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Lincoln Continental bringing back the "suicide door"

Obliviax

Well-Known Member
Aug 21, 2001
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looks awesome:

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2017-Lincoln-Continental-382612.jpg


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I like the look but what is the advantage of a suicide door?
At least the designers haven't fallen into the same trap that Toyota and Lexus have for big honking grills.:rolleyes:

It's actually easier to get in and out of the car. You simply step out forward as opposed to having to step out sideways. Getting in you simply fall back down in the seat.

Not sure why they are called "suicide:" but I am sure someone can enlighten us.

They were around going back to the early 60s, I believe.
 
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It's actually easier to get in and out of the car. You simply step out forward as opposed to having to step out sideways. Getting in you simply fall back down in the seat.

Not sure why they are called "suicide:" but I am sure someone can enlighten us.

They were around going back to the early 60s, I believe.
In the sixties I believe there was no metal support bar between the front and rear door, as such cars with a suicide door literally bent in half if hit from the side.
 
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It's actually easier to get in and out of the car. You simply step out forward as opposed to having to step out sideways. Getting in you simply fall back down in the seat.

Not sure why they are called "suicide:" but I am sure someone can enlighten us.
agree....especially for women (or men, I guess) wearing a tight skirt or older people who need to kind of sit and spin. In fact, my bro and I were talking about this at a nursing home just a couple of months ago.

They were called "suicide doors" in years gone by for two reasons (that I know of). First, back in the day, there was no way to lock the doors and prohibit someone from opening them electronically, as there is today. Plus, the mechanics weren't as good. So a door opening that direction, at 55 mph, was very dangerous. A door opening the other way was, basically, forced shut by the wind. Suicide doors are forced open. The second issue is that car designs, at that time, make the car very unsafe from a side impact. Back in the day, the suicide car models had little to no side panel bar to enforce body integrity. So a car with no vertical bar was very dangerous if t-boned from the side.

This car has ample protections to keep the door from being opened "at speed" and the new designs allow for a vertical side panel that provides body integrity and is not in the way.
 
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It's actually easier to get in and out of the car. You simply step out forward as opposed to having to step out sideways. Getting in you simply fall back down in the seat.

Not sure why they are called "suicide:" but I am sure someone can enlighten us.

They were around going back to the early 60s, I believe.
Open car doors get hit by passing cars, especially when people open them without looking. Do that in a car with suicide doors and you are liable to lose a foot or your head.
 
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I like the look but what is the advantage of a suicide door?
At least the designers haven't fallen into the same trap that Toyota and Lexus have for big honking grills.:rolleyes:
I bought my wife a new SUV last month. I suggested we look at Lexus because of their ratings but she wouldn't even consider them because she hates the big bow tie grill.
 
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The rear doors on my Tacoma access cab are suicide doors. You have to have the front door open in order to open the back door. A lot handier to put items in the back area or allow people to sit on the bench seats in the back.

I also have them on a customized VW. They make it a lot easier to get in and out of the car.

They have been around for a long time. They were used in horse drawn carriages. When they went to cars, some had them. But, the aerodynamics were better for the front doors if the hinge was in the front.

They're termed suicide doors since they could blow open, but mostly it was because people opened them up when getting out on the drivers side and being hit by oncoming traffic. They were also a big hit with gangsters because it was easier to throw someone out of a moving car.
 
It's actually easier to get in and out of the car. You simply step out forward as opposed to having to step out sideways. Getting in you simply fall back down in the seat.

Not sure why they are called "suicide:" but I am sure someone can enlighten us.

They were around going back to the early 60s, I believe.

Google is your friend
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=suicide+doors
 
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I like the look but what is the advantage of a suicide door?
At least the designers haven't fallen into the same trap that Toyota and Lexus have for big honking grills.:rolleyes:

Well, if you are in a gunfight you can better protect your six.
 
Where do you get that price? From what I've seen, it appears to be between $45k and $75k.

