Car Doors that Disappear!

In the 1990s Joalto Designs created a car door that slid down for easy entry. What happened to it, and what other cars have tried disappearing car doors?
To get early ad-free access to new videos, or your name at the end of my videos, please consider supporting me from just $1 or 80p a month at / bigcar
Link to my other channel - Big Car:
/ bigcar2
Sources:
en.wikipedia.o...
en.wikipedia.o...
en.wikipedia.o...
en.wikipedia.o...
web.archive.or...
en.wikipedia.o...)
en.wikipedia.o...
web.archive.or...
en.wikipedia.o...
en.wikipedia.o...
en.wikipedia.o...
#littlecar

[@id104335409]

I think today rich people would go crazy for a car that "presents" you this way when you arrive at your destination. Imagine also famous stars coming onto the red carpet. I think it's still a good idea. And it's one that has been already developed and tested. It just needs to be reinvented.

[@theothersri2029]

Like the rolls Royce 103ex concept

[@willpoundstone71]

It would also allow you to combine the clean lines of 2 doors with the practicality of 4.

[@88boat]

​@@theothersri2029 The Rolls Royce 103ex designer should be fired after NOT including the disappearing doors! its literally the perfect car for such doors!

[@ahmedshaharyarejaz9886]

This is perhaps the best selling point for this door. It should be a feature in such showy cars.

[@ilmilks1409]

give me some years and ill design and model one.. :)

[@Crazy_Borg]

Saw a BMW Z1 at a used car dealership next town a few years back. The asking price was crazy, yet it was sold in less than a week.

[@ivokiller2000intel]

Fun fact: Kaiser managed to become a successful brand here in Argentina under the IKA name (Kaiser industries Argentina) untill being absorbed by Renault in the late 60s/ early 70s. Although most of its cars where rebranded vehicles, they struck success with the "Torino" (my user image), a GT with Pininfarina design and based on the Rambler American (but in reality had few mechanical similarities). It's a cool story, even Fangio was involved in one point.

[@LittleCar]

Interesting story. It's so odd how these car companies keep interacting with each other. Thanks!

[@gilgameshofuruk4060]

At one time I would have thought these doors were amazing. Now I'm of an age where I just think "How many things do you want on a car that can go wrong?"

[@LittleCar]

With age comes experience. I feel the same!

[@julianmoreau3281]

What about the Citroën original Mehari's doors. They could "disappear" if you fotgot where you put them...

[@rolandvos]

Hahahaha... What about the new Citroën 'Ami'. Same doors left and right.

[@julianmoreau3281]

@@rolandvos one opens out, the other in...

[@Tarodenaro]

1:07 Ah yes, the entirety of AMC-Jeep-Frazer-Kaiser-AM General brand story rabbit hole is a pretty interesting one, worthy of a seperate video by itself. also, his grandson (same name) is a pretty cool guitarist, and a 'crazy weird' one as well.

[@pdennis93]

You missed one of the oddest clamshell doors. The full size 1971-76 GM station wagons. The window opened by rolling up into the ceiling. The door opened manually by releasing the latch and pushing the door down under the floor in front of the bumper. There was also a power tailgate version. The window was powered on both. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rZiTl4aefrZ8prM

[@beerwench28]

The Joalto drop door patents reference the GM clamshell doors. I worked for Joalto in the late 90s.

[@nigellamaccini6091]

Great interesting video thanks Little Car I had never seen these before. I used to own a Mazda RX 8 with suicide doors and they worked very well. The concept of hiding doors should be revisited given the fatness of modern cars and the width of car parking spaces

[@lukerinderknecht2982]

Thanks for doing this subject! I always wondered what happened to disappearing doors after seeing the concept video with the Lincolns.

[@AdamJRichardson]

A cream-colored Kaiser Darrin makes an appearance in an episode of The Man in the High Castle (season 2 I think?), including showing its disappearing doors. I'd never seen one before and was immediately intrigued. Glad to see you featuring it here!

[@LittleCar]

That's a good show to feature it in - an alternative future from the 50s/60s.

[@cousefirst1351]

Dang. For 90s tech, it still seems so futuristic!

[@BOABModels]

You're right about the issue of the lowering doors being difficult if not impossible to open in case of an accident. We owned a Ford B-Max after our eldest was born and whilst the doors did not disappear, they were so practical for a small child. I wish they hadn't cancelled it.

