Types of passenger car bodies
Any car is equipped with a supporting system for the arrangement of elements, interior equipment, engine mechanisms, and transmission. Most modern vehicles have a monocoque body. The main purpose of the body is to transport passengers and small cargo.
The body types of passenger cars are multifunctional and varied. Usually cargo-passenger or passenger ones are of frameless, semi-frame construction. Three-volume bodies have a protruding hood and trunk. Due to limited design transformation, pickups, coupes, convertibles, and sedans are the least versatile. Two-volume bodies are station wagons, hatchbacks, crossovers, SUVs. They are characterized by a compact size, a spacious trunk, which opens using a lid with glass, positioned by manufacturers as a fifth door. The design, divided into two separate compartments, allows you to increase the volume of the luggage compartment if necessary. Single-volume designs include micro-vans and mini-vans.
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Truck body. It includes a cabin for the driver and one or two passengers, a hood, trim, front wheel fenders, rear wheel mudguards and platforms of various designs depending on the cargo being transported. On timber trucks, instead of a platform, a rotating bunk is installed, on which the front end of a pack of sticks or logs rests. On tractor-trailer vehicles, a fifth-wheel coupling device is installed on the frame to work with semi-trailers. The cabin is stamped from thin steel sheet and has two doors, as well as a soft seat with a backrest. The seat position can be adjusted according to the driver's wishes, after which it is securely fixed. The cockpit houses the controls and has visors to protect the driver from the sun with two windshield wipers. Some cars, for example the ZIL-130, have a device for washing glass. The cabin is also equipped with power windows, heater and ventilation. The truck platform is usually made of wood and has folding sides connected to the floor by hinges. In the closed position, the sides are fastened together with locking devices. The floor of the platform rests on two longitudinal and several transverse beams. The longitudinal bars are attached with stepladders to the car frame. The towing device is mounted at the rear of the frames and is used for towing trailers and towing hooks in other applications. The towing device hook rod is secured through a spring and two support bushings or a rubber buffer. This fastening design ensures softening of jerks when starting and moving the road train. The fifth wheel coupling device ensures automatic coupling of semi-trailers with a tractor vehicle when it approaches a braked semi-trailer in reverse. When a semi-trailer is automatically coupled to a towing vehicle, the semi-trailer's king pin moves the grips apart and a pin mounted on one of the grips turns the latch and locks the grip. The cargo platform of a dump truck is a metal box, stamped or welded, tipping, oval or rectangular cross-section. Depending on the type of unloading (rear or side), the cargo platform of the dump truck has one folding side, hingedly attached to the top of the corresponding sides and having a lock. To protect the driver's cabin from impacts during loading, the platform of powerful dump trucks (MAZ, KrAZ, BelAZ, etc.) has a canopy made integral with the front side. When the platform is lowered onto the car frame, the canopy covers the top of the cabin. The platform is tipped by a lifting mechanism driven by the vehicle engine.
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Truck bodies
Truck bodies are platforms or containers of a specific configuration used to accommodate and transport goods. They are divided into closed and open. The flatbed, dump body has an open type of construction, the van, tank, awning has a closed type.
The following options are available on the Russian equipment market: tilt semi-trailer (transportation of large dimensions up to 25 tons), refrigerator (transportation of food, medicine), isothermal van (delivery of food and non-food products), container ship (transportation of containers). Flatbed semi-trailers, platforms, car transporters, trawls and timber carriers are also in demand. The designs are distinguished by variability in load capacity, loading methods, and temperature conditions.
Body type SUV
The SUV body type is a two-volume closed body structure with 5-6 doors, 2-3 rows of passenger seats. The car is taller than a station wagon, larger than a crossover. The vehicle is distinguished by large dimensions, all-wheel drive, low-range gearing, and increased ground clearance (at least 200 mm) for off-road maneuverability. Many manufacturers produce SUV models with a short wheelbase, three doors, shortening the niche in the coupe.
The car is considered universal due to its high, appropriate technical characteristics. Similar to some pickup trucks, vans have a frame unloaded body. Modern SUVs are conventionally divided by size: compact, mid-size, full-size.
Classification of body types
Over the past two decades, the automotive industry has achieved a significant breakthrough in the field of design and technical equipment of cars. In the modern automotive industry, the classification of body types is based on the following parameters: shape, purpose, layout, functionality, degree of load. Passenger vehicles traditionally have cargo-passenger and passenger body frame types of semi-frame and frameless construction.
