include pocket doors, Arcadia doors, and bypass doors...
is a type of door that opens by sliding (usually horizontally), whereby the door is either mounted on or suspended from a track. These aren't usually used in small vehicles, but generally they're most commonly used for minibuses and buses to provide a large entrance or exit for passengers without obstructing the pavement. They are often used on the side of commercial van
Van
A van is a kind of vehicle used for transporting goods or groups of people.In British English usage, it can be either specially designed or based on a saloon or sedan car, the latter type often including derivatives with open backs...
s as well, as this allows a large opening for equipment to be loaded and unloaded without obstructing access.
Mini MPV
Mini MPV is a car classification used to describe superminis or subcompacts which have taller build, fitting below the compact MPV and large MPV classifications....
s such as the Toyota Porte
Toyota Porte
The Toyota Porte is a mini MPV produced by Japanese automaker Toyota. It is sold only in Japan which means only RHD and was introduced in July 2004. It is either a four or five-seater based on the Toyota Vitz subcompact car...
and Peugeot 1007
Peugeot 1007
The Peugeot 1007 is a hatchback produced by the French automobile manufacturer Peugeot from 2004 to 2009. It was based on the same platform as the Peugeot 206 and Citroën C3.-Design:...
and Renault Kangoo
Renault Kangoo
The Renault Kangoo and Kangoo Express are panel van and leisure activity vehicle produced by French automaker Renault since 1997. The Kangoo is manufactured in the MCA plant in Maubeuge, France, and in Santa Isabel, Argentina. The version for the ASEAN markets was assembled by the Tan Chong Euro...
, but are more commonly used in full-sized MPVs
Minivan
Minivan is a type of van designed for personal use. Minivans are typically either two-box or one box designs for maximum interior volume – and are taller than a sedan, hatchback, or a station wagon....
like the Toyota Previa
Toyota Previa
The Toyota Previa, also known as the Toyota Estima in Japan and the Toyota Tarago in Australia, is an MPV or multi-purpose vehicle produced by Toyota Motor Corporation since 1990...
, the Citroën C8, the Peugeot 807, the Chrysler Voyager
Chrysler Voyager
The Chrysler Voyager or Chrysler Grand Voyager is a minivan sold by the Chrysler division of American automobile manufacturer Chrysler Group LLC...
and the Kia Sedona. Their use has increased over the years as MPVs have increased in popularity, because it gives easy access and makes parking in tight spaces possible.
Pocket doors
Pocket door
A pocket door is a sliding door that disappears, when fully open, into a compartment in the adjacent wall. Pocket doors are used for architectural effect, or when there is no room for the swing of a hinged door. They usually travel on rollers suspended from an overhead track, although some also...
is a sliding door that slides along its length and disappears, when open, into a compartment in the adjacent wall, or as in terms of vehicles, into the car's bodywork
Coachwork
Coachwork is the body of a horse-drawn coach or carriage, a motor vehicle , a railroad car or railway carriage. Usually reserved for bodies built on a separate chassis, rather than being of unitary or monocoque construction...
. Pocket doors are often used in architecture, but rarely in vehicles.
1953 Kaiser Motors
KaiserKaiser Motors
Kaiser Motors Corporation made automobiles at Willow Run, Michigan, United States, from 1945 to 1953. In 1953, Kaiser merged with Willys-Overland to form Willys Motors Incorporated, moving its production operations to the Willys plant at Toledo, Ohio...
was the first and only car manufacturer
Automotive industry
The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles, and is one of the world's most important economic sectors by revenue....
to feature pocket doors, although not all of their cars had pocket doors. To date, no other vehicle has utilised pocket doors. Their unique pocket doors slide tidily into the front fender, which leaves the vehicle looking a lot more aesthetically pleasing than the doors sliding outside of the bodywork.
The bonnets on these Kaisers are significantly longer than most bonnets, because the engine can't be transversely mounted, as it has to have space for the doors to slide into. This means the car is longer than necessary and so less manoeuvrable.
Vertical doors
A vertical door is a type of sliding door that slides verticallyVertical direction
In astronomy, geography, geometry and related sciences and contexts, a direction passing by a given point is said to be vertical if it is locally aligned with the gradient of the gravity field, i.e., with the direction of the gravitational force at that point...
, usually on a rail or track.
1989-1991 BMW Z1
BMW Z1
The BMW Z1 was a two-seat roadster developed by BMW and produced from March 1989 to June 1991. The Z1 featured doors which dropped down into the door sills. A total of 8,000 cars were produced.-History:...
's unusual vertical-sliding doors are one of its most interesting features. The doors slide-vertically down into the car's chassis
Chassis
A chassis consists of an internal framework that supports a man-made object. It is analogous to an animal's skeleton. An example of a chassis is the underpart of a motor vehicle, consisting of the frame with the wheels and machinery.- Vehicles :In the case of vehicles, the term chassis means the...
