# Sun Roof vs. Moon Roof **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 25, 2005, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sun-roof-vs-moon-roof/291920 "2005-02-25T19:27:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![hyjyljyj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/0ea827/32.png) [@hyjyljyj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hyjyljyj)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sun-roof-vs-moon-roof/291920/1 "2005-02-25T19:27:20Z")
What’s the difference? ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sun-roof-vs-moon-roof/291920/2 "2005-02-25T19:34:57Z")
A moonroof retracts or tips up, while a sunroof only tips up. ---
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sun-roof-vs-moon-roof/291920/3 "2005-02-25T19:40:09Z")
Cite? I always thought that a sunroof was made of solid, opaque material (as on my old 83 Toyota Corolla). A moonroof is made of translucent (though tinted) glass. Thus, you look can look up and see the moon at night without needing to actually open it. Have I been misled? ---
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sun-roof-vs-moon-roof/291920/4 "2005-02-25T19:43:36Z")
[Vindicated!](http://ask.yahoo.com/ask/20030617.html) (by AskYahoo :dubious: ) ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sun-roof-vs-moon-roof/291920/5 "2005-02-25T19:45:03Z")
I’m with **Jayrot**. I was always led to believe that a sunroof is essentially a hole in the roof, while a moonroof is a skylight. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sun-roof-vs-moon-roof/291920/6 "2005-02-25T19:56:42Z")
You aren’t going to get unanimous agreement, even if you refer to user’s manuals for your car and so on. I have a tinted translucent panel which is retractable (it will also simply tip up at the rear if you desire). Audi is pleased to call it a “sun roof” in the manual. We will be able to discuss this until doomsday, with conflicting cites. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sun-roof-vs-moon-roof/291920/7 "2005-02-25T19:57:52Z")
Hm. I thought it was the other way around. Any idea of the origin of this distinction? You wouldn’t want to retract in the daytime? ---
**Author:** ![hyjyljyj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/0ea827/32.png) [@hyjyljyj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hyjyljyj)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sun-roof-vs-moon-roof/291920/8 "2005-02-25T19:59:18Z")
Thanks! I had deduced the final answer but never know for sure, since a person COULD always use the glass panel to enjoy the sun too, when they had the AC on in the car. Or they could slide the metal panel back and view the moon at night if they felt like it. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sun-roof-vs-moon-roof/291920/9 "2005-02-25T20:54:05Z")
When I bought my Toyota pickup in 1993, the option list included a tinted sunroof. It is glass that tips up in the back or can be completely removed. ---
**Author:** ![WpgTriniman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a88e4f/32.png) [@WpgTriniman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WpgTriniman)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sun-roof-vs-moon-roof/291920/10 "2005-02-25T21:13:35Z")
Jayrot is correct. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sun-roof-vs-moon-roof/291920/11 "2005-02-25T21:17:37Z")
The time of day? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sun-roof-vs-moon-roof/291920/12 "2005-02-25T22:10:33Z")
I’m with the Sunroof=Solid metal Moonroof=Glass panel camp. That’s the way I’ve always heard it referred to, even if sunroof is a more generic term. In the same manner, all Turbos are Superchargers, but not all Superchargers are Turbos. Or do I have that backwards? ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sun-roof-vs-moon-roof/291920/13 "2005-02-26T14:27:33Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > I’m with the Sunroof=Solid metal Moonroof=Glass panel camp. That’s the way I’ve always heard it referred to, even if sunroof is a more generic term. Despite the definitions researched above, I always call sunroofs those cheap, aftermarket things that they’ll install for $150 while you wait. Moonroofs are always power operated. Although in Germany we had a communal BMW with a crank operated moonroof – we called it a moonroof because we figured that if it weren’t so old it’d’ve had en electric motor. > [@](#): > > In the same manner, all Turbos are Superchargers, but not all Superchargers are Turbos. Or do I have that backwards? I’ve never heard that. Turbos to me are all exhaust powered, and superchargers are all crankshaft powered., although they do the same basic thing. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sun-roof-vs-moon-roof/291920/14 "2005-02-26T15:54:36Z")
The term “sunroof” has been used for a hole in the roof since at least 1950, whether with a removable panel or a retractable cloth cover. “Moonroof,” on the other hand, was introduced some time in the late '60s or early '70s, and has always described a tinted panel that can be opened like a sunroof, or left closed and looked through. The term “moonroof” was introduced by its inventor, the American Sunroof Company, a developer of OEM and aftermarket sunroofs, moonroofs, convertible designs, and other automobile conversions. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunroof](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunroof) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American\_Sunroof\_Company](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Sunroof_Company) ---
**Author:** ![aerodave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f08c70/32.png) [@aerodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aerodave)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sun-roof-vs-moon-roof/291920/15 "2005-02-26T16:07:23Z")
In practice, I make the distinction based on whether it’s glass or metal. But I heard somewhere (I know we in GQ love sentences that start with “I heard…”) that the term “moonroof” was a trademark, unique to a particular maufacturer (Ford, perhaps?). Other manufacturers use “sunroof” or some other term. VW and Audi, for example, refer to it in all the product literature for their various models as a “Glass sliding roof” We need people to produce their owner’s manuals, to get a variety of descriptions straight from the manufacturers. Maybe then we’ll see if and how the names are tied to different makes. ---
**Author:** ![aerodave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f08c70/32.png) [@aerodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aerodave)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sun-roof-vs-moon-roof/291920/16 "2005-02-26T16:15:07Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > I’ve never heard that. Turbos to me are all exhaust powered, and superchargers are all crankshaft powered., although they do the same basic thing. No, he’s quite right. A turbo is a special case of a supercharger, one that is powered by exhaust. A supercharger is any mechanical device that increases the pressure of the charge of intake air. When this devices is driven by a mechanical link, it’s just called a supercharger, and sometimes distinguished by type (Roots, centrifugal, etc). When the compressor is driven by a turbine in the exhaust, it’s given the special name of “turbocharger.” So yes, all turbos are superchargers, but not vice versa. “Turbosupercharger” is the seldom-used [full name](http://www.bartleby.com/61/75/T0417500.html) for a turbo, although it is usually shortened to Turbocharger. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sun-roof-vs-moon-roof/291920/17 "2005-02-26T19:25:31Z")
I’ve taken it as solid/translucent. > [@](#): > > When this devices is driven by a mechanical link, it’s just called a supercharger, IIRC there is also several electrical/motor driven superchargers (which again IIRC don’t work all that well). ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sun-roof-vs-moon-roof/291920/18 "2005-02-27T00:31:31Z")
Since “sunroof” and “moonroof” are essentially marketing terms, it may be a trifle unrealistic to expect them to have rigorous definitions that are uniformly applied. ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sun-roof-vs-moon-roof/291920/19 "2005-02-27T10:19:23Z")
Jayrot is correct. A moonroof is a see-through sunroof.