Topic: Universal body style directory

[RayTheRat]

Here's a shot at the "early era" (1885-1919) broken down by open/closed, then number of seats/doors, then country with some manufacturers-specific entries and some "universal" body styles carried over from horse-drawn carriages.

Universal Body Style Directory   
   
1895-1919   
Open cars   
  2 seats, 0-2 doors   
   USA: Stanhope, Runabout
   B: Runabout, OTS, Roadster (?)
   F: Duc, Cabriolet (?)
         D: Victoria, Zweisitzer
         I:  Spider
   
Manufacturer-Specific   Mercer: Raceabout
   Benz:  Velo
   
  4-6 seats, 2-4 doors   
   USA: Touring, Phaeton
   B: Tourer
   F: Tonneau, Phaeton, Victoria
   D: Victoria, Tonneau, Phaeton, Doppelphaeton
   I:  Torpedo
   
Universal    Dos-a-Dos, Vis-a-Vis, Mylord, Roi-des-Belges
   
Closed cars   
  2 seats, 0-2 doors   
   USA: Coupe
   B: Coupe, Coupé
   F: Coupé, Conduite Interiéure
   D: Coupe, Coupé
   I:  Coupe, Coupé
   
  4+ seats, 4+ doors   
   USA: Sedan, Limousine, Town Car, Landaulette, Coupe de Ville
   B: Saloon, Limousine, Town Car, Landaulette, Coupe de Ville
   F: Sedan (?) Limousine, Landaulette, Coupe de Ville
   D: Landaulette
   I: Limousine,Landaulette

Please make changes, give opinions/feedback...all input welcome.

RtR

[Iluvatar]

Here's a shot at the "early era" (1885-1919) broken down by open/closed, then number of seats/doors, then country with some manufacturers-specific entries and some "universal" body styles carried over from horse-drawn carriages.

Universal Body Style Directory   
   
1895-1919   
Open cars   
  2 seats, 0-2 doors   
   USA: Stanhope, Runabout
   B: Runabout, OTS, Roadster (?)
   F: Duc, Cabriolet (?)
         D: Victoria, Zweisitzer
         I:  Spider
   
Manufacturer-Specific   Mercer: Raceabout
   Benz:  Velo
   
  4-6 seats, 2-4 doors   
   USA: Touring, Phaeton
   B: Tourer
   F: Tonneau, Phaeton, Victoria
   D: Victoria, Tonneau, Phaeton, Doppelphaeton
   I:  Torpedo
   
Universal    Dos-a-Dos, Vis-a-Vis, Mylord, Roi-des-Belges
   
Closed cars   
  2 seats, 0-2 doors   
   USA: Coupe
   B: Coupe, Coupé
   F: Coupé, Conduite Interiéure
   D: Coupe, Coupé
   I:  Coupe, Coupé
   
  4+ seats, 4+ doors   
   USA: Sedan, Limousine, Town Car, Landaulette, Coupe de Ville
   B: Saloon, Limousine, Town Car, Landaulette, Coupe de Ville
   F: Sedan (?) Limousine, Landaulette, Coupe de Ville
   D: Landaulette
   I: Limousine,Landaulette

Please make changes, give opinions/feedback...all input welcome.

RtR

Great! 

[RayTheRat]

Here's a shot at the "early era" (1885-1919) broken down by open/closed, then number of seats/doors, then country with some manufacturers-specific entries and some "universal" body styles carried over from horse-drawn carriages.

Universal Body Style Directory   
   
1895-1919   
Open cars   
  2 seats, 0-2 doors   
   USA: Stanhope, Runabout
   B: Runabout, OTS, Roadster (?)
   F: Duc, Cabriolet (?)
         D: Victoria, Zweisitzer
         I:  Spider
   
Manufacturer-Specific   Mercer: Raceabout
   Benz:  Velo
   
  4-6 seats, 2-4 doors   
   USA: Touring, Phaeton
   B: Tourer
   F: Tonneau, Phaeton, Victoria
   D: Victoria, Tonneau, Phaeton, Doppelphaeton
   I:  Torpedo
   
Universal    Dos-a-Dos, Vis-a-Vis, Mylord, Roi-des-Belges
   
Closed cars   
  2 seats, 0-2 doors   
   USA: Coupe
   B: Coupe, Coupé
   F: Coupé, Conduite Interiéure
   D: Coupe, Coupé
   I:  Coupe, Coupé
   
  4+ seats, 4+ doors   
   USA: Sedan, Limousine, Town Car, Landaulette, Coupe de Ville
   B: Saloon, Limousine, Town Car, Landaulette, Coupe de Ville
   F: Sedan (?) Limousine, Landaulette, Coupe de Ville
   D: Landaulette
   I: Limousine,Landaulette

Please make changes, give opinions/feedback...all input welcome.

