Shop Press

Shop Press is the news and idea hub for everything related to working on cars and trucks, focusing on repair, technology, and wrenching lifestyle.

From the creative minds at:

FEATURE STORY

Hot Off the Press

Stress Test Vehicle Grounds

Pop quiz, no cheating: how many amps does the ground side of any circuit conduct? If you said, “As many as the hot side,” get yourself a gold star and skip this article. For the rest of us who weren’t born innately knowing the answer to that question, stick with me...

The Tightwad’s Way To Install Any Wheel Bearing Race

I don’t own a bearing race driver kit, and I haven’t in 20 years of fixing stuff. I also refuse to use sockets to drive a race. I learned a method a long time ago I’ll pass along to you newer techs: I use the race I’m replacing. I primarily have used this trick when...

Shop Profile: Locked N Loaded 4×4

I’ve owned two Jeeps–the 1973 Super Jeep CJ-5 featured in a previous Shop Press article, and a 2010 Wrangler Sahara. The reliability and my enjoyment of the former wasn’t “super” in any way despite American Motors’ best efforts at model name puffery, and the latter...

Check Out This Hacky Diag Tool

Disclaimer: Dorman Products purchased this kit at full price.In the interest of serious investigative reporting, I swiped the Shop Press credit card for $14.83 to try out a diag tool I thought looked super-cool: the relay bypass. What’s that? Short version: Imagine a...

Dealers make house calls. Why not you?

I had a great experience recently when my dealer’s service department called to ask if I’d like to schedule some routine maintenance needed on my SUV from one of their fleet of nifty new mobile service vans, with the promise that my cost would be the same as if I...

What kind of car is that? A primer on esoteric body styles.

by | Apr 19, 2022

We all deal with various body styles daily. I remember asking, “Lumina car or Lumina van?” in my salad days on the parts counter because I badly needed to know the body style for things like, say, a set of wiper blades. We all know the easy ones—sedan, convertible, pick-‘em-up truck, but here are a few less-well-known body styles (and related terms) in no particular order to help you on Trivia Night at the bar.

Bustleback

This is a vehicle style where the trunk is suggested as a separate “box” than the rear of the vehicle, as though the rear of the car has a very vertical rear bodyline (which the trunk line often mimics). The most well-known modern interpretations are still rather old, but you likely are familiar with the 1980-1985 Cadillac Seville, 1981-1983 Chrysler Imperial, or the 1982-1987 Lincoln Continental.

Bustleback

Illustration by Josh Seasholtz.

Cabriolet

Another name for a convertible.

Deck van

The deck van is a van with a small open bed and no roof where the rearmost row of seats would normally be found. This body style is notably popular in Japan. Daihatsu Hijet deck vans are a good example.

Deck van

Illustration by Josh Seasholtz.

Shooting brake

A bit fluid in terms of definition, the shooting brake is probably most succinctly defined as a two-door station wagon. Roomier than a coupe (especially in terms of passenger head room), they usually have fairly long hoods. The 1998-2003 BMW Z3 Coupé is a fairly recent example of a shooting brake.

Shooting brake

Illustration by Josh Seasholtz.

Hardtop

Traditionally a hardtop was either a two- or four-door car that did not have a full-height B-pillar (or none at all), not to be confused with a coupe or sedan. Later the term was applied to convertibles with non-textile tops that could retract into the car itself.

Hardtop

Illustration by Josh Seasholtz.

Berlinetta

This is a coupe with back seats. They’re sometimes called “2+2” cars, but there are a lot of coupes that meet this definition, which may explain why the term isn’t used often.

Saloon

What Europeans call a sedan.

Pony car

A pony car is a style that’s remained relatively unchanged over the years, so it’s reasonably specific. Pony cars are sporty two-door cars with a long nose, short deck, and rear wheel drive that can move four people around. Examples include the Chevy Camaro and Ford Mustang.

Pony car

Illustration by Josh Seasholtz.

Kei vehicle

A class of ultra-compact vehicles built for Japanese roads that are taxed less aggressively than large vehicles. They are generally rather slow as their engines are small, well below one liter of displacement.

Kei truck

Illustration by Josh Seasholtz.

Estate wagon

What Europeans call a station wagon.

Hopefully at least one of those was new to you and you walk away a bit smarter. Of course, many of these definitions have changed shape over the years, much like the cars they describe. And, of course, when you know the rules, it makes arguing for or against them that much easier, and I expect at least someone will be along to tell me that they think the Dodge Magnum is a shooting brake (it’s not) or that a hardtop ‘vert doesn’t count as a hardtop (it does).

The articles and other content contained on this site may contain links to third party websites. By clicking them, you consent to Dorman’s Website Use Agreement.

Shop Press Comment Policy

Participation in this forum is subject to Dorman’s Website Terms & Conditions. Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Inline feedback
View all comments

RECENT ARTICLES

Stress Test Vehicle Grounds

Stress Test Vehicle Grounds

Pop quiz, no cheating: how many amps does the ground side of any circuit conduct? If you said, “As many as the hot...

Get Articles In Your Inbox

Subscribe to receive a monthly email summary of our latest Shop Press stories.

Shop Press

I agree to the above privacy statement and T&Cs

Thanks! You're now subscribed.