Why aren't vertical doors installed on every automobile?

Factual Questions
1

So, I am thinking about getting a vertical door kit for my car. I have a 2005 honda accord. I got to thinking about the merits of vertical doors in general, and I am wondering why all vehicles do not have vertical doors installed at the factory, instead of regular doors. Think about it:

If every vehicle had vertical doors installed, then no other vehicle would be scratched or dented by swinging doors.

So, if these doors are so great, why aren’t they installed at the factory?

2

When the alternator on my car died the auto electrician asked me if I wanted the same make as a replacement or a “decent one”. I asked how much more the better one was and he said about $10. So I got the better one and asked him why the manufacturer didn’t supply it in the first place since it only costs $10 more. He replied, “You only buy one car, they make a million.” So I’ll bet cost is the answer. They don’t care about the car after it’s yours.

3

Not sure I know what kind of “vertical door” you are talking about. Are you talking about gullwing doors, like a Mercedes-Benz C 111? I would think that is a pretty complex conversion for a Honda. Can you link to an example?

4

From Googling for the kits that are out there, they seem more like Lamborghini style pivoting doors.

5

The thousand-dollar price tag seems to be a very good reason for not making them original equipment. That, and the guillotine effect you’d get when the gas cylinder begins to sack out.

6

This is undoubtably the most evocative sentence I’ve read in a while. :slight_smile:

The other problem with “gull-wing” (or vertically opening) doors is wind. In strong wind, those doors can be a real hassle (which is not to say that strong wind can’t play havoc with more conventional doors, but it’s a lot less likely since the car body shelters a conventional door from wind from several directions).

7

My best friend has “Lambo doors” on his '04 Civic, and while they look cool, they’re a hassle. They don’t completely clear the top/front of the opening, which makes it pretty tough for someone tall, like myself, to get in and out. Plus, it’s a little awkward to close them from the inside, as you have to pull down and then in. They almost never close on the first try, and you end up putting major dents in the sheet metal surrounding the latch on the door.

But they look cool.

At least until they become like spinny rims and EVERYBODY’s got them.

8

There are effective ways of avoiding said scratches and dents that don’t introduce the new probems associated with vertical doors (not the least of which is comparitively exhorbitant cost).

The problem with this question is the premise. They aren’t so great.

9

From looking at those kit pictures in the link, I can take some guesses. Would you be able to open the doors in a parking garage with low clearance? I’ve seen parking garages that I can barely stand up in, and if the door swung up, I’d be afraid to open it.

If I’m carrying a load of stuff, I can hook my door handle with one finger and open the door fairly easily–even on my 3/4 ton truck. Virtually no motion of my hand relative to my body is required (hook finger under handle, step back and slightly to the side). These doors look like you’d have to set stuff down.

Could you open the door and get in the car carrying an umbrella without getting wet?

Just based on looking at that picture, how hard would it be to set a big box on the set if you’ve just been shopping?

10
      • I can think of one reason: a normal sideways-opening door doesn’t depend on a gas strut to keep it open. I used to have an old SUV that had a rear window that opened up and then the tailgate opened down. The truck was about ten years old when I bought it. Nobody made the gas struts to hold the rear window up anymore, and nothing else would fit. So I had to carry around a stick to hold the rear window open.
  • I have seen a car somewhere that had doors that were semi-gull-wing, except instead of a simple hinge, they moved outwards a bit and then up + over the roof on four arms, so they opened well but really didn’t add much height to the car. I think I like this idea best. …The Mercedes didn’t get it quite right, because the door handles were way down near the ground where they’d always get dirty.
  • Oh man, have you ever heard of the “automatic strut trunk latch” used on some cars? A pal had a power-everything 86 Camaro that had one, “it was so you could close the rear hatch with just one finger”. You would just push the rear trunk/hatch down to about 3/4" of being closed, and then the automatic thing would grab it and pull it slowly down the rest of the way. You’d hear the little motor in there doing it. It cost several hundred dollars to replace if it got slammed too many times. Talk about your expensive useless complexities.
    ~
11

Lincoln’s have those too, never quite figured out why though. The only time I can seem them as usefull are when you have your trunk so full you can barely close the top. This way, you can mechanically crush all your stuff. Much easier :).

As for the guillitine effect. It’s probably present right now, but I’d expect that if these doors were more widespread, they’d change it around a little. Something like a permenent spring opens the door and a gas strut to smooth/slow it down on it’s way up and maybe (if needed) something to provide assistance in closing it. This way if the strut dies, the door goes up faster rather then falling down. (Think about flip up headlights on cars, if the vacuum dies the headlights get stuck up, not down.

12

Well think about it. If you had the vertical door, you would only benefit the other drivers (since you won’t be dinging other cars), and you would be stuck with the disadvantage of them.

This is like buying a flashlight with a dim bulb so you won’t blind other people.