Considering they’re only making 160 of them, the suicide doors on the eighty Coach Door Edition Lincoln Continentals to be sold next year have garnered quite a bit of attention.
The use of rear-hinged doors on vehicles dates to the horse age. It seems that sometime in the 1930s the moniker “suicide doors” was applied to them, apparently due to people’s propensity for falling out of cars in the decades before Ford introduced the seat belt (as an option in 1956). There’s also, at least according to something frequently reproduced online, a connection with gangsters pushing people out of cars — though to my ears, that would be more like homicide doors.
I’m not convinced, though, it’s any easier to fall (or be pushed) out of a car with such doors, other than the fact that aerodynamics will help keep the door open while you’re falling (or being pushed).
In any case, rear-hinged doors became known as suicide doors, though it seems to have originally been applied to cars with front doors that were hinged at the back, usually two-door coupes or convertibles, like the current Rolls-Royce Dawn and Wraith, not the back doors of a four-door sedan. People aren’t particularly careful about the meanings of words, so in time the term also came to include what were originally called coach doors.
Again dating to the horse age, “coach doors” are when a four-door vehicle has front doors hinged at the front and back doors hinged at the rear. In a horse drawn coach without a car’s B pillar in the way, when both side doors are open, that creates a huge opening and easy entry into the passenger compartment, particularly if you’re a woman wearing a bustled dress with petticoats and skirts.
While the truly iconic 1961 Continental had no B-pillar, for just 80 cars, Ford wasn’t going to completely reengineer the unibody, so the 2020 Coach Door Edition Continental would still hamper a lady wearing a hoop skirt. But, as you can see from the model name, even though the term is in common use, Lincoln’s avoiding the S word.
Even before today’s hypersensitivity, no car company run by sane people would have used the term “suicide doors,” with good reason. Rolls-Royce doesn’t use the term for their production cars and no recent concept vehicle with coach doors has called them suicide doors.
Though no official communications from Lincoln or Ford use the term “suicide doors,” just about every news report on the new Conti called them exactly that. Autoweek, Road & Track, used the term in their tweets about the car. CNN, Fox News, and CBS News all used “suicide doors” in their headlines. Since few people these days seem to actually read, the Twitter mob was provoked by the headlines to inveigh against the automaker for being insensitive about suicide, even though Lincoln isn’t using the word.
Horrible nickname for this feature: “Lincoln Continental bringing ‘suicide doors’ back in a special, limited-edition model. https://t.co/5QilLomxZm
— Diane Tuman (@dianetuman) December 17, 2018
‘Suicide doors’ are back on the Lincoln Continental @CNN https://t.co/k0S0hKYzTK
WHY? Did they think we lacked suicides or something???? #StupidIdeas— Anne Zanoni (@ninja_CE) December 17, 2018
Lincoln Continental “Suicide Doors” in an age where we don’t accept certain terms. Yep I’m going to take offence. Thank you #MentalHealth #KeepTalkingMH
— (@danielhortonseo) December 17, 2018
Some implicitly criticized the auto industry for the design itself, due to its supposed association with suicide.
And I’m sure there’s a reason why they became known as “suicide doors,” that would also have led to this design being phased out in the first place. https://t.co/pwUfDYOUO0
— David Hutchison (@dhdt) December 17, 2018
I’m tempted to say these are an example of Poe’s Law, but I’m pretty sure these guys were joking.
I suggest rebranding suicide doors as “life doors” https://t.co/z9QildtaHE
— John Stoll (@johndstoll) December 17, 2018
Umm I don’t like how they are called suicide doors. They should be called positive reinforcement doors.
— FallingIntoLove (@LoveCanCreate) December 17, 2018
Interestingly, none of the folks outraged about Lincoln’s non-existent faux-pas used their tweets to mention that the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255 (800-273-TALK).
[Image Lincoln Motor Co.]
‘While the truly iconic 1961 Continental had no B-pillar, ‘
Only the convertible had no B pillar until the 66 2 door hardtop.
http://oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Lincoln/1962_Lincoln/1962_Lincoln_Continental_Brochure/1962%20Continental-04.html
Yep, there’s a skinny “B” pillar
Thanks for the clarification.
Marketing magic! When was the last time that Lincoln received such mainstream publicity? When was the last time that people took Lincoln seriously as a ‘luxury car’ maker?
Changing the rear hinges on 160 cars, appears to have given Lincoln a higher profile than a previous half-dozen concept cars and new car unveilings.
80 cars. But that makes 160 rear hinges, total.
320 hinges if they have a top and bottom hinge on each door. 480 if they have a middle hinge too (unlikely if the bean counters have any say).
You’re both correct. Unfortunately it originally took me so many attempts to sign into the site that I entered an incorrect number.
But that makes this an even bigger marketing success. This much publicity for so few vehicles.
Lincoln Continental “Suicide Doors” in an age where we don’t accept certain terms. Yep I’m going to take offence. Thank you #MentalHealth #KeepTalkingMH
— (@danielhortonseo) December 17, 2018
Who is this “we” you are referring to? I like to think people are smart enough to differentiate a term used for a styling exercise versus taking one;s own life or condoning/encouraging such actions.
Just, wow.
Go Woke, Lose your mind.
Twitter is a brain virus.
Twitter has an IQ cap and they kick you off if you exceed it regularly. That’s why Trump has to pepper his tweets with typos.
And this shows what a precious commodity TTAC really is – it’s probably one of the few remaining places on the internet in which you can insinuate that Donald Trump is actually MORE intelligent than he appears, and be completely uncontradicted for – oh, about 15 minutes or so.
