Ford Europe Jumps on the Pseudo-Coupe Bandwagon
Autobild [print edition] reports that Ford of Europe is planning an upmarket four-door coupe. Ford's "CD" platform– upon which the Mondeo is based– is both highly flexible and expensive. So FoMoCo's using it for two generations of Mondeo (spanning 15 years) and spread it over numerous model variants. The new generation of Mondeo family members will be introduced in 2012 (what… not in 2010?), including the S-Max minivan, a station wagon, possibly a two-door convertible-coupe and an expanded seven- seater version of the successful Kuga CUV. The coupe version is a showcase for a new design motif featuring a segmented grille, new-shape headlights and geometric air intakes. (It looks ungainly on paper, but one can assume that Ford– or at least Andrei Avarvarii– will get it right.) The move upmarket will have technical elements as well: steering-based tracking control, radar-supported cruise control, automatic parking, micro-hybrid trickery and (relatively) clean Urea-supported AdBlu Diesel machines. Ford, we hardly know ye… Only one question: is there a market for yet another four-door pseudo-coupe, following the Mercedes CLS and the Passat CC?
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"A coupe has two doors by defintion. If it has four doors, it is not a coupe." Not true at all. There have been a number of four door coupés over the years. The most notable in my mind being the Rover P5B Coupé which is a pretty nice looking car I might add. http://www.ma1.se/gallery/roverp5b/bks0075?full=1
# Geotpf : A coupe has two doors by defintion. If it has four doors, it is not a coupe. As everyone else has said, you are wrong. "The SAE distinguishes a coupé from a sedan primarily by interior volume; SAE standard J1100 defines a coupé as a fixed-roof automobile with less than 33 cubic feet (0.93 cubic meters) of rear interior volume. A car with a greater interior volume is technically a two-door sedan, not a coupé, even if it has only two doors. " wikipedia.org of coupe
The SAE standard is by no means the definitive stand though. The British have Convertible coupes too. A Drop Head Coupe - eg Jaguar XK120 etc, with the corollary being the Fixed Head Coupe (FHC)