Why are classic 4 door sedans "disliked"?

[Dartswinger70]

There was a thing even as a kid in the 70s where a 4 door just wasnt desireable. I remember being in high school, in the 80s and a guy had a 69 Chevelle wagon. I told him "its a neat car shame its a wagon..." just the way it was...or is LOL!

 

[missing linc]

There was a thing even as a kid in the 70s where a 4 door just wasnt desireable. I remember being in high school, in the 80s and a guy had a 69 Chevelle wagon. I told him "its a neat car shame its a wagon..." just the way it was...or is LOL!

Friend of mine traded a very nice Cougar XR7 for a more door Chevelle with big tires and aluminum slot wheels. Told him he got ripped off in the deal. He totalled the Chevelle about 2 months later.

 

[85glht]

Porsche 4 door is the only one I can think I that I greatly dislike. Just looks wrong, and completely out of character for a Porsche.

I drive it! 4 doors and a ****-ton of power

 

[DionR]

I drive it! 4 doors and a ****-ton of power

I would be ok walking up to this:

Can't stomach walking up to this:

But from the drivers seat, I suspect I would be ok with either.

I've heard that if you don't stop and look back, you are driving the wrong car. I couldn't stop and look back at the Porsche. I could stop and look back at the above A-Body and some other mordoor Mopars I have seen. Not all, but some.

I obviously have a bias against the Panamera.

 

[Dartfreak75]

When I was a teenager I didn't like four door cars. Now I love them. I guess it's something with age. When I got my first truck I wanted a regular cab short bed now I wouldn't buy one unless it was a 4 door. (Unless it's an old truck of course) I'd love to have a 4 door dart or Valiant or something like that now. When I was teenager I would even look twice at them lol. I passed up on my number one dream car when I was 17 because it was a 4 door. A 1964 plymouth fury a running driving 318 with title for 500 bucks. And I didn't buy it because it was a four door. I'd love to have that car now!

 

[85glht]

I had a four door (Mercury Montego) when I was a teenager... Plenty of room in the back seat for "shenanigans" with my girlfriend.

 

[peedee]

I think it's an American thing. Look at our Aussie friends. They LOVE their four door cars. Not everybody here hates them though. I like um.

Our biggest issue was that we did not have the market size to make many 2 doors as with mine it is a dart from the windscreen back that were brought in as CKD kits for assembly and only because GMH built a 2 door the year prior and had success with sales, then it took until 1972 for Ford to build another 2 door officially as they had brought some 1965 models in from Canada to test the market but had trouble selling them as our local roads destroyed the front ends within 12 months, our last 2 door was the one by GMH that was market to you guys as the Pontiac

 

[gdrill]

Extra doors equal extra weight

 

[ProjectBazza]

I've heard that if you don't stop and look back, you are driving the wrong car.

I've never heard that, but considering my emotions and feelings with the different vehicles I drive, I get it.

Thanks!

 

[rmchrgr]

There was a thing even as a kid in the 70s where a 4 door just wasnt desireable.

As a 54 year old kid in 2024, it's still true. Both my "old" Mopars are models that were pure, clean-slate 2 door designs - '71 Duster and '72 Challenger. Thankfully neither were ever offered in a 4 door.

I can roll with some Mopar wagons and 2 door post type cars are among my favorites (including Ford Fairmonts!) but come on, straight 4 door sedans are for grandmas or cops. Don't care how much they can be modified into some kind of killer machine, I'll never get past the extra door.

From my viewpoint, 4 doors have become more popular now because of the JDM/tuner influence. The majority of Subaru WRXs and Mitsu Evos are 4 doors. Then you get the imitators in Honda Civics or what have you. Naturally that's going to pollenate across to older American cars.

And yes, as we get further and further away from the apex of the muscle car era there are fewer affordable, clean 2 doors out there that 'kids' can turn into something cool for a reasonable investment. There a lot of high-level 4 door "sleeper" builds out there now but those projects are usually beyond the typical high school kid doing stuff in his driveway.