Body frames are distinguished by the location of passengers, cargo, power unit, and the degree to which they can support the weight of cargo and passengers. So, the machine can have three, two, one compartments. All body styles have standard names used throughout the world, but some countries produce separate body types with a different name.
Is extending the sides a change in design?
Previously, an article about car tuning was published on pddmaster.ru, which discussed what exactly refers to changes in the design of vehicles.
Let me remind you that there is a list of changes that are guaranteed to be design changes, but increasing the height of the sides does not appear in this list.
In this regard, drivers have a misunderstanding on this issue. Are extended sides a design change that affects safety, and does it need to be registered with the traffic police?
Drivers, as a rule, believe that installing extensions on the sides is not a design change. Traffic police officers are of the opposite opinion. In this regard, disputes flare up and have to be resolved in court.
On the issue of building up sides, the courts have made many similar decisions. As an example, we can cite decision No. 12-4/2017 of the Tokarevsky District Court of the Tambov Region dated May 31, 2020 (if you wish, you can find this decision yourself).
The essence of this solution comes down to the fact that building up the sides is a design change . Those. the car owner must legalize it with the traffic police (make changes to the registration documents of the vehicle). Failure to do so may result in a fine.
Selecting a car body
The choice of car body depends on its purpose. The sedan is a popular model, equipped with 2-4 doors, 2 rows of full-size seats. Capacity: 4-5 people. A classic of the genre, the coupe is a two-door body with one row of seats. Modern coupes are similar to a sedan and have 2 rows of full-size seats.
A station wagon is a utility vehicle with 2 rows of seats, an additional door, and a luggage compartment integrated with the interior. The hatchback is a modern “hybrid” that combines the comfort of a sedan with the spaciousness of a station wagon and the function of folding the rear row of seats. The highlight of the convertible: a soft folding roof made of special fabrics. A pickup truck is a passenger car with an open cargo area separated from the passenger compartment by a partition. Features: technical characteristics, cross-country ability, similar to an SUV.
Advice from Sravni.ru:
When purchasing a car, be sure to sign up for a test drive of the models you like in advance. You will be able to independently evaluate all the technical characteristics and determine which car you feel most comfortable driving. Similar services are offered in many car dealerships.
Three-volume
The main characteristic of three-volume bodies is the protruding trunk and hood. It is as a result of limited transformation that they are the least universal among other types. The most popular in this group are convertibles, sedans, pickups and coupes.
sedan body
Sedan
Sedans are present in virtually all model ranges of most car manufacturers. They are common among motorists, since classics always find their fans. Sedans are still the most prestigious cars. This body type is equipped with four doors and two rows of seats, and is also equipped with a hard roof, the level of which does not change along the entire length of the car. A special place among sedans is occupied by cars with an extended wheelbase, belonging to the executive class. They are marked with the letter L.
coupe body
Coupe
Such cars are produced in both four-door and two-door versions. The salon can be equipped with only one row of seats. Externally, such cars look like sports cars due to the sloping shape of the rear roof. Coupe doors are not similar to sedan doors, they are slightly larger in size. Of course, the coupes are elegant and prestigious, but due to their cramped conditions it is difficult to call them comfortable.
convertible, brogue, roadster and targa
Convertible
The only difference between the coupe and convertible is the latter's soft-tent roof. It can usually be folded and raised when needed. This type of body belongs to open bodies. The side windows and door frames remain stationary when the roof is folded. There are also coupe-convertibles - cars with a hard metal roof that can be folded into the trunk.
Roadster
The roadster is equipped with a soft opening roof and one row of seats. Most common in southern countries.
Brougham
The main difference between the brogue body is the closed rear part of the roof for passengers and the open front part of the roof for the driver. Today there are only a few such cars, but if desired, they can be made to order.
Targa
Targa - this type of body is extremely rare on the roads. It opens only the middle part of the roof, which folds into the luggage compartment. As for the rear part of the roof, it is completely covered with glass.
pickup body
Pickup
truck Pickup trucks include bodies that have an open cargo area. It is separated from the salon by a rigid partition. Pickup trucks are particularly popular among New Zealanders, Australians and Americans. It is worth noting that they have excellent maneuverability. Modern car manufacturers usually create pickup trucks based on SUVs.
car limousine
Limousine
This type of body can be an extended modification of a hatchback, sedan or SUV. The limousine differs from other body types by the presence of a glass partition separating the front seats from the rest of the cabin. They are produced with four doors and several rows of seats. Limousines belong to the highest class cars. As a rule, they speak of the high status of the owner or are used in conditions of a special celebration.