What is the definition of intelligence? Is Alexa intelligent and if yes is she more intelligent that typical politician in Washington DC?
It seems there is no end to some people’s stupidity and/or their ability to be offended by anything whatsoever.
Tempos handle worse than Reliants.
Acclaim/Spirit had better styling than the Taurus/Sable!
A better question is why does the iPad autocorrect styling to St lying when I type quickly? Android doesn’t do that!
Because you are lying – Taurus/Sable is superior to Acclaim/Spirit in all aspects. Even iPhone knows that!
Noooooooo Android is better than iCult
Turn off your autocorrect. I have an OLD iPad Air (A7 processor) with a Belkin QODE keyboard and I don’t have that problem.
My main objection to iCult is that I have to open an Apple account, give out personal info AND a valid credit card for Apple to keep on file.
Fortunately for me, I can use the Apple ID of the wife’s family business so my personal data is safe.
“It seems there is no end to some people’s stupidity and/or their ability to be offended by anything whatsoever.”
You pretty much prove that every time you post.
It is a cretinous term from times gone by. just slang and better forgotten.
Twitter is Hell on Earth and it will almost certainly result in more harm and suicides than 80 Lincolns.
AAAAHAHAHAAHAHA! But on a serious note, I really really really hope this doesnt cause anyone with such a weak mind to off themselves, that would just be super duper terrible.
If this is someone’s final straw, another different straw is mere days away lol
Don’t tell them a die or two were used in the making of those new suicide doors. The horror of it all.
And don’t mention that there’s a dearth of them, either.
A couple complaining on twitter isn’t worth an article in my opinion, especially when basically none of them has any likes or retweets or whatever.
People being idiots on twitter isn’t news, ever.
Yup, it’s great for the endorphin release of dunking on the other side (whichever other side that is, because both sides do it because both sides have some little irrelevant things they get twitchy over), it’s not news that a few people are offended by… something.
Twitter is for twits. Social media is a social disease.
I want to open all the doors then drive a golf ball through them.
Perhaps our friend Sajeev could use a kind word or two upon learning that his beloved Lincoln’s new flagship is now the DLO FAIL world champion.
It’s a wonderful life for some…
“Let me log in.. ok.. there must be something I can complain about.. nope.. no.. naaah.. there it is.. suicide what?” type type type type
God help us…
Too bad Ford didn’t release this as the Smith & Wesson edition with a .45 in the trunk. Would’ve been the equivalent of the brown noise to some of those knuckleheads out there.
I’d bet that there are already more than 160 donk modified Lincolns out there with aftermarket suicide doors, so good for the Lincoln folks who must have said, “Why don’t we do this ourselves?” and ran from there.
The free publicity, care of the twittiots, is just a bonus.
On Instagram yesterday, Automobile magazine called this feature “Coach Doors”–not sure if they made that up or if that’s something that Ford is using.
I’ve always hated the term “suicide doors” for the simple reason that I had a relative who took his own life many years ago now, and it’s true that most people never forget those who do that, no matter how much time goes by.
It always seemed to be kind of a harsh word to use in describing car doors.
That is all.
Yeah, I remember after my brother-in-law took his own life, his roommate related to me (in some detail) what he saw when he walked in the bathroom after hearing the gunshot.
It’s fun to complain about “internet idiots” but a little imagination is all it takes. “Coach Doors” is the correct term and does just fine.
I’d like to see these cars’ advertising use the instrumental part of Bowie’s Rock and Roll Suicide, just to subtly taunt the twittiots.
(I’m sure Ziggy Stardust and those spiders from Mars would approve.)
Putting suicide doors on a car with a B pillar is like wearing Depends under a bikini.
Hmm, if we HAVE to have a B-pillar, would we be better served by making REVERSE suicide doors? Where the rear door opens normally, and the front door opens at the front? Similar to what Rolls Royce has done with the Dawn.
https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/21/15600764/rolls-royce-suicide-doors-dark-past-elegant-tradition
Just imagine the outrage when they find out about midget car racing, or that some motorcycles have a suicide shifter.
That Dan Horton guy is about the snowflakiest of snowflakes. Most people on Twitter who uses a special font for their name are completely insufferable.
Twitter changed political system of United State for the worse, blame Putin. The upcoming fall of American Empire will be attributed to Twitter by future historians. Disclaimer: I do not have Twitter account and change channels as soon as hear the word “Twitter” or “twitted” or “twit”.
Democrats all.
I’m 65 yrs old, and my dad was a auto mechanic in the 50s and 60s.
I can remember as a small child, asking him why they called them suicide doors. He explained that if someone was exiting the rear seat on the traffic side, and a car came from behind and hit the door, then you would be hit by the door. Lose a foot? Decapitation?
Conversely, if the door is the usual swing and a car hit the door, it would swing away from the person.
Made sense to me.
That makes sense. It might be one of those explanations that people make after the fact (I think it’s called “post hoc” although I might be using that term incorrectly) but it could have just as easily be how the phrase was coined.
Ford didn’t introduce seatbelts, Nash did, in 1949. Ford offered them as an option in ’55, Saab was first to make them standard, in ’58, and Volvo first offered modern 3-point ones in ’59 as standard equipment.
I’ve also seen photos of 20’s and 30’s Duesenbergs with lap belts. Of course they could’ve been retrofit later, and all that I can say is these cars otherwise look very period-correct.