I will admit to driving a 4 door Ram though mostly because I had younger kids when I bought it but it will always look weird to me. It's essentially a station wagon with a small bed. Was never a fan of the modern Chargers either as associating "4 door" with the vaunted "Charger" nameplate seemed like sacrilege to me. Modern Challengers were based off the 4 door LX platform and as such will never look right to me either. Not enough front or rear overhang, rear quarters are too bulbous, doors are too tall, etc.

Turning a '73 Coronet into a 2 door

 

[AJ/FormS]

Extra doors equal extra weight

This was my thinking too in 1970 when I bought a 70 Swinger340/4-speed/3.55s, that tipped the scales at 3330 with me in it. Yeah it was a 2-door.

My previous, and First car had been a 57 Belaire 4-door hardtop, bought in 1969, and altho in pristine condition, it didn't survive long with me behind the wheel. I burned up the PowerGlide in no time.
It turns out that the A833 in the Swinger, also couldn't take me. During the time I owned that car, about 5 years, I rebuilt that trans twice.
I owned a lotta 2-doors until 1980, when my first baby was born. Then I owned mostly station wagons for a few years. My next 2-door came in year 1999, the year I put my Barracuda on the road, as a Second car. The wife still drove the kids around in the 4-door cars. But soon they were all graduated and had flown the nest. Altho my Hotrod was born with a fold-down rearseat, at 72 pounds, it wasn't in there much past my son's grad (2002), and I sold the entire 68 interior it just a few years later, in favor of a transplanted 69 FormulaS interior, and the rear seat is still in the rafters to this day. Eventually the 68 seats were swapped for lightweight, bolstered-seats from an RX-7, and then I moved the shifter about 7 inches back, a lil to the left, and raised up real high.I finally got control of the car, and the shifting, due to my azz staying put.
I've never missed the back seat. nor the original buckets. and so two extra doors would have been moot.
So, you might ask, what do I use the back seat for? Don't laugh but, I put a small low-sided box back there, to catch the keys which often vacate the very worn 68 ignition switch, on the one-two shift, whenever I floor it. I gotta tellya, the CenterForce Dual-Friction disc really bites. Eventually, I put the keys on a tether, cuz they didn't always land where the box was, and crawling around in the back, hunting for them, got to be an unseemly sight, as myazz got to being old, lol.

 

[PROSTOCKTOM]

I have a 4-door BMW 740i, but just so I can haul my older parents around in comfort and ease of egress for them. I've always owned 2-doors my whole life. Now I've had some 4-door dually pickups, but that's not a car. For me the #1 reason I like 2-doors is that they have longer doors, and never having kids I never needed to worry about anyone getting in the back.

Tom

 

[340sFastback]

A friend of mine grew up in Europe and he doesn't get the whole two doors are favored over four doors in US collector car market. To him it doesn't make any sense. So its like well go spend less on a 4 door classic you like who cares.

 

[No name needed]

Most cars didn't have bucket seats until around 1964.
Then only in two door cars.
4 doors as someone else posted were old man cars. It's a generational thing .

 

[Kern Dog]

A friend of mine grew up in Europe and he doesn't get the whole two doors are favored over four doors in US collector car market. To him it doesn't make any sense. So its like well go spend less on a 4 door classic you like who cares.

The OP that started this thread is in Switzerland. What you wrote above aligns with his viewpoint.
I don't see 4 door cars as performance models and for all of my life, that was all that I aimed for. Americans of my age grew up with the 2 doors being the performance models and the 4 doors being aimed almost entirely toward practicality. There were no 4 door Road Runners or GTXs, no 340 4 door cars. No 440-6 4 door cars and only a scant few 4 door Hemi cars built. It wasn't just enthusiasts that followed the trend, it was the automakers building them that were a big driver of the sentiment.
Yes, times have changed. 4 door BMWs, other Euro supercars, the 300 and Charger and a few others built in the last 20 years have resulted in a shift of what is cool. I didn't see it coming but many young guys that like these cars are far more open to the idea of building a 4 door than we ever were.
Example:
I'm going to embark on a project with my 13 year old nephew to build a classic Mopar for him. He likes the 70-74 Barracuda and the Duster/Demon/Dart Sport but when I showed him a picture of a Dart 4 door, (as a joke, just to see how he'd react) I asked him what he thought. he said that he didn't care! For him, a muscle car means a classic American car with a V8 with dual exhaust.
The picture I showed him was similar to a 69 Dart that I may be getting. It is a plain Jane slant six/904 4 door that normally I would ignore.
Oddly, I have found myself drawn to the idea of having an almost completely stock looking 4 door car that rides nice, performs well and looks basic. I'm talking no vinyl top, no aluminum wheels, nothing flashy. Wheel covers, white wall tires, shiny paint, a decent stereo and that is it. Maybe a roller 318 or 5.2 Magnum with a Thermoquad and dual exhaust. Electronic ignition too. Basic, reliable and comfortable.
No, I have no intention of selling the other cars. A man can have fast cars and one comfortable cruiser at the same time.

