It's my understanding that the term originates in the fact
that opening one of these doors while traveling at a high
enough rate of speed will cause the door to be ripped
completely open by the airflow and, if you're still hanging
onto the door handle, you'll go with it.
Having had an old Renault 4CV with suicide doors, I can
attest to the fact that it's pretty easy to get yanked out of
the car that way.
Jim Beaver
> > >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
> >
>
> My neighbors had a 1960 Lincoln Continental. The
rear doors were suicide
> doors. When both side doors were open it created a
very large opening. I
> always figured it meant that if someone came from
behind and hit the rear
> door as you were exiting, it would crush you rather
than just tearing off
> the door.
>
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