This will be a relatable truth to anyone who’s ever made the mistake of looking at their own years-old social media posts, but life is all about improvement. Things we once did, opinions we once held, and yes, words we once used may no longer hold water or be looked upon favorably today. But as long as we recognize the error in our ways and correct ourselves going forward, it’s fine. That’s life.
With all that in mind, I come before you today to formally point out one car-related colloquialism that should probably be retired for reasons that are obvious once you’ve actually thought about it for more than two seconds: “suicide doors.” Even if you’re not a car expert, you probably know the term. It refers to the doors on a car that open the opposite way they usually do—insides facing forward, not back—but their common name needlessly invokes a very morbid and very real mental health issue.
According to J.D. Power, the term was popularized by Ralph Nader in his 1965 book Unsafe at Any Speed: The Dangers of the American Automobile. That style of door was a lot more popular back then, but cars were also getting faster, making them actual safety hazards—hence the alarmist but mostly well-meaning moniker.
Modern car doors rarely swing this way, but when they do, we have technology like latches and locks that keep them in place, so the danger Nader was trying to convey is no longer relevant. And as Jason eloquently points out in Slack, the name was never even factually that accurate. “They were never really suicide, logically, because they got the name because the wind would catch them and they’d fly open; so it was more of a manslaughter door.”
Instead, I think we should borrow from the world of interior design (and refrigerators), where there is indeed a very simple name for a pair of doors that open like the ones on the car above: French doors. After all, if Whirlpool can figure out how to make its opposing-hinged products sound classy, Ferrari probably deserves the same dignity.
Topshot: Lincoln
This is something I’ve never given much thought to but now that you’ve brought it to my attention, I’m on board. I won’t be using the old term anymore, thanks.
Clam Doors
After 22 years of owning an RX8, they’re the cargo bay doors. You can fit an unbelievable amount of stuff in that car as long as it’s not 4 people, in large part due to the doors.
(To me french doors don’t seem right because you can’t open them independently)
And it’s not a Renault, Citroen or Peugeot – in which case any doors are French.
We don’t call sliding doors “Shoji” or “Patio Doors” either – do we?
I like “coach doors,” myself.
Having saved two people from suicide, this is the first time that I’ve been bothered by the name—not for the connotation, but because it was popularized by Ralph Nader. I had always assumed it was a prewar term (when the doors were far more popular) I took as a dark humor comment on the danger of opening them in motion or even in choosing a car that had them from a time when people were more apt to blame themselves than a corporation’s questionable design decision. I’m all for changing it as it’s outdated with safety mechanisms that resist dangerous opening and doors don’t fly open as easily as in the past due to better construction. Coach doors is a bit pretentious sounding, but isn’t as clunky or bland as “reverse-opening” or “rear-hinged”. French doors only works if there are opposing pairs on one side and seems wrong for the cars whose pairs opened from the center pillar (for how often those are never encountered outside of a concours lawn). I don’t like “freestyle doors” as it sounds too goofy or something, but certainly more egalitarian than “coach”. I wonder what the funeral industry used to call the rear doors on a side loader hearse. Referring to those as suicide doors could seem more that a bit callous depending on circumstance, so perhaps they had a suitable alternative.
“Suicide doors” on a Rolls Royce is only wishful thinking on the part of the other 99%.
I’ve always stuck with Mazda’s “freestyle doors” nomenclature. Let’s just make that standard. It sounds good
I like this for the added benefit of it seemingly recalling the 80s/90s car design ethos that “fun” was a valid automotive pursuit!
Unless it’s a coupe with front opening doors – such as the Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe/DHC, Dawn, Wraith and Spectre.
Remember too that “Sedan”, “Coupe”, “Cabriolet”, “Wagon”, “Landaulet” and “Brougham” are also based on centuries-old descriptors for types of horse-drawn conveyances.
I believe “Coach Doors” does just fine.
In Poland we call these “kurołapki” – chicken-catchers. You could catch chickens when driving through villages 😉
Yes. I absolutely think we should start calling them chicken catchers. That’s great.
This is a perfect suggestion. Around me, they could be considered “rabbit catchers.”
So I’m imagining 2 guys sitting in the back of an RX8 grabbing chickens as they’re driving down the street. (I guess that means there’s two guys choking the chicken back there?) Once they grab them what do they do with them? Throw them into an oversized KFC bucket that sits in the front seat? Shove them through the ski pass-through into the trunk? How many chickens is considered a good haul? Where do you take these chickens? So many questions, but I love the name.