For a normal Continental. This is the "Coach Door Edition" or something.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/samabu...r-edition-just-dont-say-suicide/#e42674b555c0

Lincoln hasn’t yet announced final pricing but has acknowledged that it will over $100,000 when the cars are produced in spring 2018. Order books for the 80 2019 models open up on December 17, 2018 as the car is announced.


Smaller than the over 300k asked for the Bentley shown above.

The bentley isn't really a competitor. This is going to go against the s-class, 7 series, a8.
 
I have a 15 year old RX-8 (2004 and 33,000 miles) with suicide doors and I always loved the look.

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slightly different....you have to have the front door open before you can open the back door IIRC. this is similar to many cab crew pickup trucks. in the case on the Lincoln, you can open the back door regardless of the disposition of the front doors.
 
For a normal Continental. This is the "Coach Door Edition" or something.

The bentley isn't really a competitor. This is going to go against the s-class, 7 series, a8.


This dead ol’ Connie isn’t going up against anything...

it’s a bloated FWD V6 that nobody wants, the Continental is cancelled.

The last 80 of these will be retrofitted by a MA coachbuilder with the gimmicky doors and shipped to the few Lincoln dealers that remain...

Dumbass Ford should have offered it this way right out if the blocks... alas, too little. Too late.
 
slightly different....you have to have the front door open before you can open the back door IIRC. this is similar to many cab crew pickup trucks. in the case on the Lincoln, you can open the back door regardless of the disposition of the front doors.

Good point. Still, most people are not used to seeing the look when both doors are open and even more so today and there are fewer and fewer RX-8's on the road. I'm not suggesting they are rare, but I seldom see one in my daily travels.
 
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This dead ol’ Connie isn’t going up against anything...

it’s a bloated FWD V6 that nobody wants, the Continental is cancelled.

The last 80 of these will be retrofitted by a MA coachbuilder with the gimmicky doors and shipped to the few Lincoln dealers that remain...

Dumbass Ford should have offered it this way right out if the blocks... alas, too little. Too late.

Completely agree. Meant it strictly in terms of price point.

These are gonna be selling for 30 grand used in 5 years. Maybe sooner
 
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I bought my wife a new SUV last month. I suggested we look at Lexus because of their ratings but she wouldn't even consider them because she hates the big bow tie grill.
I thought I was the only one that hated them... maybe there is a functional purpose , but I think they are butt ugly
 
I thought I was the only one that hated them... maybe there is a functional purpose , but I think they are butt ugly

You’re not the only one that hates them.... Toyota produces a whole lot of ugly vehicles
Completely agree. Meant it strictly in terms of price point.

These are gonna be selling for 30 grand used in 5 years. Maybe sooner

not unlike a 7-series BMW :p
 
I thought I was the only one that hated them... maybe there is a functional purpose , but I think they are butt ugly

The only functional purpose of that stupid Lexus design language (ie: Predator mouth) was to deflect widespread disdain from LEXUS “stylists” whose designs were panned as boring / derivative, particularly for their lofty (over-priced) price-point... product-planners simply tried too hard to give dopey vain Lexus shoppers a distinctive, notice-me fascia... evoking eye-rolls everwhere, especially from people looking in their rear-view mirror
 
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The only functional purpose of that stupid Lexus design language (ie: Predator mouth) was to deflect widespread disdain from LEXUS “stylists” whose designs were panned as boring / derivative, particularly for their lofty (over-priced) price-point... product-planners simply tried too hard to give dopey vain Lexus shoppers a distinctive, notice-me fascia... evoking eye-rolls everwhere, especially from people looking in their rear-view mirror
Isn’t it safe to say that Toyota/Lexus now oversculpt their vehicles because, for years, they simply copied the contours of the best selling vehicles in class? They are now “over sculpting” in order to differentiate...in my opinion
 
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Perfect if you want to advertise that you like to waste your money. Even Carmela Soprano thinks that’s tacky
 
New Supra was *surprise* touched by the ugly-stick of ham-handed Toyota designers

It’s all of the Japanese brands except maybe Mazda at the moment. Hondas are bad and they haven’t had a good looking car since they cancelled the s2000, the civic type-r is ghastly. None of Infiniti’s designs are inspiring in my opinion. Subaru neutered itself, Really curious how they turn the new Impreza into a wrx/sti. Nissans designs are really awful.
 