[@rallymodeller]

Saw that Lincoln when the company debuted it at the Detroit Auto Show back in the 90s. Looks cool in the angles they show, but what you don't see is the foot of headroom you lose when they raise the floor to accomodate the doors. Sure did look cool, tho.

[@KJohansson]

The longest doors I've had was on a Audi Coupe 20v type 89. Horrible in tight parking lots, not to mention hard to get out of the rear seat when parked uphill. 😬

[@user-bv7um1ds7y]

I was just recommended that video of the "disappearing car door" from 10 years ago and then you put out a video of it

[@alastairward2774]

Had that too, from the account with one video, about the disappearing car door.

[@AaaAaa-ly3on]

Loved that design since I first saw it, few years back! One day some company gonna produce car with this elegant design. It's too gorgeous to pass...

[@dave8599]

added complexity and expense seem to be the norm these days with computer touch screens for dash controls, back up cameras, auto braking, etc.... unfortunately almost all new cars have this crap

[@claudiolmsouza]

Porcarias? 😂😂😂😂

[@albertseabra9226]

Thank you for another intriguing, fantastic video. As an Attorney, the Clever Vanishing Doors were a potencial Litigation Source. There was a Convertible Kaiser in my neck of the woods in Portugal . It was a relatively large car, nothing comparable to a Triumph or MG -- it was a lot bigger. However, it was a good looking vehicle. As a kid, I found that "Classic Car" mesmerizing. Showing its age, though -- the top was in poor shape. In retrospective , the LIBERTY SHIPS were Kaiser' s masterpiece. And the Hoover Dam as well. Truly, taking into account his WAR EFFORT CONTRIBUTIONS, KAISER DESERVES TO BE REMEMBERED

[@AttlasAllux]

As brilliant as this SEEMS on the surface, it is only that... an apparent surface-level brilliancy. Like many such concepts, it "disappeared" because it would pass NO safety regulations. A moderately damaged car door can still open (and/or can be opened via "the jaws of life"). This thing could not. How would you like to be in your Tesla while it's battery is going up in flames and have to contend with this electronic monstrosity to expediate your escape from the inferno? These doors are perfect for a perfect world...ergo hinged doors.

[@jozephkerr2791]

Thanks for great content! It's a pleasure to reveisit your channel from time to time.

[@LittleCar]

Welcome back!

[@DougsCars]

I’ve never seen that Lincoln with those doors!

[@emgee44]

0:59 Having recently watched the series “FallOut” on Prime, I now know what that crazy sports car was, with the doors sliding into the fender wells.

[@bertramspielt]

One very special car door is missing... The double hinge on the Renault Avantime. Very neat design, the motion of the opening door ist fascinating!

[@LittleCar]

😀 I forgot about that one!

[@georgegherghinescu]

Also rear hinged doors are terrible if the car starts moving as you get in or out :) Awesome info on those disapearing doors, never knew they existed but they look really cool. Too bad they never went in production :( Great channel!

[@Lucifer-qt9gh]

Rear hinged doors are called suicide doors for a reason

[@Csumbi]

that door design on the Lincoln is amazing, im surprised it didnt catch on, i would love to see a modern redesign of it.

[@Happymali10]

Two things to note on the Z1: You should really pull a floormat out and put it over the open door before getting in, the amount of Z1 driving around with scratched up doors is insane. Sand and dirt falls off shoes and gets lodged between the door and its gaskets. Also, at the time there was a law that a "doorless" car had to have a retention strut or chain in the opening. BMW didn't want that, so they invited the head of the TÜV to their testing grounds. He took a seat in the car and their test driver tried his best to dislodge the man from his seat. He failed, so the TÜV agreed that you couldn't be flung from the vehicle with the door open, and BMW got an exemption from the law.

[@TechnoBoomer]

Thank you very much for this interesting video

[@ramcity05]

Amazing 🤩 well explained Fan from Houston Tx

[@MJTAUTOMOTIVE]

Another reason Suicide Doors stopped being used is because the way they were hinged on the back edge of the Door and if You were getting in and out or stood in the Door opening, waiting for the traffic and another car hit the door it would basically squashing You against the Door and the Cars bodywork. (cutting you into several pieces). More Government red tape. This style of door had been in use since the horse and buggy days.

[@NLBassist]

Thanks! Very interesting and amusing!

