Touring car
Touring car
A touring car is an open car seating four or more. A popular car body style in the early twentieth century, it declined in popularity in the 1920s when closed bodies became less expensive. A tourer, in Britain and the Commonwealth, is a similar vehicle; however, the term is sometimes used to describe pre-war two-seaters which, in US terminology, would be roadsters. The term "all-weather tourer" was used to describe open vehicles that could be fully enclosed. A popular version of the touring car style was the torpedo, with the 1913 Maxwell Model 24-4 touring car hood/bonnet line at the car's waistline giving the car a straight line from front to back. This eventually became the normal version of the touring car, and the term "torpedo" fell out of use.
Description
In 1916, the Society of Automobile Engineers defined a touring car as: "an open car seating four or more with direct entrance to tonneau." The term has also been defined as an open car seating five or more. Touring cars may have two or four doors. Engines on early models were either in the front, or in a mid-body position. Side curtains, when available for a particular model, could be installed 1920 Studebaker Big Six touring car with its top to protect passengers from wind and weather by snapping or zipping down. The folded top behind passengers was them into place; otherwise, drivers and passengers braved the elements. known as the "fan" when in the down position. When the top was folded down, it formed a bulky mass known as the "fan" behind the back seat: "fan covers" were made to protect the top and its wooden ribs while in the down position.
History
The touring car style was popular in the early 20th century, being a larger alternative to the runabout and the roadster. By the mid-teens in the United States, the touring car body had evolved into a variety of types, with the four-door touring car, equipped with a convertible top, being the most popular body style offered. Most of Model T's produced by Ford between 1908 and 1927 were four and then three-door models (with drivers sliding behind the wheel from passenger seat) touring cars, accounting for 6,519,643 cars sold out of the 15,000,000 estimated Model T's built. In terms of 1924 Ford Model T touring car percentage, the 5-passenger touring car model was Ford's most popular body type and accounted for 44% of all Model T's (cars, trucks and chassis) sold over the model's eighteen-plus year life span; Ford's second most popular body style during the same period was its Model T based truck.[citation needed] The popularity of the touring car began to wane in the 1920s when cars with enclosed passenger compartments became more affordable, and began to consistently out-sell the open cars.
Touring car
Tourer (Britain and Commonwealth)
The British tourer is similar to the touring car, and the terms have been considered interchangeable. However, while some definitions specify tourers to have four or more seats, two-seaters that would be considered roadsters are also referred to as tourers. The term "all-weather tourer" was used for open vehicles with windows; these vehicles were later called dropheads or convertibles. Tourers may have two or four doors. The belt lines of tourers were often lowered in the front doors to give the car a more sporting character.
A Ford Anglia EO4A tourer with hood down and side curtains attached. The belt line in the front door is lowered.
Torpedo body
The torpedo body style was a type of touring body used from the early twentieth century until the mid-1920s. A torpedo's hood (bonnet) line was level with the car's waistline, giving a straight line from front to back. The torpedo body style was usually fitted to 4 or 5 seat cars and was a touring car with detachable or folding top (hood) and low side panels and doors, but no B pillars: the only uprights present were those supporting the windshield (windscreen).[citation needed] The torpedo style became the normal style of touring car and the name fell into disuse around 1920.
1914 Humber 11 torpedo. The straight line from the radiator to the back of the car makes this an example of a torpedo body
References
Article Sources and Contributors
Article Sources and Contributors
Touring car Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=566415620 Contributors: Baisulis, Brossow, Chienlit, Chris the speller, CsDix, DH85868993, Eddaido, G64Clayton, GregorB, Kanabekobaton, Loganberry, Mactenchi, Martpol, Matthiaspaul, Pmj, R'n'B, Recury, Russ Davis, Sadads, SamBlob, Sfoskett, Stude62, Svick, That Guy, From That Show!, Tillman, Warren Whyte, Zero76, Zetamax, 5 anonymous edits
Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors
File:Maxwell Model 24-4 Touring 1913.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Maxwell_Model_24-4_Touring_1913.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0,2.5,2.0,1.0 Contributors: Lglswe File:Studebaker1920.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Studebaker1920.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Uncredited commercial artist in employment of Studebaker File:1924 Ford Model T Touring MEM895.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:1924_Ford_Model_T_Touring_MEM895.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported Contributors: Lars-Gran Lindgren Sweden File:Ford Anglia EO4A Roadster.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Ford_Anglia_EO4A_Roadster.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Contributors: Sicnag File:Humber 11 Torpedo style 1944cc registered April 1914.JPG Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Humber_11_Torpedo_style_1944cc_registered_April_1914.JPG License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0,2.5,2.0,1.0 Contributors: Charles01
License
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