Mention of older Rovers in the unusual sightings thread reminded me I'd meant to post this last month.
The latest Meriva (being heavily advertised in breaks in Tour de France coverage) has aft hinges on it's rear doors. I was under the impression that these had dissapeared by the sixties on account of their capacity to either fly open while under way or amputate limbs if hit from behind.
I can see the former risk being manageable with an electronic interlock but I cant see how the risk of an offside door in traffic can be improved. Neither can I see any advantage over a sliding door in an MPV of this type.
How do GM get away with it and what will be their defence if (when) the lawyers start to get involved?
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Basically things have moved on since the 60s and modern construction means that the doors won't fly open like they used to! So I doubt that they will be having any problems in the future...
As for the principle of them, I agree, I can't see any advantage over "normal" doors... however on an MPV/family car a sliding rear door is much better for access. As far as I can see its a gimmick and no more...
Last edited by: hobby on Fri 13 Aug 10 at 16:34
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...can't see any advantage over "normal" doors...
Getting out is generally reckoned to easier because you exit forwards, which is naturally the direction you take when getting up from a seating position.
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I stand corrected... however I suspect that it also depends on how far the door opens?
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>> Getting out is generally reckoned to easier because you exit forwards, which is naturally the direction you take when getting up from a seating position.
You can do the same with a sliding door though, the benefit of the sliding door is exiting in a car park or similar situation with something blocking a normal door opening.
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I can see how they can be stopped from opening accidentally. Electronics and solid build will see to that.
But what happens if the door is twunked by a car while you're half in or out? Conventional door goes forward and rips off it's hinges; only if you're unlucky do you get dragged out and flattened. Rear hinged door bangs shut and takes your arm, leg or head off. Much greater chance of fatal or life threatening injury.
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>> But what happens if the door is twunked by a car while you're half in
>> or out? Conventional door goes forward and rips off it's hinges; only if you're unlucky
>> do you get dragged out and flattened. Rear hinged door bangs shut and takes your
>> arm, leg or head off. Much greater chance of fatal or life threatening injury.
>>
At least that would take the muppets who normally open a door without looking behind out of the food chain pretty quickly, then it would be less likely that us two wheelers would have a door opened in our face.
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Small car + sliding doors? Weight & Cost.
Last one to try that was Peugeot 1007 and it was a disaster - small car, high weight, higher cost = failure
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But wern't they electric/automatic sliding doors in the 1007? The manual ones work well enough in the Berlingo and the newer smaller PSA/Fiat van based MPVs (Nemo/Bippa etc).
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I know its all relative... but the Meriva isn't all that small, certainly compared with a 1007!
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>> I was under the impression that these had dissapeared by the sixties
Mazda RX8, Rolls Royce, to name but a couple of others.
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...to name but a couple of others...
The FX traditional black cab still has suicide doors - I think.
Earlier FX cabs had sliding up and down rear door windows which were operated by a simple chrome ledge on the top edge of the glass.
Passengers mistook the internal door release handle for a window winder.
If the cab was moving, the wind took the leading edge of the door and it was easy to be dragged or almost sucked out.
One or two passengers were killed in the early years of the M4 out to Heathrow, which was about the only time a London cab ever gathered a bit of speed.
The silly single rear door on the Mini Traveller/Clubman thing is hinged at the rear.
I can remember the Rover saloons with this arrangement.
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The RX8 has a small suicide door to make access to the rear easier (gawd only knows why anyone would want to sit in the back of one of them). But at least the RX8 doesn't retain the 'B' pillar (is that the right term?) like the Meriva.
I can see no point whatsoever in having suicide doors if there's a damn pillar in the way!
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...I can see no point whatsoever in having suicide doors if there's a damn pillar in the way!..
As I mentioned earlier, I think it's deemed easier to climb out forwards, walking through the space where a traditional door would be.
Matter of opinion, of course....
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>> ...I can see no point whatsoever in having suicide doors if there's a damn pillar
>> in the way!..
>>
>> As I mentioned earlier, I think it's deemed easier to climb out forwards, walking through
>> the space where a traditional door would be.