. This means that they slide into a compartment within the car's body and so are also technically pocket doors, but they aren't classified as such because they don't slide along their length into an adjacent compartment. The inspiration for these doors came from traditional roadster
Roadster
A roadster is a two-seat open car with emphasis on sporty handling and without a fixed roof or side weather protection. Strictly speaking a roadster with wind-up windows is a convertible but as true roadsters are no longer made the distinction is now irrelevant...
s which often feature removable metal or cloth doors. Because removable doors did not fit within BMW's design goals, the vertical-sliding doors were installed instead.
Because the doors slide vertically downwards into the body, the top halves of the sides of the car slide into the bottom half. The high sills can make entry and exit harder, although they do offer crash protection independent of the doors, so the vehicle may be legally and safely driven with the doors up or down. BMW never imported the Z1 to the U.S. They are legal in the U.S., but only when the car is imported under the NHTSA's Show & Display exemption for techologically and historically significant vehicles.
The windows can be operated independently of the doors, although they will automatically retract if the door is lowered. http://www.bmwz1.co.uk/
1993 Lincoln Mark VIII concept car
The Lincoln Mark VIIILincoln Mark VIII
The Lincoln Mark VIII is a large, rear-wheel drive grand touring luxury coupe built from 1993 to 1998. It was the successor of the Mark VII. The Mark VIII was built at Ford's Wixom, Michigan assembly plant and was based on the FN10 platform, a relative of the MN12 platform which underpinned the...
concept car's doors slide into the frame underbody and disappear from view. By doing this, it eradicated the problem of a high door sill that the Z1 experienced. However, this design is much more complicated, so the risk of failure is increased. Also, all of the mechanisms to make the doors work add a significant amount of weight to the car, slowing it down, and making it less efficient.
This was designed because Lincoln
Lincoln (automobile)
Lincoln is an American luxury vehicle brand of the Ford Motor Company. Lincoln vehicles are sold mostly in North America.-History:The company was founded in August 1915 by Henry M. Leland, one of the founders of Cadillac . During World War I, he left Cadillac which was sold to General Motors...
executives were concerned about the large heavy doors on the Mark VIII and wanted to improve them, especially for cities with tight parking space
Parking space
A parking space is a location that is designated for parking, either paved or unpaved.Parking spaces can be in a parking garage, in a parking lot or on a city street. It is usually designated by a white-paint-on-tar rectangle indicated by three lines at the top, left and right of the designated area...
s. They had the idea of a Mark VIII that had doors that disappeared beneath the car and would require no additional space outside the car's wheelbase
Wheelbase
In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels.- Road :In automobiles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the center of the front wheel and the center of the rear wheel...
for the doors to open in order to allow people to enter or exit. At this time it was usual for the large car manufacturers to sub-contract their concepts to other companies who specialized in making concepts reality. In this case, this Mark VIII was sent to Joalto Design Inc. near Detroit. Joalto still holds many US Patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
s for with this vehicle's chassis and body construction.
Joalto Design Inc. created this one-of-a-kind concept car and shipped it back to Lincoln for executive approval for production. Unfortunately, the executives didn't like the design and ordered for the car (and the concept) to be sent to the scrapheap and destroyed. Fortunately the car wasn't destroyed, and was sold on Ebay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
in September 2007.
Inner-Track sliding door
Opens normally like a traditional van sliding door, but unlike most sliding doors where the track ison the exterior of the vehicle, this type has it inside and on the side of the door itself. This allows the exterior to remain clean in design and yet the door can slide past the trailing edge of the car. However, this design is very unusual and can only be found on the Mitsubishi RVR
Mitsubishi RVR
The Mitsubishi RVR is Mitsubishi Motors compact MPV introduced in 1991, with the second generation released in 2002, and a compact crossover which was introduced in 2010....
. Invented by Mitsubishi Motors, it was designed because the RVR is a short car compared to the size of the siding door, making it incapable of having a track on the exterior of the car. Thus, the inner-track mechanism was used so the sliding door can slide open wide enough to let passengers enter and exit the car easily. The new Mitsubishi EK Wagon also uses this type of sliding door, but has it only on one side while the driver's side door of the back seats is a normal hinge door. The sliding door of the EK wagon is also electric-powered.
See also
- List of cars with unusual door designs
- Suicide doors
- Scissor doorsScissor doorsScissor doors are automobile doors that rotate vertically at a fixed hinge at the front of the door, rather than outwardly as with a conventional door.- History :The first vehicle to feature scissor doors was the 1968 Alfa Romeo Carabo concept car, designed...
- Butterfly doorsButterfly doorsButterfly doors or vertical doors are a type of door sometimes seen on high-performance automobiles. They are similar to scissor doors, but while scissor doors move up, butterfly doors also move outwards, which makes for easier entry/exit at the expense of saving space.The McLaren F1, Alfa Romeo 33...
- Gullwing doors
- Canopy doorVehicle canopyA vehicle canopy is a rarely used type of door for cars. It has no official name so it is also known as an articulated canopy, bubble canopy, cockpit canopy, canopy door, or simply a canopy. A canopy is a type of door which sits on top of a car and lifts up in some way, to provide access for...
- Car door