It’s all of the Japanese brands except maybe Mazda at the moment. Hondas are bad and they haven’t had a good looking car since they cancelled the s2000, the civic type-r is ghastly. None of Infiniti’s designs are inspiring in my opinion. Subaru neutered itself, Really curious how they turn the new Impreza into a wrx/sti. Nissans designs are really awful.

You’re absolutely right... pretty sad when Honda’s best looking effort is the Ridgeline ... Civic is an unmitigated aesthetic clusterphock... Fit and HR-V are simply stupid-looking... Pilot is a bloated pig... even the Odyssey is fuggly (and I love minivans)

Poor Mazda... continuously overlooked.... i am a former Mazda owner and my experience has been that their dealers are crappy...

Subaru is the luckiest company on earth... Legacy / Outback platform is as old as the hills/barely competitive but the company continues on what is a decade-long tear...
 
I have a 34 Plymouth with double suicide doors. (front and back) Suicide doors are called such because back in those days there wasn't much holding the door shut. (a single latch and a catch, not the bear claw style of today) If you accidently leaned against the door handle it could open the door while the car was in motion. If the door was a suicide door, the air moving against the door would rip it right open and lay it back against the body of the car, often times the passenger went along with the door. Thus, many deaths were attributed to the reverse opening door. (Suicide door)

Most manufacturers went away from suicide doors in the late 30's. They did not appear again until the door latching hardware vastly improved.
 
Isn't that a safety issue? I'm surprised that the NTSA allows it.
Technology has come a long way in overcoming the risks associated with the doors since the 1950. Also, BTW, after further review, looks like they are making something like 100 of these as a test case. So the poster that suggested they will push $100k may be correct. I thought this was going to be a production car when I first posted it.
 
I have a 15 year old RX-8 (2004 and 33,000 miles) with suicide doors and I always loved the look.

3580684453_cbfa41ccc1_b.jpg
I also had a 2004 RX8 and loved the look. Mine was blue. A true family sports car. Unfortunately the car had a true sports car ride and was not the greatest for long highway commutes as far as comfort was concerned. I was putting about 14K miles per year driving to work and home including a 145 mile highway commute once a week. Sadly I gave up my RX8 for a more practical and comfortable vehicle with regard to long commuting, a Toyota Camry XLE. Wished I still had my RX8.
 
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I also had a 2004 RX8 and loved the look. Mine was blue. A true family sports car. Unfortunately the car had a true sports car ride and was not the greatest for long highway commutes as far as comfort was concerned. I was putting about 14K miles per year driving to work and home including a 145 mile highway commute once a week. Sadly I gave up my RX8 for a more practical and comfortable vehicle with regard to long commuting, a Toyota Camry XLE. Wished I still had my RX8.

I understand. I ordered mine (a 2004) from the factory in the Summer of 2003, having never driven one or even seen one in person. When I ordered they were not yet at my dealer. Like you, I loved the look and, from my extensive reading, it seemed to have everything else I wanted in a car. I took delivery on October 1, 2003 and have had it ever since. In the early years it never saw snow, barely saw rain, and was driven mostly on weekends. After 10 years I had less than 12,000 miles, and then my wife encouraged me to drive it more often and I have, putting on another 20K miles in the past 5 years. I didn't see a lot of them on the road through the years, and I rarely see one now. It's starting to give me some problems, so I'm not sure how much longer I'll keep it. As my mechanic said recently, "You have a fairly low mileage 15 year old car and 15 year old cars have issues." We'll see how it goes.
 
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