sedan (automobile)

File:Three body styles with pillars and boxes.png and hatchback versions of the same model (a Ford Focus)]]

A sedan ({{IPAc-en|s|ᵻ|ˈ|d|æ|n}}) is a car with a closed body (i.e., a fixed metal roof) with the engine, passengers, and cargo in separate compartments.{{cite web |title=Definition of sedan in English by Oxford Dictionaries |url= https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/sedan |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160926170201/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/sedan |url-status= dead |archive-date=26 September 2016 |website=oxforddictionaries.com |access-date=25 November 2018}} This broad definition does not differentiate sedans from various other car body styles. Still, in practice, the typical characteristics of sedans are:

• a B-pillar (between the front and rear windows) that supports the roof;{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=8ccGAAAAQBAJ&q=sedan+body+style+center+pillar+two+and+four-door+versions&pg=PA27 |pages=27–28 |title=Auto Body Repair Technology |first=James |last=Duffy |publisher=Cengage Learning |year=2008 |edition=Fifth |isbn=9781418073541 |access-date=9 September 2015}}
• two rows of seats;{{refpage|page=134}}
• a three-box design with the engine at the front and the cargo area at the rear; although many exceptions exist{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=fjq6TPUnrucC&q=sedan+cars+main+task+is+to+transport+people+and+their+baggage+on+ordinary+roads&pg=PA184 |page=184 |title=The automotive body - Volume I, Components design |first=Lorenzo |last=Morello |publisher=Springer |year=2011 |isbn=9789400705128 |access-date=9 September 2015}}{{cite web |title=Starting Out: Car Design Glossary - Part 2 |url= http://www.cardesignnews.com/site/home/new_cars/display/store4/item131867/ |website=cardesignnews.com |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131203045234/http://www.cardesignnews.com/site/home/new_cars/display/store4/item131867/ |archive-date=3 December 2013 |url-status=dead }}
• a less steeply sloping roofline than a coupé results in increased headroom for rear passengers and a less sporting appearance;{{cite web |title=What is the difference between coupe and sedan? |url= https://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/automotive/sc-motormouth-autos-20170821-column.html |website=chicagotribune.com |date=26 August 2017 |access-date=25 November 2018}} and
• a rear interior volume of at least {{convert|33|ft3|m3|2|abbr=on}}.{{cite web |title=Club Coupes |url= https://www.hemmings.com/magazine/hcc/2007/03/Club-Coupes/1423429.html |website=hemmings.com |access-date=7 December 2018}}{{cite web |title=Coupe vs. Sedan: What's the Difference and Definitions of the Body Styles? |url= https://www.automoblog.net/2009/02/12/coupe-vs-sedan-whats-the-difference/ |website=automoblog.net |access-date=7 December 2018 |date=12 February 2009}}

{{anchor|Four-door}}

It is sometimes suggested that sedans must have four doors (to provide a simple distinction between sedans and two-door coupés); others state that a sedan can have four or two doors.{{refpage|page=134}}{{cite book |last1=Morello |first1=L. |last2=Rossini |first2=Lorenzo Rosti |last3=Pia |first3=Giuseppe |last4=Tonoli |first4=Andrea |title=The Automotive Body: Volume I: Components Design |date=2011 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=9789400705135 |pages=184 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=fjq6TPUnrucC}}{{cite web |title=Coupe vs. Sedan: What's the Difference and Definitions of the Body Styles? |url= https://www.automoblog.net/2009/02/12/coupe-vs-sedan-whats-the-difference/ |website=automoblog.net |date= 12 February 2009 |access-date=25 November 2018}} Although the sloping rear roofline defined the coupe, the design element has become common on many body styles with manufacturers increasingly "cross-pollinating" the style so that terms such as sedan and coupé have been loosely interpreted as "'four-door coupes' - an inherent contradiction in terms."{{cite magazine |title=Range Rover's $295K Coupe SUV Proves No Niche Is Too Small |url= https://www.wired.com/story/range-rover-suv-sv-coupe-geneva/ |magazine=Wired |access-date=25 November 2018 |last1= Stewart |first1= Jack }}{{cite web |last1=Stafford |first1=Eric |title=Sedan vs. Coupe: How Different Are They? |url= https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a28411772/sedan-vs-coupe/ |website=Car and Driver |date=24 July 2019 |access-date=3 April 2023}}

