This is a glossary of some of the more common
terminology used to describe types of car body
design, and equipment fitted thereon. It is by
no means the last word, just a guide to help
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ANTIQUE - a general description of an object
having special value because of it's age (usually
more than 100years old) in automotive terms it
tends to refer to a vehicle that was built prior
ALL WEATHER - a term used in the twenties
and thirties to denote a four door convertible
BAQUET- the literal translation is 'bath
tub'. It refers to cars at the beginning of the
century in Europe with two rows of raised seats
(single seats or divans) similar to those used
in turn of the century horse drawn carriages.
Baquets were generally without front doors, a
top or a windshield. In the United States the
term 'touring' was often used. Also see Phaeton
BARCHETTA - an open top car dedicated
to racing without doors or a top and with uniform
and streamlined bodywork. It could have one or
two separate seats.
BAROUCHE- a carriage term very rarely
used for automobiles. The driver sat in an open
front seat with two couples facing each other
inside a closed cabin. There was a folding top
over the rear seat.
BATEAU - The shape of the rear end of
open-topped racers at the beginning of the century,
which looked like the hull of a boat. Also see
BERLINE - a sedan
BOATTAIL - the tapered form of the rear-end.
The term literally describes the shape of the
vehicle tail, which resembled the bow of a boat.
Popular in racing. Also see Bateau
BONNET - English term for panel that covers
the engine. Americans call it a hood.
BOOT - English term for panel that covers
the rear luggage compartment. Americans call
it a trunk.
BROUGHAM - in early motoring this broad
term signified a closed car for two or four persons.
In later forms it was often found to describe
a car with an open front driver's compartment.
When coupled with sharp lines and flat surfaces
it may be called a 'Panel Brougham'.
BULLNOSE - a term in use in England during
the 1920's to indicate a type of radiator, which
supposedly resembled the nose of a bull! E.g.:
BUSINESS COUPE - a simple two-door coupe
without a rumble seat, such as used by doctors,
bankers and salesman etc. Everyday transport
for the middleclass.
CABRIOLET - generally this means a convertible
car with windows. However, this term has changed
meaning significantly over the years and can
even mean different things in different countries.
During the 1920's and 30's in Europe it meant
an open car with a top, two doors and four seats,
which was most often derived from a sedan. The
equivalent in Great Britain was called a drop-head
coupe while the English used the term Cabriolet
to mean a four door open top car. Concurrently
in the United States, the term used was Convertible
coupe. Today Cabriolet describes open top cars
derived from a sedan or coupe. It could also
be understood to mean an open top car with two
rows of seats with just two doors. Although in
reality it can have any number of doors and windows.
CHUMMY - In England from 1920 and up,
a chummy was an open top car. The vehicle was
usually a 2+2 i.e.: two full-sized seats up front
with two small 'occasional' seats in the rear.
CLASSIC - according to the Classic Car
Club of America this term refers only to specific
or important marques built between 1925 and 1942
(with certain post-war exceptions). It is however
applied today by owners of almost any collectible
car more that is more than 25 years old.
CLUB COUPE - a two-door closed car with
a rear seat.
COACH-LINE - a painted accent line on
the body of a car. Modern equivalent is the pinstripe.
CONCOURS (d'Elegance) - a gathering or
show of the elegant.
CONVERTIBLE - In short, a car with a folding
top and windows! In the US from 1927 on, the
term was used to mean a car with a soft, retractable
top was hooked permanently to the bodywork, and
therefore not removable like a roadster's was.
Other requisites were side windows that opened
and the absence of any framework above the waist
of the car apart from the windshield. The most
common example of the was therefore called a
convertible coupe these had two doors, whilst
cars with four doors were called convertible
sedans. In both cases four or five people could
CONVERTIBLE ROADSTER - a convertible is
an open car with windows; a roadster is an open
car without windows, hence a term which contradicts
itself. Used by Lincoln, Chrysler and others
about 1930 to emphasize sportiness.
