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#115951 - 11/14/03 11:05 AM Car word
maahey addict Registered: 12/03/02 Posts: 555	I read this sentence last night in a book that I am currently reading and it provoked no imagery at all. Of course, it also does not help that I know next to nothing about cars. Can someone tell me what this means, especially 'suicide doors' and post a link maybe to just such a car. Thanks!! "Ancient Plymouths with suicide doors that operated away from the center post like hard covers from a book's spine."
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#115952 - 11/14/03 11:11 AM Re: Car word
wwh Carpal Tunnel Registered: 01/18/01 Posts: 13858	Dear maahey: In late twenties, the wife of a Pontiac dealer sitteng beside her husband who was driving, noticed that the door was not properly latched. She attempted to correct this. The door opend on its leading edge. Even though the car was going only about 30mph, the slipstream caught the door so suddenly and powerfully that it swung open suddenly with such power that she was thrown out of the car, and badly hurt. That's a "suicide door".
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#115953 - 11/14/03 11:17 AM Re: Car word
maahey addict Registered: 12/03/02 Posts: 555	Oh! I see! They open like gates!! But, Bill [nudge - ], can they really do that; can the slipstream actually suck out people. Were there many such reported cases and did such a design go out as a result?
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#115954 - 11/14/03 11:23 AM Re: Car word
Owlbow enthusiast Registered: 10/21/03 Posts: 389 Loc: Rhode Island, USA	A book would have to be opened, face out and on the same plane as the side of the car, to work like the type of door in question. A suicide door opens with the hinge behind the occupant, in such a way, that if an other car coming along side, hit into the opened door, it would crush the person getting in or out. It would be easier to draw a little diagram. ok... like a K or mirrored K (?) Does that help?
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#115955 - 11/14/03 11:24 AM Re: Car word
Owlbow enthusiast Registered: 10/21/03 Posts: 389 Loc: Rhode Island, USA	I've seem some new cars with these doors - I forget what type.
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#115956 - 11/14/03 11:40 AM Suicide doors
shanks old hand Registered: 03/16/00 Posts: 1004 Loc: London, UK	The new (BMW) Rolls Royce and the new Mazda (Wankel Rotary-engined) RX-8 have suicide doors in the rear. I believe that though, in general, these doors contravene safety regulations, they were allowed in these cases because in both cases the rear doors cannot be opened without the front doors opening first (like the overlapping doors on a wardrobe). cheer the sunshine warrior
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#115957 - 11/14/03 11:59 AM Re: Suicide doors
Owlbow enthusiast Registered: 10/21/03 Posts: 389 Loc: Rhode Island, USA	'No wonder I forgot, I drive an old green Honda and a ten speed bicycle if the weather's nice. Very impressive car facts though shanks.
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#115958 - 11/14/03 12:33 PM Car facts
shanks old hand Registered: 03/16/00 Posts: 1004 Loc: London, UK	Owlbow I read car mags instead of 'girlie' mags or 'lads mags'. I wonder what that says about my sex life? (Particularly given that I don't drive, my bicycle was stolen, and it's now a bit too cold to walk far - so it's buses all the way for me.) cheer the sunshine warrior
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#115959 - 11/14/03 12:42 PM Re: Car facts
Buffalo Shrdlu Carpal Tunnel Registered: 06/24/02 Posts: 7184 Loc: Vermont	here's a previous discussion: http://wordsmith.org/board/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=words&Number=109735 includes a link to a pic, too. _________________________ formerly known as etaoin...
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#115960 - 11/14/03 12:57 PM Re: Car facts
Owlbow enthusiast Registered: 10/21/03 Posts: 389 Loc: Rhode Island, USA	Cars have always been sex objects in US "culture", especially their back seats. Sorry to hear that you're another victim of those bi-thieves. I was a buser (and worked as a bus boy for a few months too) for several years before I bought a nice bike, which was stolen from a barroom service entryway soon thereafter. I found a 3-speed in a dumpster that I fixed up and rode for years. I was healthier and more "socially" popular than at any time of my life. So much for my USA being a Carnation. PS: My older brother and I went to the 1962-3&4 car shows at the "Coliseum" in NYC in our teens. He was a street drag racer/greaser. My fist car, in stark contrast, was a very used red 1965 VW bug. Shine on
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