When a manufacturer produces two-door sedan and four-door sedan versions of the same model, the shape and position of the greenhouse on both versions may be identical, with only the B-pillar positioned further back to accommodate the longer doors on the two-door versions.{{cite web|url= http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/AMC/1962_AMC/1962_Rambler_Brochure/1962%20Rambler-06ab-07.html |title=1962 Rambler Brochure |pages=6–7 |website=oldcarbrochures.com |access-date=9 September 2015}}

File:Sedan-chair.jpg

A sedan chair, a sophisticated litter, is an enclosed box with windows used to transport one seated person. Porters at the front and rear carry the chair with horizontal poles.{{cite web |title=Definition of sedan |url= https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/sedan |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160926170201/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/sedan |url-status= dead |archive-date=26 September 2016 |website=oxforddictionaries.com}} Litters date back to long before ancient Egypt, India, and China. Sedan chairs were developed in the 1630s. Etymologists suggest the name of the chair very probably came through varieties of Italian from the Latin sedere, or the Proto-Indo-European root "sed-" meaning "to sit."{{cite book |editor-last=Stevenson |editor-first=Angus |editor-first2=Christine A. |editor-last2=Lindberg |title=New Oxford American dictionary |date=2010 |location=Oxford |isbn=9780199891535 |edition=Third}}{{cite web |last=Harper |first=Douglas |date=20 November 2024 |title=Etymology of *sed- |url= https://www.etymonline.com/word/*sed- |access-date=20 November 2024 |work=Online Etymology Dictionary}}

File:Sedan – Studebaker line radically reconstructed.jpg

The first recorded use of sedan for an automobile body occurred in 1912 when the Studebaker Four and Studebaker Six models were marketed as sedans.The Motor World, November 14, 1912, p. 18. Motor World Publishing, New York There were fully enclosed automobile bodies before 1912. Long before that time, the same fully enclosed but horse-drawn carriages were known as a brougham in the United Kingdom, berline in France, and berlina in Italy; the latter two have become the terms for sedans in these countries. It is sometimes stated that the 1899 Renault Voiturette Type B (a 2-seat car with an extra external seat for a footman/mechanic) was the first sedan, since it is the first known car to be produced with a roof. A one-off instance of similar coachwork is also known in a 1900 De Dion-Bouton Type D.{{cite web |title=Renault Voiturette Type B (1899) |url= https://www.speeddoctor.net/2013/renault-voiturette-type-b-1899/ |website=speeddoctor.net |date=26 October 2015 |access-date=18 November 2018}}{{cite web |title=Renault's first ever car attends Paris Motor Show |url= https://www.autoclassics.com/posts/news/renault-first-car-paris-motor-show |website=autoclassics.com |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190424231021/https://www.autoclassics.com/posts/news/renault-first-car-paris-motor-show |archive-date=24 April 2019}}

A sedan is typically considered to be a fixed-roof car with at least four seats. Based on this definition, the earliest sedan was the 1911 Speedwell, which was manufactured in the United States.{{cite book |last1=Georgano |first1=G.N. |title=Cars: Early and Vintage, 1886-1930 |date=1985 |publisher=Grange-Universal |location=London}}{{refpage|page=87}}

File:Renault Type B (1900) (cropped).jpg

In American English, Latin American Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese, the term sedan is used (accented as sedán in Spanish).{{cite web|title=sedán {{!}} Diccionario de la lengua española |url= https://dle.rae.es/sedán |website=dle.rae.es |language=es |access-date=5 June 2022}} In British English, a car of this configuration is called a saloon ({{IPAc-en|s|ə|ˈ|l|u|n}}). Hatchback sedans are known simply as hatchbacks (not hatchback saloons); long-wheelbase luxury saloons with a division between the driver and passengers are limousines.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}

In Australia and New Zealand, sedan is now predominantly used; they were previously simply cars. In the 21st century, saloon remains in the long-established names of particular motor races.{{citation needed|date=December 2018}} In other languages, sedans are known as berline (French), berlina (European Spanish, European Portuguese, Romanian, and Italian), though they may include hatchbacks. These names, like the sedan, all come from forms of passenger transport used before the advent of automobiles. In German, a sedan is called Limousine and a limousine is a Stretch-Limousine.