RtR

Great! 

So this would work for you in this format?

Any changes you'd suggest?

Are the body styles close for Italian cars in the "first era?"

RtR

[Iluvatar]

Yes I think it's a good format!
Unfortunately italian bodies from that era are a little obscure to me... I don't know when the name Berlina born, but for sure it's the most common name for closed cars with four doors in Italy... so maybe it was the same in the 10s...

[Allan L]

Can't have been known in 1963 in the USofA or they wouldn't have written "Ich bin ein Berlina" for Kennedy to say.

[RayTheRat]

Can't have been known in 1963 in the USofA or they wouldn't have written "Ich bin ein Berlina" for Kennedy to say.

LOL!  Kennedy's Massachusetts accent sure made it sound that way, references to the misinterpreted homonym for a pastry aside.

I think it would have been a pretty obscure term at that time, probably known only to a small handful of vintage car enthusiasts.

While I was sniffing around the web, searching for the root of "berlina" I came across an interesting site that provides translation (unverified) for Italian "car words" to English:
http://www.international-auto.com/fiat-lancia-miscellaneous/automotive-terms-translated-from-italian-to-english.cfm

Others may be aware of this, but it's new to me.  Seems like it might come in handy.

RtR

[Paul Jaray]

Great work so far.
I can add a list of "manufacturer specfic"...

[RayTheRat]

Great work so far.
I can add a list of "manufacturer specfic"...

That would be wonderful!  Thanks!

RtR

[D-type]

Where does a "Berlinetta" fit into the scheme of things?

I think it is a coupe without quarter lights, ie two windows each side.

[Iluvatar]

Where does a "Berlinetta" fit into the scheme of things?

I think it is a coupe without quarter lights, ie two windows each side.

I never understand the difference between a Coupé and a Berlinetta... and so I consider them as the same body type, with both one or two windows each side... I think it's a problem of makes and coachbuilders, which used both names without a specific meaning...

[RayTheRat]

Where does a "Berlinetta" fit into the scheme of things?

I think it is a coupe without quarter lights, ie two windows each side.

I never understand the difference between a Coupé and a Berlinetta... and so I consider them as the same body type, with both one or two windows each side... I think it's a problem of makes and coachbuilders, which used both names without a specific meaning...

I also think the meaning of "berlina" and "berlinetta" is somewhat at the mercy of the coachbuilders and the people that assign "model names," although I've come to think of 'em as equivalent to "coupe" and "sedan."  I thought it was more common in post-WWII and especially post-1960 vehicles, but the more I work on this, the more I begin to believe that body styles have always been pretty much "manufacturer-specific."  The Model A Ford has a couple of good examples.  Sport Coupe, to start with.  A faux cabriolet with landau irons.  Then Ford's use of "Tudor" and "Fordor" to indicate 2- and 4-door sedans...and so on.  That also runs into the question about "phaeton" vs "touring car" or "tourer."  Model Ts that were open 4-5 seaters with a folding top were touring cars.  When the Model A was introduced in late 1927, all of a sudden, that body style became "phaeton", a name that had been used on Lincolns.

Then there's the 3-window and 5-window coupe thing.  This is more of a hot rod definition (at least in my experience) where a 3-window coupe has no rear quarter windows, but a 5-window does.  The windshield isn't counted in the terminology...and it's applied to Fords, Oldsmobiles, Pontiacs and a whole bunch of other mid-30s US-produced cars.

And if you really want to get confused, look at Studebaker models....especially from 1948 until the company's demise.  Aside from "Champion" and "Commander" signifying 6-cylinder and V8 (1955-1963) there wasn't much rhyme nor reason that I can determine.  I pity the salesmen who had to learn new model names every year.

Another area that probably otta be defined is the difference between a convertible and a roadster (in my "world", a convertible has roll-up windows, a roadster doesn't) but then how does one define "convertible coupe" and "convertible sedan"?  This may be an "era" thing with the latter 2 model names being used in the 1930s and pretty much fading away after that...with some exceptions.