[@davidtraynor8075]

I thought suicide doors were called just so due to the user not seeing cars approach behind and when stepping out could be decapitated or seriously injured if the door was hit! Love that Lincolns slick mechanism though. Great piece of engineering

[@sarjim4381]

The generally accepted entomology of the term was what would happen if a rear hinged door popped open at speed and the passenger wasn't belted in. Just straight aerodynamics favored that being a potential problem. I guess the "suicide" part came from people buying cars with these doors having some kind of suicide wish, or knowing that the doors were a good way to inadvertently commit suicide.

[@bjoernaltmann]

That film just came up yesterday in my feed. - Yes, and Mercedes tried steering with sticks in the location of the handbrake, only on either side of the seat. Just as silly as the grips in place of a steering wheel on the Knight Rider KITT. Re-inventing the wheel, so to speak. They tried that on the bicycle 30 years ago and just failed. Speaking of bicycles: when suspension was new on bikes, they tried countless new and over complicated ways, until they finally just copied the tried and tested motorcycle. One way to waste money.

[@pdsnpsnldlqnop3330]

As a student I had friends that used to slide back the doors on a VW Type 2, drive stoned along the beach with air pellet guns, shooting rabbits (they managed a few) whilst pretending they were in 'nam flying in a Huey. They had the obligatory music playing from the obligatory 'nam film. Great fun was had with no doors and definitely no seat belts.

[@mgtfbluestreak3956]

My mates reliant regal had a disappearing door...it fell off

[@lmailloux4343]

The Kaiser Darrin isn't the first lightweight fiberglass car. The first was in 1949, a kit car in 1939 and especially the corvette in 1953. You can actually see the fiberglass througt the paint on the 53 corvette. All those cars are useless in winter and suicidal doors are dangerous if they aren't locked.

[@StephenMortimer]

That's nothing in Washington State we have whole cars that DISAPPEAR !!

[@LittleCar]

I was in traffic court in Redmond traffic court and there was a guy who was arguing that it was legal for him to take the doors off his Jeep Wrangler, so they shouldn't fine him. He didn't get very far with that argument!

[@StephenMortimer]

@@LittleCar try comparing USA vs Brit traffic courts

[@TA_Plus_Hemi]

I was going to be a little upset if you did not mention the Kaiser Darrin. I was introduced to three of them at a car show when I was 4 years old and an infatuation was born.

[@ivokiller2000intel]

Fun fact,The Kaiser brand lived a little longer here in Argentina untill being absorbed by Renault in the early 70s. The IKA Torino was it's biggest success (see my user photo for reference) which lasted until 1981

[@MrDpbazan1955]

The GM clamshell wagons did it best. And six years worth!

[@chicagoblackmale]

I know. My father had a 1974 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser wagon when i was a kid.

[@AtheistOrphan]

2:32 - 50 shades of beige!

[@mortified776]

Weird - I had an old marketing video for this in my reccs just the day before yesterday!

[@lohphat]

I think the reason they didn't continue into production would be passing safety regulations. After a crash, could the door be opened to extract injured passengers? My guess is that if the chassis was contorted in any way the door could not be moved or prised open for rescue. At least gull-wing doors could be unlatched and forced open.

[@LittleCar]

I think that was another reason why even small car companies like Aston Martin wouldn't want to go for them.

[@MrDpbazan1955]

Yes, there just is no way to get past not being openable after a bad wreck. Plus all the problems down the line of owning. They look boss, but no one could ever live with them.

[@richardprice5978]

i think 🤔 💭 it might be easier to pass safety with them as the door 🚪 reinforcement ( bonus is there's a good chance of stiffing up the chassis for handling in the twisty's or for getting hit and more room for windows luggage or safety systems like airbags and maybe better water/rain seals and maybe better climate control like some shopping stores have that blow hot or cold air to keep people confurtable ) can be easily built into it and the locking mechanism as well and id feel safer knowing that the hole side is one part+lock 🔒hard in with the A-pillar and C-pillar vs a small flimsy door that in some DOT testing can come hurling off or inpall me. the other side should work to get out or crawl through the window/glass opening's or if it's that bad both designs potentially the fire department and the metal sizzers to cut the body and frame off but that's not that hard to with the correct training and tools and is done national wide on the regular i kinda like them the one point i considered modifying my 60's charger to use these but im not going to a car show having the lambo drool 🤤 look aka just didn't make my styling fit for now ( wount mind them on the right car model 💕 as the mark 8 really should happen but didn't the G4 vett not so much ) and i didn't know how to make it work right and or how to do the "right cut body lines" for the door operating opening, instead im going with the stock/RX8 mixed with dihedral door style as it's easier to blend in and make it look stock and not stupid 👀 ( and as a added bonus for me a good chance of using the back inner B-body cop car doors seals and metal shape and some of the class A-parts ) but kid friendly/wife and easier to get working with thing's like the wiring hardware/harness or 3" rocker gound clearance/mufflers/hybrid battery pack/head room as im building for tall torso guy's ect.

