Why make them?
Because people want two-dars cars.
Not so sure about that - they are usually more expensive as they are less popular and therefore the volumes are lower, which results in lower economies of scale, which largely drive (pardon the pun) the automotive industry.
Compare The Mighty Holden Astra.
Sedan 4-door $19,990
Hatch 4-door $19,990
SXi 3-door $21,490
So, I haven’t recovered from my holiday weekend.
I recall that one of the major car mags (Motor Trend, C&D, R&T) did a piece on two- door cars and trucks and that they were more than twice as likely to roll over in an accident, and that rollover was more directly related to the number of doors than any other factor. Wish I could cite it.
Well consider the Focus 2-door vs 4-door. The two-door is quite a bit less expensive. Is the SXi you mentioned a “sportier” version? That may well have something to do with the increase.
For a given car, as Polycarp said, they’re definitely cheaper to manufacture. There’s not usually any ecomony of scale to think about – they come down the same assembly line. All of the engineering investment is made coincident to the design of the four-door (i.e., the cost is “hidden”). The tooling in a modern flexible body shop should cost about the same. But you get huge price differences in the cost of materials. A big two-door door isn’t all that much more expensive than a small four-door door, and you only have to use two of them. Only two windows. Only two sets of locks. Only two sets of window motors. Only two sets of trim panels. Zero sets of those child lockout things that stop you from opening the door when you’re inside. Big, big cost savings.
I’m not a chassis expert, but I can find one if we’re generally curious, 'cos: I wonder if given the same car it’s true that a two-door is stiffer than a four door. A modern unit body vehicle gains most of its stiffness from the rails and crossmembers under the floor, as well as the dash assembly in the front and the “rear-floor” in the back. Most of this is the same or similar in two- and four-door models. The four door, though, has the advantage of having another body pillar between the front and rear passengers, which connects to a crossmember in the roof, which connects to the other pillar. Both pillars are welded to the outer rails that make what you might think of as the frame.
The other side of the ridiculous coin - all the new four door pickups. Let’s get rid of that excess bed in the back, and add seating and doors! Meanwhile, you can no longer bring a 4 X 8 sheet of plywood home without leaving the gate down! (I don’t mind doing this when I have to, I would just rather have my BUMPER be the first thing the other driver hits, NOT the top of the gate.)
Not really - pretty similar equipment fitout, just two less doors. Kind of puzzling when you compare the Focus.
I guess I was mostly thinking about cars which aren’t just two door versions of four door cars, but which have different body styling in their own right.
Are you saying that a four door body would be as stiff or stiffer than a two door body? I’m curious to know if this is the case as well, as it’s accepted wisdom in racing that coupes make for stronger bodies. Perhaps it was more true 20 years ago than today.
Once upon a time they did make a 4-Door T-Bird. My father owned one.
I can only guess that there wasn’t much of a market for 4-Door T-Brids.
Well, my 2001 Saturn SC2 has three doors, two on the driver’s side and one on the passenger side.