This is a big can of worms...and I've been told that once such a can has been opened, the only way to get the worms back in is to use a bigger can.  I think that's appropriate here.

I'll see if I can flesh out the next era a little this evening.

RtR

[RayTheRat]

This includes body styles of cars from 1920-1945.  I'm considering adding a column for "secondary" style names and using the existing column for a single "primary" name.  Example: First entry, USA open car 1895-1919 would have a primary style name of Runabout, with Stanhope and any others in the secondary column.

PLEASE correct any mistakes, omissions or add anything you think would be helpful.

Thanks,

RtR

Universal Body Style Directory      
      
1895-1919      
Open cars      
    2 seats, 0-2 doors      
   USA: Stanhope, Runabout   
   B: Runabout, OTS, Roadster (?)    
   F: Duc, Cabriolet (?) , Roadster (?), Runabout (?)   
         D: Victoria, Zweisitzer   
         I:  Spider   
      
      
      
      
    4-6 seat, 2-4 doors      
   USA: Touring, Phaeton   
   B: Tourer   
   F: Tonneau, Phaeton, Victoria   
   D: Victoria, Tonneau, Phaeton, Doppelphaeton, Torpedo   
   I:  Torpedo   
      
Manufacturer-Specific   Mercer: Raceabout   
   Benz:  Velo, Comfortable   
   De Dion Bouton: Motorette   
      
      
Universal    Dos-a-Dos, Vis-a-Vis, Mylord, Roi-des-Belges   
      
Closed cars      
    2 seats, 0-2 doors      
   USA: Coupe, Club Coupe, Business Coupe, Opera Coupe   
   B: Coupe, Coupé   
   F: Coupé, Conduite Interiéure   
   D: Coupe, Coupé   
   I:  Coupe, Coupé   
      
    4+ seats, 4+ doors      
   USA: Sedan, Victoria, Limousine, Town Car, Coupe de Ville   
   B: Saloon, Limousine, Town Car, Landaulette, Coupe de Ville   
   F: Sedan (?) Limousine, Landaulette, Coupe de Ville   
   D: Landaulette   
   I: Limousine,Landaulette   
      
      
1920-1942      
Open cars      
    2 seats, 0-2 doors      
   USA: Speedster, Roadster, Convertible   
   B: OTS, Drop Head Coupe (DHC) Roadster (?)    
   F: Cabriolet, Coupé décapotable, Voiturette   
         D: Victoria, Zweisitzer   
         I:  Spider   
      
    4-6 seat, 2-4 doors   USA: Touring, Phaeton, Convertible Sedan   
   B: Tourer   
   F: Tonneau, Phaeton, Victoria, Coach décapotable, Torpédo    
   D: Victoria, Tonneau, Phaeton, Doppelphaeton, Limousine   
   I:  Torpedo, Siluro   
      
      
Closed cars      
    2 seats, 1-2 doors      
   USA: Coupe (3-window, 5-window)   
   B: Coupe, Coupé, Fixed Head Coupe (FHC)   
   F: Coupé, Conduite Interiéure, Berlinetta   
   D: Coupé, Coupe de Voyage   
   I:  Coupe, Coupé   
      
    4-6 seats, 2-4 doors      
   USA: Sedan, Limousine, Town Car, Landaulette, Sedanca de Ville   
   B: Saloon, Limousine, Town Car, Landaulette, Sedanca de Ville   
   F: Conduite Interiéure, Berline, Limousine, Cabriolet Chauffeur   
   D: ?    
   I:  Berline, Limousine
      
      
    4+ seats, 2+ doors, enclosed storage area   
        USA: Station Wagon, “Woodie” (body constructed of wood)   
   B: Shooting Brake, Estate car   
   F: Break   
   D: Kombi   
   I:  Giardinera, Giardinetta   
      
Manufacturer-Specific   Mercedes Benz: Sportwagen   
      
      
Universal    Skiff, Faux Cabriolet

[Wendax]

Some remarks (and corrections) about the German names:

1895-1919: (Why 1895, why not 1885?)
- Closed cars, 4+ seats, 4+ doors: Correct would be Innenlenker or Limousine. Landaulet / Landaulett was the body style with a fixed roof in the middle and a convertible roof above the back seats. There could be a roof above the chauffeur's seat, or not.