[@tonyrod4388]

the best way to ensure you are not trapped in if hit from the side, the door system should have been mounted on a hinged emergency-use frame, which in case of the system not working would allow the passenger to unlatch the frame and open the door as you would in a normal car.

[@uncinarynin]

Doors swinging open are a cause of accidents if a driver parks a car and opens the door without looking for traffic (just watch Kottan ermittelt, Wien Mitte ...) It would be practical to have doors swinging out, then sliding. The majority of bus and train doors work that way nowadays, they are easy to open and close automatically, close flush with the body, don't hang out into the loading gauge. The rear door would slide to the rear, the front door to the front. A number of vans have this as their rear doors which makes it easy to get out when there is not much space. That kind of door however requires two rails to be sufficiently stable. One on the bottom and one either in the middle or at the roof. The roofline of most cars would make a top rail impossible, or it would need to be a highly complex telescopic mechanism. Putting the rail in the middle would require an unsightly sliding rail along the front fender. So without drastically changing the general shape of the car that wouldn't be practical. I guess that is why we don't have front sliding doors. The Darrin had an impractically long hood and long wheelbase, which is avoided when you try to maximize interior space for a given overall length. I wonder though why folding doors have never been tried on cars. They were quite common on buses and trains from the 1950s to the 1970s.

[@RobMacKendrick]

When my mom was four (1930s) she was pulled completely out of the family car travelling 40 mph (sorry, don't know the make and model) when she grabbed the handle to latch the insufficiently-closed suicide door and it caught the wind and slammed wide open. She was remarkably unhurt, but her scalp was badly lacerated by the gravel on the shoulder. She had significant scar tissue there for the rest of her life, though it was hidden under her hair. So those suicide doors were aptly named.

[@0Heeroyuy01]

id be down for the Lincoln car, make the doors out of light weight aluminum or carbon fiber so the doors arent heavy

[@0Heeroyuy01]

@Buford Smrupple its called a kit car and boom the fed creeps were just side stepped

[@MINKIN2]

The BMW Z cars could be a great Big Car topic :)

[@LittleCar]

It would, but it could also be a really long video!

[@mattayres371]

He's got all my lego models!!!! 😱😱😁😁

[@shero113]

I like the Ariel Atom approach...

[@DanielTejnicky]

Slightly larger piece of trash under the car and you rdoor are scratche up. Go thru muddy puddle or drive the car during the rain, open the door and let the undercarrage drip on to the nice cushy trims. Its just not practical - not even for rich people...

[@siraff4461]

So when are you launching the car-dboard box channel?

[@jamesengland7461]

Great video!

[@runoflife87]

Sliding doors are the best decision IMO.

[@johnedwards3198]

Sadly didn't work out well with the Peugeot 1007

[@dreadpenguinlord340]

The Lincoln door's amazing but I don't know how long I could put up with not having an arm rest!

[@mrpoohbearlvr]

Less reliable doors....unlike the high quality of most American made cars in general. Always trying to ' reinvent the wheel' when they can't get basic car building correct.

[@ericgeorge5483]

I love this video......What it all boils down to is "If it aint broke don't fix it"

[@Danger_mouse]

Thanks for the video. It another similar story for the humble windscreen wiper..... The car is over a hundred years old, and scraping a blade of rubber based material over the window is still the best way to clean water off the glass

[@RachaelSA]

They do look cool, but I don't trust them. Thank you. :)

[@bubot17]

Some of the cars in the video, if it wasn't for this video I wouldn't knew they existed

[@stickynorth]

Other than the weight penalty, I prefer sliding doors... I think more vehicles need them even if they remind you of old minivan tech from the 80's...

[@matteo.ceriotti]

Nice, thanks!

[@jimjohns9595]

Suicide doors were judged to be unsafe because if an oncoming car from behind hit the door as you are exiting you are squashed. Not because of the way the video describes. Think left hand drive.

[@MonsterPartsRc]

6:13 "Joalto got some brief interest from Cadillac..." ...shows a Corvette

[@chaz4471]

How much plastic would you have to use when the door won’t roll back up?🤔

[@roadwarrior144]

How are we spelling “Paw-la-vuh”? (I apologize for the crude spelling of sounds, just trying to sound-out what my ears heard.)

