What's So Trendy About Car Body Styles That Everyone Went Crazy Over It?

What is the body of a vehicle?

The purpose of the structure is to maintain the shape of the vehicle and to support the various loads applied to it. The structure usually accounts for a large proportion of the development and manufacturing cost in a new vehicle program, and many different structural concepts are available to the designer. It is essential that the best one is chosen to ensure acceptable structural performance within other design constraints such as cost, volume and method of production, product application, etc.

Definition of Automobile Body

Body is a super structure of the vehicle. Chassis and body makes the complete vehicle. For small and light car body and chassis are made as a single unit but in large vehicles both are made as a single unit. Generally it is made from metal or fiber. Main purpose of car body is to provide comfort and protection to the passenger and also the good look.

History and overview of vehicle structure types

Many different types of structure have been used in passenger cars over the years. In the 1920's, when mass production had become well established, the standard car configuration was the separate ‘body-on-chassis’ construction. This had certain advantages, including manufacturing flexibility, allowing different body styles to be incorporated easily, and allowing the ‘chassis’ to be treated as a separate unit, incorporating all of the mechanical components. The shape of the chassis frame was ideally suited for mounting the semi-elliptic spring on the beam axle suspension system, which was universal at that time. Also, this arrangement was favored because the industry at that time was divided into separate ‘chassis’ and ‘body’ manufacturers. Tradition played an additional part in the choice of this construction method.

REQUIREMENTS OF BODIES FOR VARIOUS TYPES OF VEHICLE:

The body of the most vehicle should fulfill the following requirements:

1. The body should be light.

2. It should have minimum number of components.

3. It should provide sufficient space for passengers and luggage.

4. It should withstand vibrations while in motion.

5. It should offer minimum resistance to air.

6. It should be cheap and easy in manufacturing.

7. It should be attractive in shape and colour.

8. It should have uniformly distributed load.

9. It should have long fatigue life

10.It should provide good vision and ventilation.

How many types of car bodies are there?

The automobile bodies are divided into two groups:

1. Passenger body

2. Commercial body

Some of the important car body styles are as mentioned below:

1. Hatchback

2. Sedan (saloon)

3. MUV / SUV

4. Coupe

5. Convertible

6. Limousine

7. Van

8. Jeep

9. Pickup Vehicle

Hatchback

The small cars with 4 doors and a boot (dickey) door are classified under hatchback. Generally, these are designed for comfortable seating of 4 passengers and small boot space for putting one or two bags. The size of hatchback varies depending upon design. It could be super mini or a larger one. The design is same but interior size and luggage space varies. In this type of vehicle the entire back trunk can be lifted.

Sedan (Saloon)

Sedans are the cars designed for comfortable seating of 5 passengers. Sedans come with larger trunk sizes which can be used for carrying larger amount of luggage. The features of sedan includes larger overall dimensions i.e. length, width, height and wheel base. Many times the existing hatchback car design is itself used for sedan with boot space extended.

SUV / MUV

SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle) and MUV (Multi Utility Vehicle), the two are significantly different. MUV vehicles are designed to create utility. There would be flexible seating options ranging from 7, 8, 9 and 10 so on. The body is built on chassis frame and can carry large amounts of luggage. 

SUV are vehicles designed to use in all road conditions, ranging from highways to cross country roads. In this type, importance is given for all factors such as usage of advanced technology for engine, gear box, differential, 4WD option, interior space. SUV's have features suited for long drives, good technology for suspensions, and so on. The main point about SUV is the importance given to fit and finish (both interior and exterior) and drive quality.

Coupe

Coupe is the name given to sedan cars with two doors only. The two doors are bit larger and through rear seat is available in some models, one can go to inside through sliding of front seats. Here main importance is given to styling, luxury and image. Coupe design is used mostly in European countries.

Convertible

Convertible cars are the cars whose roof line can be removed or refitted as required. Generally it's available in high end luxury vehicles. Electro mechanical devices are used for step by step folding of the roof lines. In earlier vehicles leather material were used. In modern vehicles the metal roof lines with design of folding part by part and eventually rest on / in trunk part of the vehicle. Operating of a button is good enough for folding or putting back the roof linings.

Convertibles are most frequently used in cold countries wherein weather temperature is quite less and also roads have lesser dusty conditions. It's purely a preferred choice for persons with passion of using stylish cars and the feel of air in hair when driving vehicle.

Van

Van is the name given to cars with main perspective of flexibility in utilising the interior space. It has options of varying number of seats and hence luggage space can be increased / decreased. These vehicles can be purely used in commercial purpose and in some situations for passenger purpose.

Pick up vehicle

Pick up vehicle / van is the term used for the MUV with separate space for luggage. There would be spacious interiors for comfortable seating of 5 passengers and separate luggage space available behind the passenger cabin. The dimensions of vehicle would be larger and body is built on chassis frame, so that load carry capacity can be considerably larger. Generally, it could be around 800 kg.

Jeep

Jeep is a particular type of vehicle similar to MUV, but there is option for hard top or soft top. This type of vehicle has good combination of utility like that of a sports car and cost like that of a MUV and hence can be best suitable one for cross country usage and taking out for adventure drive in forests.