1920-1942: (Again 1942 is a very American date. Let's just say 1945.)
- Open cars, 2 seats: Sportwagen is a very commonly used name, not just by Mercedes-Benz. Victoria wasn't used in those years anymore. Cabriolet was the general name for open cars in Germany regardless of the number of seats. For instance, Mercedes-Benz used a letter code for the different Cabriolets: A = 2 doors, 2 side windows (meaning 1 each left and right), 2 seats; B = 2 doors, 4 side windows, 4 seats; C = 2 doors, 2 side windows, 4 seats; D = 4 doors, 4 side windows, 4 seats; F = 4 doors, 6 side windows, 4 seats. The name Roadster was also used for open two-seaters with a thinner convertible roof.
- Open cars, 4-6 seats, 2-4 doors: Victoria and Tonneau weren't used anymore (Tonneau was an early body form with rear entrance for the backseat passengers). Phaeton was more often called Tourenwagen. Limousine was a closed body, not an open one.
- Closed cars, 1-2 seats, 2 doors:I can't recall reading Coupe de Voyage as a body style description used in Germany. If you wanted to emphasize the comfortable character opposed to the sporty one, you would have rather called it Reise-Coupé.
- Closed cars, 4-6 seats, 2-4 doors: Here Limousine or Pullman-Limousine for the LWB versions should apply.
- 4+ seats, 2+ doors, enclosed storage area: This body style was hardly known in Germany before the war. Some single specimen were called Jagdwagen or Farmerwagen.

[RayTheRat]

Some remarks (and corrections) about the German names:

1895-1919: (Why 1895, why not 1885?)
- Closed cars, 4+ seats, 4+ doors: Correct would be Innenlenker or Limousine. Landaulet / Landaulett was the body style with a fixed roof in the middle and a convertible roof above the back seats. There could be a roof above the chauffeur's seat, or not.

1920-1942: (Again 1942 is a very American date. Let's just say 1945.)
- Open cars, 2 seats: Sportwagen is a very commonly used name, not just by Mercedes-Benz. Victoria wasn't used in those years anymore. Cabriolet was the general name for open cars in Germany regardless of the number of seats. For instance, Mercedes-Benz used a letter code for the different Cabriolets: A = 2 doors, 2 side windows (meaning 1 each left and right), 2 seats; B = 2 doors, 4 side windows, 4 seats; C = 2 doors, 2 side windows, 4 seats; D = 4 doors, 4 side windows, 4 seats; F = 4 doors, 6 side windows, 4 seats. The name Roadster was also used for open two-seaters with a thinner convertible roof.
- Open cars, 4-6 seats, 2-4 doors: Victoria and Tonneau weren't used anymore (Tonneau was an early body form with rear entrance for the backseat passengers). Phaeton was more often called Tourenwagen. Limousine was a closed body, not an open one.
- Closed cars, 1-2 seats, 2 doors:I can't recall reading Coupe de Voyage as a body style description used in Germany. If you wanted to emphasize the comfortable character opposed to the sporty one, you would have rather called it Reise-Coupé.
- Closed cars, 4-6 seats, 2-4 doors: Here Limousine or Pullman-Limousine for the LWB versions should apply.
- 4+ seats, 2+ doors, enclosed storage area: This body style was hardly known in Germany before the war. Some single specimen were called Jagdwagen or Farmerwagen.

 

Thank you for your corrections.  Here are some of the changes I'll make:

I meant to use 1885 as a starting point, using that as the year for the first Benz.  I guess my fingers didn't get the memo.  Duh.  I'll also make the ending date for this era 1945 which leaves no years uncovered.

Coupe de Voyage should have been on the line for France.  Duh again.

I think I'll add an additional line for chauffeur-driven cars as opposed to self-driven and I'll also add the Jagdwagen/Farmerwagen (should that be Baurwagen or was the word "Farmer" taken from English?) to the station wagon/shooting brake section.

On the cabriolet vs roadster, the way it is in the US is that a convertible (or cabriolet or convertible coupe) has roll-up windows while a roadster doesn't.  This is the same for touring cars and phaetons vs. convertible sedans.  Is this the same in German naming conventions?  Btw, thanks for the clarification on the A, B, etc. following Cabriolet.  I didn't know this, although I'd seen the designation...I just didn't understand it.

Sportwagen will go in where I had Victoria. 

Other duties call at the moment, but I'll get to is asap.

RtR

[Wendax]

Wanderer really used the name Farmerwagen for their 1940 W 23 Woody prototype. The reason was that it wasn't meant for the German Bauer, but for the colonial Farmer. In fact, the name referred more to its use than to the body style, as DKW used the Farmerwagen designation for a mixture of a Kübelwagen and a pickup.