But the pillar is where the door would be!
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...But the pillar is where the door would be!...
Think we are getting mixed up here.
Imagine getting out of a normal car and walking straight through the space where the open door is.
The pillar is the same, but with a suicide door, there's no door bolted to it.
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Isn't the whole point of a rear suicide door, you can do away with the the 'B' pillar?
On a side note. I recall riding pillion with a (hefty) mate nearly half a century ago when suicide doors were more prevalent, on a 500 BSA, 6V electrics, at night. A car door opened in front. It was hinged at the rear. His left foot came out, there was a loud bang followed by a loud scream. He didn't stop!
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I still remember a road safety film being shown to us at school in the 50s, where a little man wearing a hat stops his Austin 8 by the side of the road, opens the 'suicide' driver's door without looking, and has it taken off by James Robertson Justice driving imperiously past in a Bentley. I can see in my mind's eye the little man standing in the road holding his door.
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It was one of those films, on the telly, that made me covet a Super Minx Convertible.
Remember it ? It was to do with drying out your brakes after going through a ford.
Nice looking family, Man and wife and 2.4 healthy kids, hood down and out on a jolly.
Public service films....I think they were called.
Ended up having two of the models, a 61 and a 63.
Ted
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>> I still remember a road safety film being shown to us at school in the
>> 50s, where a little man wearing a hat stops his Austin 8 by the side
>> of the road, opens the 'suicide' driver's door without looking, and has it taken off
>> by James Robertson Justice driving imperiously past in a Bentley. I can see in my
>> mind's eye the little man standing in the road holding his door.
>>
WOW!
Just searched the forum for the Meriva, and found this.
I picked up a Meriva today, for a week's testing.
Drove my standard route to work, stopped off briefly, and when I can out - what was parked next to me, but a 1933 Austin 7!
Unfortunately, i didn't have my camera at hand to snap a pic, of the 'old and new' suicide doors!
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I think the new Ford B-Max with it's sliding rear doors and no B-pillar is a better solution, though gawd knows how much more expensive/difficult to engineer/heavy it has been for Ford on what will only be a niche vehicle?
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Some Austin 7s, ahead of their time, had forward-hinged doors: the one you saw, Ian, may have been a Swallow. Strangely the 1939 Austin 8 reverted to suicide front doors.
You're probably all too young to share my memories, but there was I think a 'Big 7' in the late 30s which had 4 doors, the rear ones suicide doors.
Edit - just remembered - the 4-door Austin 8 had suicide front doors and forward-hinged rear ones, as did the bigger Austins in that series (1939 to late 40s). The illogical stylist is nothing new....
Last edited by: Avant on Wed 11 Apr 12 at 23:41
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My long-standing challenge still stands:
can anyone produce a proven case of suicide via a "suicide" door?
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I had a 1946 Rover 16 with suicide doors. Very easy to get in and out..
Also had quick half turn on driver's window handle to raise and lower it quickly.
And a freewheel.
And bonnet louvres
and auto chassis lubrication
and a rear window blind.
And leather seats.
And syncromesh on 3 gears: .2,3,4
They don't make them... etc
(thank goodness: it was very heavy to steer and axle tramp over bumps at 30mph was terrifying)
Last edited by: madf on Thu 12 Apr 12 at 13:40
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We had a nearly new Meriva as a loaner a two or three of months ago.
Nasty car.
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Don't really see the point of mini people carriers. Automotive oxymoron in my opinion. Bloke near me has a old style dark grey Meriva. Both he and his wife and indeed their two older teenagers are clearly very very fond of pies.
When they're all in it together it often makes me think of a haggis on the point of explosion...
:-)
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Yep, after a day, i've already come to the conclusion that this is a car with the plumper types (or old folk with access difficulties) in mind.
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>>Both he and his wife and indeed their two older teenagers are clearly very very fond of pies.
A similar shaped neighbour's family bought a ten foot caravan. They only used it once!
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Vauxhall Meriva B - Suicide Doors - hobby
