click above image to view high-res gallery of the Opel Flextreme Concept
For those unfamiliar with the suicide-style rear door, it's basically a car door with the hinges located closer to the rear of the car, usually on the C-pillar. The design isn't new, but it recently had a renaissance with cars like the Mazda RX-8 and Rolls-Royce Phantom adopting the unique style.
The rear opening doors will soon be featured on some General Motors products, as revealed by its Vice Chairman Bob Lutz on his blog. GM recently previewed its design, dubbed FlexDoor, on its new Opel Flextreme at the Frankfurt Motor Show this week. Engineers were able to do-away with the center B-pillar, which means opening both doors on a single side of the car leaves one giant opening the size of two doors. This was important because designers learned from focus groups that people, especially those who use child-seats, wanted easier access to the rear compartment.
The Flextreme itself is only a concept and Lutz was coy about when we might see them on a production car, so we suggest you don't hold your breath.
[GM Fastlane Blog via The GM Source]
Reader Spy: Chevy Volt caught on set of Transformers 2
Spy Shot: Production interior of Chevy Volt (maybe)
Rumormill: Lexus LF-A... Stillborn?
Ford reveals 2010 Mustang badge
REPORT: Chrysler may sell Dodge Viper rather than kill it
In the Autoblog Garage: 2009 Nissan Murano
In the Autoblog Garage: 2009 Dodge Journey R/T
In the Autoblog Garage: 2008 Jeep Compass Sport 4x2
In the Autoblog Garage: 2008 Porsche Carrera S
First Drive: 2009 Honda Fit Sport
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Viv @ Sep 14th 2007 5:35PM
Good job Lutz. Let's make GM the place for innovation again.
AlexP @ Sep 14th 2007 5:41PM
... Um, just how is it innovative? :P
Chris @ Sep 14th 2007 5:41PM
What's this going to do for side-impact crash test ratings?
Dave in MI @ Sep 14th 2007 5:45PM
Suicide doors are terrible for kids. Just terrible.
If you stop to drop off your kids at school, they can't just hop out like a normal car. The front door has to be opened, and then the driver needs to open the rear door with the lever in the jam.
If you are in a crowded parking area, everybody has to get out and stand in the trapped space between the doors and then find a way to close one so you can go forward or backward.
Don't any of these people actually use cars? Must be the same people that did the 3rd row in the Tahoe. Worst possible design for soccer mom's.
eliot mcd @ Sep 14th 2007 6:55PM
dumbest post so far, this is so untrue, the front doors dont need to be opened to work the back ones, thats on the mazda rx8, on a sedan or true 4 door car, it is just like any other car except the front and rear door handles are closer together on each side, u dont need to pull a lever in a rolls to open the back doors
BC @ Sep 14th 2007 5:56PM
Although people have a visceral reaction to sliding doors because of their minivan associations, they're darn practical. Can't remember what Euro mini-car has them on the passenger and driver side, but it makes an awful lot of sense.
Any innovation that allows you better access to a flexible, usable interior space is fine by me.
Paul Y @ Sep 14th 2007 6:25PM
The Peugot 1007 has power sliding doors. Sure, it's goofy, but it's astonishingly functional. I'd love a sedan or wagon with them.
Viv @ Sep 14th 2007 6:05PM
How many family cars out on the road today have suicide doors?
AlexP @ Sep 14th 2007 6:24PM
None (unless you consider the Rolls a family car), but it's nothing new.
EARL @ Sep 14th 2007 6:14PM
HAD ONE OF MY SISTERS OPEN ONE OF THESE ON A 1958 FORD I THINK WHEN I WAS ABOUT 6-7. GOT INSTANTLY JERKED OUT OF THE CAR AT 35MPH. SCRAPES AND BRUISED BUT OK. SCAREY GUYS.THE WIND JUST JERKS THEM OPEN. MAYBE IF THEY HAD A AUTO SPEED OF FORCE CONTROL METER AS SLIDING DOORS DO TO STOP PINCHED FINDERS?
Larry @ Sep 14th 2007 6:46PM
and then you woke up crying and screaming? (course no 58 Ford had doors like that, the 61 through 69 Lincoln-Continentals had them, with double locks............
Snark @ Sep 14th 2007 7:38PM
I think technology has progressed a ways since 1958 or whenever it was that you say this happened, which I doubt.
Rob @ Sep 14th 2007 8:58PM
...or maybe automatic door locks when the car is put in gear like nearly every GM (and others) have had for nearly 15 years
oby @ Sep 14th 2007 6:36PM
More GM vapourware. Never seen a company with the ability to produce concept after concept after concept as does GM.
Most don't ever see the light of day again. I guess it makes them look great at auto shows, meanwhile in the assembly plants, the crap jus keeps on rollin' down the line!
psarhjinian @ Sep 14th 2007 8:15PM
This is actually true. GM has a long (well, if you count "long" as "from about 1970 onwards") and storied history of flashy concepts and mediocre production cars.
Mazda does this, too. Their concepts are astounding but the production is pretty normal. The difference is that Mazda's production cars aren't nearly as bad.
Robert O @ Sep 14th 2007 6:42PM
I've heard that they are called "suicide doors" because when they were first developed years ago, the technology was such that at higher speeds, the door could fly open and the driver or passenger would fall out = suicide. My Great Aunt reports riding in her soon-to-be husbands old vehicle with doors that latched at the front and having to hold the door shut the entire ride.
BILL @ Sep 14th 2007 6:53PM
GM needs to be careful with this one. Associating suicide with any of their products could be, uh-huh, suicide.
Dustin @ Sep 14th 2007 6:58PM
I wonder for how long people have been wanting easier access to the rear compartment. I suppose it was only a matter of decades before someone listened.
Judy Zik @ Sep 14th 2007 7:33PM
You know it's a concept only car when it has a glass roof and suicide doors. In the real world this car would flex over every bump and turn into a pretzel in a crash test due to the lack of structure. The suicide doors look cool but are not practical. Besides all the other things people have mentioned if the car rolls ahead accidentally while you are trying to get in the back seat you get whacked by the door instead of it rolling away from you and in the process can easily be knocked from your feet and end up under the back wheel. There's a safety feature! Imagine them trying to justify in court their use of something commonly known as a suicide door on a family sedan. Glass roofs turn cars into solar powered ovens for their occupants to fry in. These "innovations" are nothing new and are not practical. Which is why they never make it off the auto show turntables.
Colin Smith @ Sep 14th 2007 8:01PM
So agreed!