Forget what I said about the Jagdwagen. My memory played tricks on me. Jagdwagen was another name for the Kübelwagen body type, not for a station wagon.

The differences between Cabriolet and Roadster are as you have guessed.

[RayTheRat]

Having beaten my hands to a pulp trying to straighten out the dents in the floorboards of my race car (where the driveshaft tried to get into the driver's seat with me) and then having dinner with my sons, daughters-in-law and granddaughter, I finally got back to this....well, while the phone wasn't ringing.  It finally and conveniently ran out of battery so I could get something done.

I decided that since I was doing it in an Open Office spreadsheet, I might as well make it a web spreadsheet.  Here's the url:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AkSycuAZcRMedFpGOENaVEdfWk5WMUV5RWhjTFY5aHc
The way it's set up, anyone who has the link to it can see and modify it.  If I need to, I can put a password on it...but only members of this board should have the link, so I ask that it stay that way until we've reached the place where it can be converted to a static web page.

I've never used the web-based spreadsheets before, so I don't know if it's gonna work...but it's worth a shot.

Anyway, that's what I came up with.  Fire away with corrections, criticisms, and other forms of "stimulating discussion."   

RtR

[Allan L]

That spreadsheet looks good so far.
I'll offer a few suggestions here, rather than just add them myself as although I know I'm right it is not impossible that I may be misinformed!

Pre-Great War we had both Roi des Belges and Double Phaeton bodies which were open cars with two rows of seats that could be entered from the side with or without doors.
We also had various tonneau bodies differentiated by access: Rear-entrance tonneau has a door in the back often with a seat actually on the door.
Swing-seat tonneau has access via a moveable front seat (usually passenger's) and the side-access tonneau was not much different from a double phaeton.
As Wendax wrote, the Landaulet has a fixed roof in the middle and a convertible roof over the back seats. Here it can also be an Open Drive Landaulet if there is no roof over the chauffeur's seat, and similarly there is the Open Drive Limousine.

From the 1920s onwards our understanding of a drophead coupé is that it has doors with proper drop-down windows and usually a fold-down frame for them to close against.  It usually has two doors but can have two rows of seats as can the fixed-head coupé.

[RayTheRat]

That spreadsheet looks good so far.
I'll offer a few suggestions here, rather than just add them myself as although I know I'm right it is not impossible that I may be misinformed!

Pre-Great War we had both Roi des Belges and Double Phaeton bodies which were open cars with two rows of seats that could be entered from the side with or without doors.

I thank you profusely for your feedback/input.  It's very well received and very helpful.

I added Double Phaeton to the Secondary Style column.  Roi-des-Belges was (and still is) listed in the "Universal" group, since it's a style that was used in most, if not all, car-producing countries prior to WWI (Great War.) 

Btw, if you or anyone else can think of a better name for that "Universal" group, please let me know.  ("Non-specific", maybe?)

We also had various tonneau bodies differentiated by access: Rear-entrance tonneau has a door in the back often with a seat actually on the door.
Swing-seat tonneau has access via a moveable front seat (usually passenger's) and the side-access tonneau was not much different from a double phaeton.

I added Tonneau and Rear-entrance Tonneau to the Secondary style column in the British, USA and German groups.  Side-access seems to be the default for Tonneau, hence the need to add the Rear-Entrance distinction.  Swing-seat is a new one to me.  Is is somewhat manufacturer-specific?  If it's an industry-wide term, I can add it to the Secondary Style column, although it's getting a little crowded in there.  Maybe I could move some to the Universal group...or so could you, for that matter.

As Wendax wrote, the Landaulet has a fixed roof in the middle and a convertible roof over the back seats. Here it can also be an Open Drive Landaulet if there is no roof over the chauffeur's seat, and similarly there is the Open Drive Limousine.

How would you state this in the two columns I've defined?  I've added it to the Closed Car, Chauffeur-driven secondary definitions for the British and USA groups; I hope this works.

From the 1920s onwards our understanding of a drophead coupé is that it has doors with proper drop-down windows and usually a fold-down frame for them to close against.  It usually has two doors but can have two rows of seats as can the fixed-head coupé.

First: Is it Coupe or Coupé as the standard British term?