CONVERTIBLE VICTORIA - a four passenger
two door two-window cabriolet.
COUPE - a closed car with two doors for two
or three people and a roofline that generally
curves at the back. May also have a rudimentary
rear seat in which case it is usually called
a Club Coupe.
COUPE CHAUFFEUR - chauffeur driven car
with passengers fully enclosed and the chauffeur
exposed. Body has a blind rear quarter.
COUPE DeVILLE - or "town coupe",
applied imaginatively to various body styles
Usually a four passenger two-door car with a
permanently closed roof over the rear seats and
a removable top covering the front seats. See
COUPELET - a term used especially by Ford
to describe a Model T two seater Cabriolet.
COUPE LIMOUSINE - chauffeur driven car
with the passengers fully enclosed and the chauffeur
exposed. Body has rear quarter windows.
CYCLE FENDERS - usually a front and sometimes
a rear fender similar to that used on a motorcycle
which follows the curvature of the wheel.
DeVILLE EXTENSION - a sliding roof over the
front seat with side arms that folded back into
the remaining roof thus producing a Sedanca configuration
in metal rather than the usual fabric.
DICKEY - or Rumble seat. An extra external
seat that could be accessed by lifting a forward-opening
'trunk-like' lid in the rear of the car.
DROPHEAD COUPE - British term for the
equivalent of the American convertible, or the
DUAL COWL - a design of touring car, which
saw the cab, divided into two compartments, front
and back. Separated with a rear windshield mounted
on a folding cowl, which covers part of the rear
ESTATE CAR - a station wagon, or four-door,
four passenger car with an extended roof line
plus a gate or hatch in the rear for increased
FAUX CABRIOLET - a fixed head coupe made
to resemble a cabriolet.
FENCERS MASK - The term used to describe
a type of radiator grille design from the 1930's
which resembled a fencers mask for it's shape
and fine weave of the grille.
FIXED HEAD COUPE - a closed coupe.
FORDOR - Ford's name for a four door sedan.
GOUTTE d'EAU - a body with a 'tear drop'
design, flowing down to the rear.
GOVERNOR - a device used with the carburetor
to restrict maximum engine speed.
GRAN TURISMO (GT) - grand touring
GP - Grand Prix or Great Prize.
GT - Grand Touring
HARD TOP - a removable top to replace the
soft-top. It typically made from fiberglass,
although sometime steel and usually painted the
same color as the body of the car.
HOOD - American terminology for the sheet
metal panel covering the engine.
HOOD - British terminology a convertibles
HORSELESS CARRIAGE - a term defined by
the Horseless Carriage Club of America applying
to cars built before 1915 (See also Antique)
I J K
LANDAU- a partially opened limousine. The
open part was usually in the front where the
LANDAULET - a Landau limousine in which
the section over the rear seats also opens or
LIGHT - a small window as in sidelight,
quarterlight, skylight etc.
LIMOUSINE - a chauffeured sedan often
with a longer wheelbase and usually with a division
between the driver and the passengers. The rear
compartment had luxurious features with controls
for heating, radio and opening and closing the
glass or wood division.
MARQUE - a make or brand of car.
MM - Mille Miglia, a 1000 mile Italian
road race from 1927 to 1957.
MOTHER-IN-LAW SEAT - a single sideways-facing
rear seat. Usually found in coupes or cabriolets.
OPERA COUPE - a two door closed car with
a small folding seat beside the driver. This
allowed easy passage to a rear seat for two,
usually offset to the right in left-hand drive
PANEL BROUGHAM - see BROUGHAM
PHAETON - it means opened top car with
four seats. French term taken from the Greek "Phaeton" who
drove the chariot of his sun-god father, Helios.
A small four door open touring car.
QUARTER WINDOW or QUARTER LIGHT- the
small triangular side window to the rear most
of the rear door glass, and foremost of the front
door main glass.
