Re: RARA-AVIS: two queries

From: pabergin ( pabergin@gte.net)
Date: 06 Mar 2000


>1) In Pelecanos' 'The Sweet Forever' he refers to 'a Lincoln with suicide
>doors.' What are 'suicide doors'?

Suicide doors are front seat doors with the position of the catch and hinge reversed from what has come to be the norm, i.e. with the trailing edge of the door hinged, so that the door opens "backwards." The design showed up on a few cars in the '30s, but proved unpopular. Lincoln used the design only for a year or two, on the Mark I or II, I think. I've no idea of the origin of the term, which I first heard from my hot rodder brother in the 50s. PB

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