Next, I've tried to imply your statement with all definitions and now I've spelled it out in an explanatory note.  Example: in the US, a convertible or convertible coupe has what we'd call roll-up windows (you say drop-down, I think we're saying the same thing) while a roadster has no such feature, but usually had side curtains.  This is carried over in all open cars in the 1920-1945 era: USA: Convertible, Roadster; B: Drop Head Coupe, Open Two Seater; F: Cabriolet, Coupé décapotable (I think this is correct, but I'm not positive.) and so on.  Same thing for 4+ seaters: USA: Touring, Convertible Sedan, although I don't know exactly what terms to use for British and Italian models and Wendax tells me that the same type of distinction was made with German cars and defines 2-seaters as Cabriolet and Roadster.  He also defines a Cabriolet as a term used to describe a 4+ seater with roll-up windows, but I don't know what the equivalent of a Touring car or Tourer is, unless Tourenwagen specifically refers to this body style.  I'll add it and if it's wrong, I'll take it out...or anyone who wants to make a correction can do so.  If you could add the British name for this, it would help.

I need some help with the French and Italian nomenclature.  While I spoke passable French and German 40 years ago, those skills have deteriorated, and I'm nowhere near fluent in Italian.  So:  HELP!!!   

One other change I'm considering is a "Notes" column to the right of the existing columns.  This might be a good place to put the "Universal" and "convertible/roadster" explanations, as well as the Mercedes Cabriolet distinctions, although that last one may be better off remaining in the "Manufacturer-Specific" group.  Whaddya all think?

Another thing I haven't done is made any Eastern European, South American, Asian, African or Australian/New Zealander sections.  I don't know if there are enough makes/models to warrant them.  Input on this is requested.

Ok.  I gotta go work on my tow car before it gets real hot.  All of a sudden our weather has gone from pleasant to blistering hot.  Yesterday the high temp was around 101F (38.3C or close to it.) and the same is predicted for the rest of the week.  Since my race car is taking up all my garage space, I have to work on my other cars in my driveway.  I'd consider trading a grandchild for a 4-car shop.  My son and his wife might not like it, but they'd get over it.     Welcome to summer in the high desert.

Again, the web-based spreadsheet is here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AkSycuAZcRMedFpGOENaVEdfWk5WMUV5RWhjTFY5aHc&pli=1#gid=0

RtR

[Wendax]

One very common body type in the era 1920-1945 (and later) is missing. In Germany it was called Cabrio-Limousine, in France Découvrable: the convertible sedan with fixed side windows, but a convertible roof including the rear window.

[RayTheRat]

One very common body type in the era 1920-1945 (and later) is missing. In Germany it was called Cabrio-Limousine, in France Découvrable: the convertible sedan with fixed side windows, but a convertible roof including the rear window.

This one kinda threw a monkey wrench into the works.  It's basically country/area-specific.  I know that at least one US manufacturer created something similar, but it was very rare and today, very desirable as a collector car.  That's the Ford A-400 (1929-1931) and B-400 (1932) and there may be more than I'm just not aware of. 

What happened, though was to add a different body-style for France and Germany (and possibly others.)  The way I addressed it was to 1) add a column for notes and descriptive text and 2) make a separate row for (for example) the Cabrio-limousine and one for Cabriolet and yet another one for Roadster, which may or may not be the correct form.  Nonetheless, it allows me (or anyone else) to add text the describes the side window configuration.  I used this format for all the entries (where I had information) in the Open Cars 1920-1945 category.  I didn't add the A/B-400, since that's a manufacturer-specific (at least I believe it is) and I'll deal with those later.

See what you think, 

RtR

[Iluvatar]

One very common body type in the era 1920-1945 (and later) is missing. In Germany it was called Cabrio-Limousine, in France Découvrable: the convertible sedan with fixed side windows, but a convertible roof including the rear window.

From Italy:
"trasformabile" and "berlina con tetto apribile" (sedan with open roof)...

[Allan L]

Two great nations divided by a common language, Ray!
We often spell it coupe rather than coupé but it is not pronounced "coop".
I find "roll-up" windows unhelpful as hereabouts we roll up maps, carpets, etc. and one might do so with flexible side-curtains. I presume it comes from the use of the rotary movement that drives modern windows, but in earlier times (and in railway carriages) windows were lifted and secured using a leather strap.
Swing-seat tonneaux were not manufacturer-specific. It was often the case that rear bodywork was demountable and you could fit a rear-entrance tonneau or something else (e.g. a flat-bed or van commercial type job). If the tonneau was permanent you got a better seat if you had swing-seat access as you didn't have to have a door in the middle of it.

