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The configuration of a car body is typically determined by the layout of the engine, passenger and luggage compartments, which can be shared or separately articulated. A key design feature is the car's roof-supporting
pillar A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression (physical), compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column i ...
s, designated from front to rear of the car as A-
pillar A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression (physical), compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column i ...
, B-pillar, C-pillar and D-pillar. Common car body configurations are one-box (e.g., a van, minivan, MPV), two-box (e.g., a hatchback) and three-box (e.g., a sedan/saloon) designs.


One-box design

A one-box design, also called a ''monospace'', ''mono-box'' or ''monovolume'' configuration—approximates in shape a single volume comprising engine, cabin and cargo areas, in part by locating the base of a vehicle's A-pillars further forward. One-box designs include
light commercial vehicle A light commercial vehicle (LCV) in the European Union, Australia and New Zealand is a commercial carrier vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of no more than 3.5 metric tons (tonnes). The LCV designation is also occasionally used in both Canad ...
s,
minivans Minivan (sometimes called simply as van) is a North American car classification for vehicles designed to transport passengers in the rear seating row(s), with reconfigurable seats in two or three rows. The equivalent classification in Europe is ...
, MPVs and
mini MPV Mini MPV— an abbreviation for mini multi-purpose vehicle— is a vehicle size class for the smallest size of minivans/MPVs. The mini MPV size class sits below the compact MPV size class and the vehicles are often built on the platforms of B-se ...
s. Passenger cars with a one-box design include the 1984
Renault Espace The Renault Espace is a five-door car manufactured by the French carmaker Renault since 1984 for five generations. It is classified as a large MPV/minivan within the M-segment. The first three generations of the Espace were amongst the first co ...
, 1992 Renault Twingo I, 2008
Tata Nano The Tata Nano is a compact city car that was manufactured and marketed by Indian automaker Tata Motors over a single generation, primarily in India, as an inexpensive rear-engined hatchback intended to appeal to current riders of motorcycles a ...
, 2005
Toyota Aygo The Toyota Aygo is a city car (A-segment) marketed by Toyota mainly in the European market between 2005 and 2021 across two generations. The Aygo was first displayed at the 2005 Geneva International Motor Show. It was built alongside the relate ...
/
Citroën C1 The Citroën C1 is a city car marketed by Citroën from June 2005 to January 2022, originally developed as part of the B-Zero project by PSA Peugeot Citroën in a joint venture with Toyota, with two generations produced. The C1 was developed alo ...
/
Peugeot 107 The Peugeot 107 is a city car produced by French automaker Peugeot, launched in June 2005, and produced until 2014. The 107 was developed by the B-Zero project of PSA Peugeot Citroën in a joint venture with Toyota; the Citroën C1 and Toyota A ...
and 1997
Mercedes-Benz A-Class The Mercedes-Benz A-Class is a subcompact car produced by the German automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz as the brand's entry-level vehicle. The first generation (internally coded W168) was introduced in 1997, the second generation (W169) in ...
.


Two-box design

''Two-box'' designs articulate a volume for engine and a volume that combines passenger and cargo volumes, e.g., station wagon/estate or (three or five-door)
hatchback A hatchback is a car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to a cargo area. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second row seating, where the interior can be reconfigured to prioritize passenger or cargo volume. ...
s like the
Saab 900 The Saab 900 is a mid-sized automobile which was produced by Saab from 1978 until 1998 in two generations; the first from 1978 to 1993, and the second from 1994 to 1998. The first-generation car was based on the Saab 99 chassis, though with a ...
, and minivans like the Chrysler minivan, 2001
Volkswagen Polo Mk4 The Volkswagen Polo Mk4 is the fourth generation of the Volkswagen Polo supermini car produced by the German manufacturer Volkswagen. It was marketed from early 2002 to 2009 in most countries except Argentina and the USA. It was manufactured in So ...
and 1999
Skoda Fabia Škoda means ''pity'' in the Czech and Slovak languages. It may also refer to: Czech brands and enterprises * Škoda Auto, automobile and previously bicycle manufacturer in Mladá Boleslav ** Škoda Motorsport, the division of Škoda Auto respons ...
Mk1.