In the United States, two-door sedan models were marketed as Tudor in the Ford Model A (1927–1931) series.{{cite web |last1=Gary |first1=Fiske |title=1930 Ford Model A "Tudor" |url= https://vtauto.org/1930-ford-model-a-tudor/ |publisher=Vermont Auto Enthusiasts |date=April 2017 |access-date=5 June 2022}} Automakers use different terms to differentiate their products and for Ford's sedan body styles "the tudor (2-door) and fordor (4-door) were marketing terms designed to stick in the minds of the public." Ford continued to use the Tudor name for 5-window coupes, 2-door convertibles, and roadsters since all had two doors.{{cite web |title=1937 Ford Tudor |url= https://www.classicautomall.com/vehicles/1195/1937-ford-tudor |website=classicautomall.com |date=2022 |access-date=5 June 2022}} The Tudor name was also used to describe the Škoda 1101/1102 introduced in 1946.{{cite web |last1=Cibulka |first1=Zdeněk |title=Škoda Tudor: A Car That Still Has a Lot to Offer |url= https://www.skoda-storyboard.com/en/skoda-world/design/skoda-tudor-a-car-that-still-has-a-lot-to-offer/ |publisher=Škoda Storyboard |date=25 April 2019 |access-date=5 June 2022}} The public popularized the name for a two-door model and was then applied by the automaker to the entire line that included a four-door sedan and station wagon versions.

File:2015 Chrysler 300 rear 4.8.18.jpg notchback sedan {{cite web|url= https://www.autoevolution.com/news/auto-evolution-a-sedan-that-keeps-on-giving-the-chrysler-300-story-212821.html |title=Auto Evolution: A Sedan That Keeps on Giving - The Chrysler 300 Story |date=1 April 2023 |first=Mircea |last=Panait |website=autoevolution.com |quote=...the notchback-styled 300... |access-date=1 December 2024}}]]

{{main|Notchback}}

In the United States, the notchback sedan distinguishes models with a horizontal trunk lid. The term is generally only referred to in marketing when it is necessary to differentiate between two sedan body styles (e.g., notchback and fastback) of the same model range.

{{main|Liftback}}

Several sedans have a fastback profile but a hatchback-style tailgate is hinged at the roof. Examples include the Peugeot 309, Škoda Octavia, Hyundai Elantra XD, Chevrolet Malibu Maxx, BMW 4 Series Grand Coupe, Audi A5 Sportback, and Tesla Model S. The names hatchback and sedan are often used to differentiate between body styles of the same model. To avoid confusion, the term hatchback sedan is not often used.

{{main|Fastback}}

There have been many sedans with a fastback style.

{{Gallery

|mode=packed |height=100 |align=center

|File:VW Standard, Bj1950 2005-09-17.jpg|1950 Volkswagen Beetle

|File:1939 Lincoln Zephyr fastback 4-door sedan r-md.JPG

|1939 Lincoln-Zephyr

|File:1948 Cadillac (537888887).jpg|1948 Cadillac Series 62

|File:2013 Mercedes-Benz CLS 500 (C 218) BlueEFFICIENCY sedan (2015-08-02) 02.jpg

|2013 Mercedes-Benz CLS

}}

File:1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham 4-door hardtop (7143765601) (cropped).jpg four-door hardtop]]

File:SunbeamRapierSeries1.jpg two-door hardtop]]

{{main|Hardtop#Pillarless Hardtops}}

Hardtop sedans were a popular body style in the United States from the 1950s to the 1970s. Hardtops are manufactured without a B-pillar leaving uninterrupted open space or, when closed, glass along the side of the vehicle.{{cite web|title=Definition of: Hardtop |url= http://www.engineering-dictionary.org/Hardtop |publisher=Engineering Dictionary |date=2008 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190706205113/http://www.engineering-dictionary.org/Hardtop |archive-date=6 July 2019 |access-date=5 June 2022}}{{cite book|title=Collision repair and refinishing: a foundation course for technicians |first1=Alfred |last1=Thomas |first2=Michael |last2=Jund |page=164 |publisher=Cengage Learning |year=2009 |isbn=9781401889944}}{{cite magazine|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=uOEDAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Hardtop+sedan%22+style&pg=PA116 |title=Rambler has everything new - even a hardtop wagon |magazine=Popular Mechanics |date=January 1956 |pages=116–117 |volume=105 |issue=1 |via=Google Books |access-date=5 June 2022}} The top was intended to look like a convertible's top. However, it was fixed and made of hard material that did not fold.