[Otto Puzzell]

This one kinda threw a monkey wrench into the works.  It's basically country/area-specific.  I know that at least one US manufacturer created something similar, but it was very rare and today, very desirable as a collector car.  That's the Ford A-400 (1929-1931) and B-400 (1932) and there may be more than I'm just not aware of. 

What happened, though was to add a different body-style for France and Germany (and possibly others.)  The way I addressed it was to 1) add a column for notes and descriptive text and 2) make a separate row for (for example) the Cabrio-limousine and one for Cabriolet and yet another one for Roadster, which may or may not be the correct form.  Nonetheless, it allows me (or anyone else) to add text the describes the side window configuration.  I used this format for all the entries (where I had information) in the Open Cars 1920-1945 category.  I didn't add the A/B-400, since that's a manufacturer-specific (at least I believe it is) and I'll deal with those later.

See what you think, 

RtR

Nash / Rambler featured this body style in the early 1950's, as well. Here's one with "Helicopter Girl".  

[RayTheRat]

One very common body type in the era 1920-1945 (and later) is missing. In Germany it was called Cabrio-Limousine, in France Découvrable: the convertible sedan with fixed side windows, but a convertible roof including the rear window.

From Italy:
"trasformabile" and "berlina con tetto apribile" (sedan with open roof)...

Thank you.  I've added those descriptions on their own line.

I have a question for you about other open cars.  It seems that most countries/languages have separate terms for cars with "roll-up" or "drop-down" side glass and those that have none, but may have used side curtains in bad weather.  US usage is "Convertible" for those that have "roll-up" (yes, it has to do with the crank mechanism that one uses to "roll the window up or down") side windows and "Roadster" for cars that had no side glass.  "Convertible" (or "Convertible Coupe") generally refers to a 2-door car, as does "Roadster."  For cars with 4 doors, the term "Convertible Sedan" is used for those with glass windows and "Touring Car" (or just "Touring") for cars without side glass. 

Now the question(s): is there an equivalent term for Italian cars of the same description?  Is "Spider/Spyder" equivalent to "Roadster?"  I received a reply that said "Spider" was first coined by an Irish motoring writer (I think that's the way it was stated), but seems to be pretty commonly used to describe Italian cars with no top. 

Any clarification here would be very much appreciated.

RtR

[RayTheRat]

Two great nations divided by a common language, Ray!

Absolutely!

We often spell it coupe rather than coupé but it is not pronounced "coop".

So is the British pronunciation. "coop-ay" as it would be in French and other languages?

I find "roll-up" windows unhelpful as hereabouts we roll up maps, carpets, etc. and one might do so with flexible side-curtains. I presume it comes from the use of the rotary movement that drives modern windows, but in earlier times (and in railway carriages) windows were lifted and secured using a leather strap.

As I wrote to Iluvatar, the term "Roll-Up" does derive from the crank mechanism.  It seems that the British term comes from an even older source.  So I just used the term "Movable side windows."  That should cover both ways of looking at it as well as including sliding plexi-glass or other non-glass windows.  (This ain't easy, yanno?)

Swing-seat tonneaux were not manufacturer-specific. It was often the case that rear bodywork was demountable and you could fit a rear-entrance tonneau or something else (e.g. a flat-bed or van commercial type job). If the tonneau was permanent you got a better seat if you had swing-seat access as you didn't have to have a door in the middle of it.

I've added "Swing-seat tonneau" to the list of 1885-1919 open 4+ seat cars.  Is this only a term for British coachwork?  Are there examples from other countries that you're aware of?...like those from the US?  I'm not familiar with the term, but then I don't claim to be an expert on brass-era cars, either.

Now a question for you.  Same one I asked of Iluvatar:  It seems that most countries/languages have separate terms for cars with "roll-up" or "drop-down" side glass and those that have none, but may have used side curtains in bad weather.  US usage is "Convertible" for those that have "roll-up" side windows and "Roadster" for cars that had no side glass.  "Convertible" (or "Convertible Coupe") generally refers to a 2-door car, as does "Roadster."  For cars with 4 doors, the term "Convertible Sedan" is used for those with glass windows and "Touring Car" (or just "Touring") for cars without side glass. 

I think I'm correct in using "Tourer" for British open cars, but I don't know if the same distinction is made for those with side glass and those without.  If you could help me clarify this, I'd sure appreciate the help.

RtR