[@tetchuma]

Look at the doors on the Russian 2011 yo-mobil concept car! The doors not only retract backwards, but they roll up along the body of the car and out the back. Once open, they look like folded wings on a insect!!

[@LittleCar]

Very cool! I wasn't aware of this concept. Here's a video to show it in action: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hmi7hKKmiNyIidk

[@davidvanhansen]

The ingenious Peugeot 1007 doors are missing.

[@robertoortizespinoza795]

Traditional doors and their variants have caused, and continue to cause, accidents with cyclists. Disappearing doors would be a blessing for anyone who uses a bicycle as a means of transportation in the city.

[@jonlyons1033]

Aaah there's ALWAYS a catch.

[@ahmedshaharyarejaz9886]

This would look amazing on a limousine.

[@SevenDeMagnus]

Tesla and Apple Car should now manufacture this coz' it's now practical with new materials- strong but thin. God bless.

[@john1703]

Conventional two hinged, single catch, doors are wholly outside the vehicle, so do not trap dirt or water in their mechanisms. Simples!

[@WhiteMouse77]

Nice gadget for show off but these days when car can be remotely operated in speed of walk over key or cell phone you don’t need to have disappearing door any more. You get out in place where you can fully open the regular door and then moving finger over screen you maneuver it in parking lot wide just enough. This thousand times cheaper solution will be spreading from posh BMWs over all car classes next decade like ABS form S-classe in the past...or remember when xenon lights appeared and after decade all cars had it...

[@willpoundstone71]

I think the idea would be far more practical if it were possible to open the doors manually if you have a dead battery or the servo mechanism fails

[@andreacastillo499]

Where can I get??

[@xaygarza3372]

God dammit lincoln mark viii if they still kept the design I would have bought it 😞

[@b4ph0m3tdk9]

Mazda rx8 has suicide doors, but you have to open the frontdoor before the back door can be opened

[@K-Effect]

I need these doors

[@CSLFiero]

autoparking is not a solution to tight parking spaces. it's just a way for a rich bastard to take his time unloading his family whilst in the middle of the laneway

[@LittleCar]

It does take an age to get the car in and out, and hold people up. I've only done it once, and I held someone up.

[@kez963]

Next the story of blinkers?

[@BobAbc0815]

From a byciclists pov actualy a good idea.

[@Junk_Yard_Dog]

Didn't even mention the Safarikar

[@AgentOffice]

Kaiser Permanente is the best

[@ACE1JONB]

Yes, they actually did lol 😂

[@SkylerLinux]

I am honestly shocked that Tesla and Elon Musk hasn't tried to steal this idea.

[@shaynecoventry8894]

I had no idea. I wonder if with all the tech we have today a kinetic or bifold system might work. Sweet jesus we have robots fixin to walk around.. we should have fold down car doors.

[@PaulA-zp7hn]

"Suicide doors" 🤣

[@levimcglinchey5843]

No matter how many examples you give, it still doesn't look real to me!

[@johnwhitley9209]

Ever wonder how those custom doors work on the showcars? They don't: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eZjEiqdoq5uDaqc

[@AnAntidisestablishmentarianist]

0:37 nerds 🤣🤣🤣

[@deyonbisram4406]

Didn’t Kaiser own jeep

[@stanwbaker]

Kaiser merged with Willys-Overland in 1953. By 1955 the Kaiser range was ended. Kaiser-Jeep was acquired by newly renamed AMC in 1970.

[@88boat]

Dont reinvent the door

[@tonywright8294]

Who carries their pet monkey in a child seat ?

[@mattayres371]

Wots this? Top Gear 1995..... sounds a bit boring. 😂😅

[@DrWhom]

Zukunft = TSOO koonft

[@jimmie999999999]

brilliant idea to rotate them

[@zeidyunis]

Great video. Great content overall on your channel but you need to work on your voice. Its very annoying and irritating the way you lower your voice in the middle of the sentence and then overextend and raise your voice on the last few words.

[@mikejones-go8vz]

Are you serious? Would you rather AI which most videos have these days. Give me a real person every time

[@richardike2342]

I was wondering what happened to the disappearing car door. However, suicide-doors also got that name because if it got hit by an oncoming car, the door fell forward, and killed the passenger getting out of the vehicle. On the contrary, a conventional car door would fall away from the passenger, when it gets hit.

[@What_The_Fuck_Did_I_Just_Watch]

I wish my car could do that!