All manufacturers in the United States from the early 1950s into the 1970s provided at least a two-door hardtop model in their range and a four-door hardtop. The lack of side bracing demanded a strong, heavy chassis frame to combat unavoidable flexing. The pillarless design was also available in four-door models using unibody construction.{{cite web |title=Chrysler moves to Unibody (unit-body construction): 1960 |url= https://www.allpar.com/threads/chrysler-moves-to-unibody-unit-body-construction-1960.236659/#post-1085245072 |website=allpar.com |date=14 January 2021 |access-date=1 December 2024}} For example, Chrysler moved to unibody designs for most of its models in 1960 and American Motors Corporation (AMC) offered four-door sedans, as well a four-door station wagon from 1958 until 1960 in the Rambler and Ambassador series.{{cite magazine |last=Donnelly |first=Jim |title=1958 Rambler Ambassador |url= https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/1958-rambler-ambassador |magazine=Hemmings Motor News |date=June 2013 |access-date=5 June 2022}}

In 1973, the US government passed Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 216 creating a standard roof strength test to measure the integrity of roof structure in motor vehicles to come into effect some years later. The objective was to reduce deaths and injuries due to the car's roof crushing into the passenger compartment in case of a rollover crash.{{cite web|url= https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-V/part-571/subpart-B/section-571.216 |title=571.216 Standard No. 216; Roof crush resistance; Applicable unless a vehicle is certified to § 571.216a. |work=Code of Federal Regulations |access-date=1 December 2024 }} Hardtop sedan body style production ended with the 1978 Chrysler Newport. Roofs were often available with standard or optional vinyl cover.{{cite web|url= https://www.curbsideclassic.com/automotive-histories/automotive-history-the-history-of-the-vinyl-roof-part-3-top-it-off/ |title=Automotive History: The History of the Vinyl Roof, Part 3 – Topping Things Off |first=Tom |last=Halter |date=23 October 2021 |website=curbsideclassic.com |access-date=1 December 2024}} The structural B-pillar design was minimized by styling methods like matt black finishes. Stylists and engineers soon developed more subtle solutions.

File:1929Packard633CloseCoupled5PassengerClubSedanRightSide (cropped).jpg Close Coupled Sedan]]

A close-coupled sedan is a body style produced in the United States during the 1920s and 1930s. Their two-box boxy styling made these sedans more like crossover vehicles than traditional three-box sedans. Like other close-coupled body styles, the rear seats are farther forward than a regular sedan.{{refpage|page=43}}{{cite web |last1=Severson |first1=Aaron |title=From Pillar to Post: More Automotive Definitions |url= https://ateupwithmotor.com/terms-technology-definitions/automotive-design-terms/ |website=ateupwithmotor.com |access-date=11 December 2018 |date=15 August 2009}} This reduced the length of the body; close-coupled sedans, also known as town sedans, were the shortest of the sedan models offered.{{cite book |last1=Cummings |first1=Christopher |title=Cadillac V-16s Lost and Found: Tracing the Histories of the 1930s Classics |date=2014 |publisher=McFarland |page=50 |isbn=9781476612393 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ajrTAgAAQBAJ}}

Models of close-coupled sedans include the Chrysler Imperial,{{cite web |title=1931 Chrysler Imperial Close Coupled Sedan |url= http://imperialclub.org/Yr/1931/JerryCapak/index.htm |website=imperialclub.org |access-date=24 November 2018}}{{cite web |title=1931 Chrysler Imperial Close-Coupled Sedan |url= https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/sj11/auction/lots/r129-1931-chrysler-imperial-close-coupled-sedan |website=rmsothebys.com |access-date=24 November 2018 |date=22 July 2017}} Duesenberg Model A,{{cite web |title=1925 Duesenberg Model A Close Coupled Sedan - Amazing Original Car! |url= http://car-from-uk.com/sale.php?id=79041 |website=car-from-uk.com |access-date=24 November 2018}} and Packard 745{{cite web |title=1930 Packard |url= https://www.sealcoveautomuseum.org/collection-test/1930-packard/ |website=sealcoveautomuseum.org |access-date=24 November 2018}}

File:Bugatti Coach Type 73A (1947) pic1 (cropped).JPG Coach]]

File:Chevrolet 1932 Standard 2-Door Coach (3593339692) (cropped).jpg

A two-door sedan for four or five passengers but with less room for passengers than a standard sedan. A Coach body has no external trunk for luggage. Haajanen says it can be difficult to tell the difference between a Club and a Brougham and a Coach body, as if manufacturers were more concerned with marketing their product than adhering to strict body style definitions.{{cite book|title=Illustrated Dictionary of Automobile Body Styles |first=Lennart W. |last=Haajanen |isbn=9780786437375 |publisher=McFarland |year=2007}}