RAGTOP - See soft-top
RIB - a bow made of metal or wood that
makes up part of the rigid or semi-rigid frame
of a convertible top.
ROADSTER - The term roadster has had several
meanings depending on the origin and period.
One thing everyone agrees on is that they did
not have a top. Most recently the term has meant
sportscar, generally it's accepted to mean, small
and powerful two-seater sportscar.
ROLL BAR - A metal bar fashioned in such
a way to protect the driver in the event the
car rolls over.
RUNABOUT - A small light two seater. Runabout
was mainly an American term to indicate small
open car, very basic and cheap. Predecessor to
SEDANCA - A type of early body design in
which the top extended for a quarter of a circle
and covered only the passengers in the rear seats.
SHOOTING BRAKE - This is a European term
used typically to describe a car that is a cross
between a two-door sports coupe and an estate
car. Made popular by the well heeled as they
wanted a vehicle to move larger than normal amounts
of cargo (even dogs when grouse shooting) without
having to resort to a dowdy estate car or station
SPORTIF - a very tight or narrow type
SPORT COUPE - a closed coupe with a cloth
top and sometimes landau irons resembling a convertible.
SPYDER - a light two-seater roadster (also
called a Spider). The European term for the English
SS - Super Sport
STATION WAGON - a utility car built of wood,
typically with four doors.
SUBURBAN - a seven passenger limousine
SUICIDE DOOR- a rear hinged door, typically
for the front seat. At speed any chance opening
would cause the door to whip backward with great
SUPERLEGGERA - super light
TARGA - a coupe with a removable roof panel
(or panels) from above the heads of the front
THREE POSITION COUPE - A Coupe de Ville
which may be presented as a fully closed coupe,
a deVille Coupe with the front section open or
a fully collapsible convertible.
TONNEAU - the rear compartment of a car
body, usually an open touring body. i.e. Phaeton
TONNEAU COVER - soft cover used on parked
roadsters to protect the cab from rain when the
top is down.
TORPEDO - a long wheelbase very smooth
touring car with flat panel's low doors and sides
that offered no protection from the weather.
They succeeded Tourers and Phaetons.
TOURING CAR - a four door open car, four
seats and without windows. US equivalent of the
TOWN CABRIOLET - A town car in which the
covered rear section converts to an open car.
TOWN CAR - a chauffeur driven car with
the passengers fully enclosed and the chauffeur
exposed. Also known as a Sedanca de Ville or
TUDOR SEDAN - Ford's term for a two door.
TWIN SIX - Packard's first twelve-cylinder
car introduced in late 1915 and produced until
1920. When Packard reintroduced the new V12 in
1932, the term was reused for that first year
UNDERSLUNG - an automobile whose frame passed
underneath the axles. Used primarily by the American
Motor Company of Indianapolis from 1907 to 1914
VICTORIA - a close coupled two-door sedan
or an enlarged coupe with a rear seat. Also a
four door open car with folding top over the
rear seat only.
VINTAGE - formerly a term describing cars
built between 1915 and 1925 but now used broadly,
especially in England, to include cars manufactured
between 1920 and 1942.
VIS A VIS - a term used generally to describe
a seating arrangement where the passengers sit
facing each other.
WEYMANN - a patented body in which wooden
frame members were joined by metal strips preventing
the wood from touching and squeaking.
WINDOW STRAP - a strap attached to the
base of a window, which passed inside the body
up to the sill, and into the interior of the
car. It could be used to pull the window up.
Holes in the strap could be buckled against an
interior pin to hold the window at various elevations.
WINDSCREEN - English term for windshield
WING - English term for fender
WINTER FRONT - a patented name for a shuttered
radiator cover by the Pines Co., which could
be opened and closed to regulate engine temperature.
WOODY - a motor vehicle incorporating natural
finished wood for structure and all exposed parts
of the body. The term has been loosely applied
to any car, which uses wood coverings, even over