 

[rmchrgr]

For him, a muscle car means a classic American car with a V8 with dual exhaust.

Your nephew can obviously interpret things however he chooses and if he wants a 4 door, that's great. For a kid that age to show interest in older vehicles is the best thing for the continuation of the hobby so by all means go for it. However, for the sake of argument, I'm going to respectfully disagree with his idea of what a muscle car is.

Take it for what it's worth but if you look up up "muscle car" and click on the Wiki link the first sentence reads as follows:

"A muscle car is an American-made two-door sports coupe with a powerful engine, generally designed for high-performance driving."

That's a pretty big distinction. People have always bought 4 doors or wagons because they want cheap, practical and economical - no way they're spending extra on a racy look or performance gee gaws they don't need or want. The majority of cars manufactured are made for those reasons and the performance market is generally only a sliver of overall production. Even in a late model 'performance 4 door' configuration like the LX Charger, the amount of 6 cylinder or base engine models outsell the SRT/Hellcat variants by millions of units.

That's obviously why it's so hard to find resonable muscle-era projects these days - there just weren't enough of them made.

Enjoy your time with your nephew either way.

 

[sireland67]

Nobody wants to be seen in a 4 door.
I refuse to buy them, my trucks are 2 doors, my cars are 2 doors, my Jeeps are 2 door.
Get the point.

Wife does have a 4 door suv, but I do not drive or ride in it. At least its a stick shift.

 

[Kern Dog]

I never warmed up to the 4 door pickup trucks. Now it seems that fuel economy standards work against it...long wheelbase trucks get a break on mileage requirements so the automakers are not encouraged to build trucks like this anymore....

But as far as trucks, I have zero interest in anything but a regular cab.
I feel the same about cars when I'm thinking of performance. To me, a 4 door in a totally stock (appearing) configuration is cool in a much different way. I want to build not a sleeper but a 4 door that runs reasonably strong but is mostly quiet.

 

[halfafish]

Four doors are like fat chicks, we’d all go for a ride, but don’t want our friends to see us doing it.

Hah. Where's the Red X when you need it? The solution to this deal is..................get a five-door!

 

[68gtxman]

My first car was a 1969 Plymouth Belvedere taxicab. It was black and white similar to this cop car. I will always love the way it looked and that it fit around 10 girls in it as I drove them to our fraternity parties!

 

[Ottmundr]

The 4 door cars have smaller doors. I'm only 5'6", and I HATE them. I can't even imagine how bad the 4 door cars are for 6' guys. I prefer the larger doors on the 2 door cars.

 

[Ottmundr]

Hah. Where's the Red X when you need it? The solution to this deal is..................get a five-door!

View attachment 1716329271

Found it.

Right here.

 

[Unconventional]

an I not a big fan of pre '66

 

[abodyjoe]

nuff said.. just so much cleaner looking as a 2 door... i had a 70 coronet 4 door.. great beater but ugly as hell..

 

[missing linc]

The 4 door cars have smaller doors. I'm only 5'6", and I HATE them. I can't even imagine how bad the 4 door cars are for 6' guys. I prefer the larger doors on the 2 door cars.

I'm 6'6" and I am not a fan of 4 door cars, but I have owned more than a few. My one complaint about 2 door cars has to do with the size of parking spots and morons that can't seem to find the center of the space. I've had to get in the passenger side and climb over the console more times than I care to count thanks to those idiots.