File:Rover 3.5 coupe P5B ca 1967 profile shot showing lowered roofline.jpg coupé]]

Close-coupled saloons originated as four-door thoroughbred sporting horse-drawn carriages with little room for rear passengers' feet. In automotive use, manufacturers in the United Kingdom used the term to develop the chummy body, where passengers were forced to be friendly because they were tightly packed. They provided weather protection for extra passengers in what would otherwise be a two-seater car. Two-door versions would be described in the United States and France as coach bodies.{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=jvNTCgAAQBAJ |title=Illustrated Dictionary of Automobile Body Styles |first=Lennart W. |last=Haajanen |isbn=9780786437375 |publisher=McFarland |year=2007 |access-date=24 December 2018}} A postwar example is the Rover 3 Litre Coupé.

File:1932 Buick Series 90 4-Door Club Sedan Classic Car Club of America Museum (9427583825) (cropped).jpg

File:1954 Kaiser Manhattan Club Sedan (34602810421) (cropped).jpg Manhattan Club Sedan]]

Produced in the United States from the mid-1920s to the mid-1950s, the name club sedan was used for highly appointed models using the sedan chassis.{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=jvNTCgAAQBAJ |title=Illustrated Dictionary of Automobile Body Styles |first=Lennart W. |last=Haajanen |isbn=9780786437375 |publisher=McFarland |year=2007 |access-date=9 September 2015}}{{refpage|page=44}} Some people describe a club sedan as a two-door vehicle with a body style otherwise identical to the sedan models in the range.{{cite web |title=Club Coupes |url=https://www.hemmings.com/magazine/hcc/2007/03/Club-Coupes/1423429.html |website=hemmings.com |access-date=18 November 2018}} Others describe a club sedan as having either two or four doors and a shorter roof and therefore less interior space than the other sedan models in the range.{{refpage|page=44}}

Club sedan originates from a railroad train's club carriage (e.g.,, the lounge or parlour carriage).{{refpage|page=44}}

File:1947 Buick Sedanette.jpg]]From the 1910s to the 1950s, several United States manufacturers have named models either Sedanet or Sedanette. The term originated as a smaller version of the sedan;{{cite book |last1=Haajanen |first1=Lennart W. |title=Illustrated Dictionary of Automobile Body Styles, 2d ed. |date=2017 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=9780786499182 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=6GQoDwAAQBAJ |access-date=25 November 2018 |page=136}} however, it has also been used for convertibles and fastback coupes. Models that have been called Sedanet or Sedanette include the 1917 Dort Sedanet,Dort Motor Car Co, Wisconsin Motorist November 1916, H A Apple, publisher, Milwaukee King, 1919 Lexington, 1930s Cadillac Fleetwood Sedanette,{{cite web|url= https://www.gmheritagecenter.com/docs/gm-heritage-archive/vehicle-information-kits/Cadillac/1930_Cadillac_V8_VVI.pdf |archive-url= http://web.archive.org/web/20220430070124/https://www.gmheritagecenter.com/docs/gm-heritage-archive/vehicle-information-kits/Cadillac/1930_Cadillac_V8_VVI.pdf |archive-date=30 April 2022 |title=1930 New Interpretations of Motoring Luxury |work=GM Heritage Centre |access-date=1 December 2024}} 1949 Cadillac Series 62 Sedanette,{{cite book |last1=Willson |first1=Quentin |title=Classic American Cars |date=1997 |publisher=DK Publishing |isbn=9780789420831 |url=https://archive.org/details/classicamericanc0000will |url-access=registration |access-date=25 November 2018}} 1942-1951 Buick Super Sedanet,{{cite web |title=1948 Buick Series 40 Special Sedanet – Just A Few Inches Short Of A GM's Greatest Hit |url= http://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/curbside-classic-1948-buick-series-40-special-sedanet-a-few-inches-short-of-a-gms-greatest-hit/ |website=curbsideclassic.com |access-date=25 November 2018}}{{cite web |title=Fastback Fascination – 1949 Buick Model 56-S Super Sedanet |url= https://www.hemmings.com/blog/article/fastback-fascination-1949-buick-model-56-s-super-sedanet/ |website=hemmings.com |access-date=25 November 2018}} and 1956 Studebaker.

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• Car classification

{{reflist|30em}}

{{Commons category|Sedans}}

• [https://www.britannica.com/technology/sedan-vehicle Sedan vehicle] at Britannica.com

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Category:Car body styles

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