Three-box design

Three-box design is a broad automotive styling term describing a
coupé A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...
, sedan/saloon,
notchback A notchback is a design of a car with the rearmost section that is distinct from the passenger compartment and where the back of the passenger compartment is at an angle to the top of what is typically the rear baggage compartment. Notchback cars ...
or
hatchback A hatchback is a car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to a cargo area. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second row seating, where the interior can be reconfigured to prioritize passenger or cargo volume. ...
where—when viewed in profile—principal volumes are articulated into three separate compartments or boxes: engine, passenger and cargo. Three-box designs are highly variable.
Hemmings Motor News ''Hemmings Motor News'' (HMN) is a monthly magazine catering to traders and collectors of antique, classic, and exotic sports cars. It is the largest and oldest publication of its type in the United States, with sales of 215,000 copies per mont ...
said: Where the
Renault Dauphine The Renault Dauphine () is a rear-engine design, rear-engined economy car manufactured by Renault in a single body style â€“ a Three-box styling, three-box, 4-door sedan (car), sedan â€“ as the successor to the Renault 4CV; more than two ...
is a three-box that carries its engine in the rear and its cargo up front, the styling of the
Å koda Octavia The Å koda Octavia is a small family car produced by the Czech car manufacturer Å koda Auto since the end of 1996. It shares its name with an earlier model produced between 1959 and 1971. Four generations of the modern-era Octavia model have ...
integrates a
hatchback A hatchback is a car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to a cargo area. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second row seating, where the interior can be reconfigured to prioritize passenger or cargo volume. ...
with the articulation of a three-box. This style was later used by its larger
Å koda Superb The Å koda Superb is a large family car that has been produced by the Czech car manufacturer Å koda Auto since 2001. The first generation of the modern Superb, produced from 2001 to 2008, was based on the VW B5 PL45+ platform. The second gener ...
, which marketed as the TwinDoor, within the liftgate operable as a trunk lid or as a full hatchback. As with the third generation European Ford Escort (also a hatchback), the third box may be vestigial. And three-box styling does not need to be boxy:
Car Design News ''Car Design News'' (''CDN'') () is an online news and information service for the international automotive design community. ''CDN'' covers production and concept cars, the career moves of significant car designers, major international auto sho ...
calls the fluid and rounded
Fiat Linea The Fiat Linea (Type 323) is a compact sedan released on 26 March 2007 at the TofaÅŸ plant in Bursa, Turkey, by the Italian automaker Fiat as a world car in developing countries. It is based on the current Fiat Grande Punto platform. The Linea ...
a three-box design—and most examples of the markedly bulbous styling of the ponton genre are three-box designs. In 2012,
Hemmings Motor News ''Hemmings Motor News'' (HMN) is a monthly magazine catering to traders and collectors of antique, classic, and exotic sports cars. It is the largest and oldest publication of its type in the United States, with sales of 215,000 copies per mont ...
wrote "the three-box sedan design is seen as traditional or—worse—conventional." By 2016 In the United States, the three-box sedan began to wane in popularity. In 2018, the Wall Street Journal wrote: "from gangster getaway cars and the Batmobile to the humble family sedan, the basic three-box configuration of a passenger car—low engine compartment, higher cabin, low trunk in the rear—has endured for decades as the standard shape of the automobile. Until now." Sales and popularity of 4-door notchback sedans/saloons began declining in Europe since mid-1990s, especially affordable ones. This is resulted in moving production of Volkswagen Jetta in Mexico, as well as the Peugeot abandoning that segment since 2001 when the production of
Peugeot 306 The Peugeot 306 is a small family car built by the French car manufacturer Peugeot from 1993 to 2002. It replaced the 309. Peugeot gave the 306 many updates and aesthetic changes to keep up with the competition, and it was replaced by the 307 in ...
ended. Other, predominantly European manufacturers followed suit, with the most recent generation of Opel Astra may no longer to be offered as the 4-door notchback. Since 2018, Ford reduced sales of 4-door
Focus Focus, or its plural form foci may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in South Australia Film *''Focus'', a 1962 TV film starring James Whitmore * ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based ...
as well as
Mondeo The Ford Mondeo is a large family car manufactured by Ford since 1993. The first Ford model declared as a "world car", the Mondeo was intended to consolidate several Ford model lines worldwide (the European Sierra, the Telstar in Asia and Austr ...
to Eastern Balkans markets. Again, Volkswagen stopped sales of Jetta in Europe around the same time due to too long dimensions, exceeding those with International Passat B8.


Car roof classification

A related classification is based on the style of roof in the car design. The DrivAer aerodynamics model of the Technical University of Munich classifies roof styles as (F)
Fastback A fastback is an automotive styling feature, defined by the rear of the car having a single slope from the roof to the tail. The kammback is a type of fastback style. Some models, such as the Ford Mustang, have been specifically marketed as ...
, (E) Estate Back, (N)
Notchback A notchback is a design of a car with the rearmost section that is distinct from the passenger compartment and where the back of the passenger compartment is at an angle to the top of what is typically the rear baggage compartment. Notchback cars ...
/ Sedan.


See also

* Ponton styling *
Coke bottle styling Coke bottle styling is an automotive body design with a narrow center surrounded by flaring fenders which bears a general resemblance to a Coca-Cola classic glass contour bottle design. It was introduced by industrial designer Raymond Loewy on ...
*
Glossary of automotive design A glossary of terms relating to automotive design. Some terms may be found at car classification. 0–9 ; One-box form: A categorization based on overall form design using rough rectangle volumes. In the case of the one-box, also called a mon ...


References

{{reflist Car body styles