Door math?

Van Living Forum

Help Support Van Living Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Not trying to be contentious, but for those of you who consider this settled, redundantly even, I think you need to raise the bar higher than "clear as mud."  Oh, and explain why it has taken 20 posts instead of 2.

Locating some authoritative online source wouldn't hurt either.

Vagabound
 
So why don't you find those authoritative online sources then and you can report back to us. :D It really only took 1 post---#2 and then got clarified in #7 since there was still confusion. The rest was mostly just conversation around the subject.
 
there is nothing unclear, a van with 1 rear passenger opening is a 3 door
a van with 2 is a 4 door
http://www.tommievaughnfordcolumbus...50a0e0adf24f02a51ccda25b8.htm?searchDepth=1:4
Introducing the 2016 Ford Transit Connect!

This car delivers affordable transportation inside an attractive four door package with class leading standard safety features

4 door

http://www.tommievaughnfordcolumbus...c0a0e0a1733aaeffa1f80c610.htm?searchDepth=1:1


note that the number of doors in the regular transit isn't even mentioned, that's because everyone knows it's 3, it's been 3 since ford built their first Econoline
the term 4 door van wasn't even a thing untill Dodge put a driver's side rear door on the Caravan back in the 2000s

and since this is common knowledge, and you wish to refute, while you're asking others to do a bit of research, how about offering some counter evidence of your own

Rules of fair and rational debate
those making a positive statement of fact must provide empirical evidence to back their claim, UNLESS it's common knowledge
if it is, those questioning said common knowledge must provide their own substantiation The 4 door vs 3 door is actually common knowledge , so now it's your turn :D
 
OK, somebody want's us to get serious here? Here goes,
Everybody knows that all vans have two doors and a very large trunk that happens to have multiple entry points.   :rolleyes:
 
Person A:  aaaaaah

Person B:  I can't understand you.  You need to explain.

Person A:  AAAAAAH!

:D

----------------------

Welcome to the Theater of the Absurd ...


(anewbiewannabe) So why don't you find those authoritative online sources then and you can report back to us.


Man, that was world-record speed quitting, and predictable.  Refer to Post # 1.


(ArtW) ... since this is common knowledge, and you wish to refute ...

It isn't common knowledge, as Posts 1-6 or so indicate, and I'm asking.  I'm not refuting anything except the claim that it's settled and clear.


(ArtW)  there is nothing unclear, a van with 1 rear passenger opening is a 3 door a van with 2 is a 4 door


You helped my point by stating that nothing is unclear, followed by saying something unclear:  "a van with 1 rear passenger opening ..."  It had been decided earlier that openings on the rear (back) of the van don't count.  Right?

Car dealer promo ads simply calling something a 3-door don't help much because they don't explain or conclude anything.

An authoritative statement would come from an authoritative source and it would sound something like this:

A.  "A 3-door van is defined as [insert clear description here]"  or ...

B.  "A 4-door van is so called because it has [insert clear description here]"

(ArtW) ... that's because everyone knows ...

... the world is flat.  Worst proof in history.  And everybody knows that! ;-)

I don't mind that you don't know.  I don't know.  I only mind that you say it's settled without proving it.  That ain't your job.  So, don't do it if you don't want to do it.

I asked a simple question and it will take conclusive proof to settle it.

25 posts and counting!

Vagabound

P.S. - Yeah, there is a lot of fluff in this thread ... but some of it is pretty entertaining.
 
Law of diminishing returns.  Not a quitter, just not invested in finding your answer for you when I am already satisfied with the answers given.  You're not satisfied so you find the proof.

Speaking of predictable---that would be your response.  You'll have to carry on amusing yourself on this thread without me. Diminishing returns and all that. ;)
 
anewbiewannabe said:
... 

Speaking of predictable---that would be your response.  

I'm made of rubber, you're made of glue, what bounces off me ...   :D

Vagabound
# 27 of n
 
Vagabound said:
I'm made of rubber, you're made of glue, what bounces off me ...  

This explains perfectly why some doors squeak so much, and some are just plain hard to open?   :p
 
It is very clear, but since you want to be pedantic:
every van I am aware of has
1 driver's side front (driver's) door
1 Passenger side front (passenger) door
1 Passenger side rear door, which may consist of 1 large sliding door, or 2 barn style swinging doors for 3 total openings on the sides of the van, not counting the rear entry, that are commonly used for passenger access
1 rear opening, with either a hatch, 1 side swing door, or 2 barn style doors, which are not commonly used for passenger access

This has been the default van style since the Auto industry started building vans

Some vans also have 1 additional Drivers side door behind the driver's door, which in every case I have seen is a slider, that is commonly used for passenger access

It was only after the creation of this body style, with rear door on each side, that the term"4 door van' came into being.

The concept didn't exist in common parlance untill the extra opening was added
The rear cargo access is still not counted, probably because it's not where normal people would get in the van to ride in it
anyone aware of vans before ,say, the 2000s very clearly remembers Dodge hyping the 'first 4 door van'

It is VERY common knowledge that a 4 door van has 4 doors not counting the very rear door
Just because there are currently, yes, I said currently, a small number of 'flat earthers' still existing, doesn't mean that the fact that the earth is round isn't common knowledge, any more than the existence of a few folks on a website who don't know or believe that a van with 4 doors other that the very rear doors is a 4 door
and yes, you are trying to refute that the people who do know this know what they're talking about
so here you go
From wikipedia

With Generation III, the Chrysler minivans were available in long- and short– wheelbase models; three- and four-door configurations; and eight different powertrains, including electric and compressed natural gas; on a single, flexible platform.

and the article
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_Caravan

Now, about your statement that the explanation is unclear, I believe that has been well addressed, and I have provided at least 2 sources that back it up
You have provided nothing to show otherwise except "Well, there's these six posts in a thread on a forum"
Hardly proof that a majority of people don't know that a van with a rear side door behind the passenger door is a 4 door
So, where are the vast hordes of people who don't know that a car or van with 4 passenger access points isn't, you know, a four door?
Please find more than 6 people to support your argument, as I know entire dealerships full of people who do know that a van with 4
passenger access points is a 4 door, and an Automotive Manufacturing Company that invented the term, all of whom say that a van with 4 access points designed to give passengers access to seating is, indeed, a 4 door van
Do you refer to a house with French doors as a 3 door house? or does it still have a front door and a back door? Do you count the garage?
and if it's a 3 door, does that mean it has 2 front yards? do tell

When you can provide 1000's of people who don't accede this point, I may accept that it is indeed not common knowledge, untill then the burden of proof is on you
 
ArtW said:
It is very clear, but since you want to be pedantic:

...

When you can provide 1000's of people who don't accede this point, I may accept that it is indeed not common knowledge, untill then the burden of proof is on you

Art,

Lighten up, buddy.  This is just a thread about van doors, not the U.N. Security Council.  And no one is attacking your family's honor and crest back 20 generations.  

My main point all along, other than wanting to learn the answer, was that saying something is so, doesn't make it so.  That point has been surprisingly hard to make.

You can file this under "Clear and Settled".  

I'll file it under "Bermuda Triangle, Single Socks in the Dryer, and Other Related Items".

Then we can both say, "Hrumpf", shake our heads, and move on.  

Or as the more sophisticated like to say, "Agree to disagree."

OK?

Vagabound

P.S. - Thanks for the clearer description. It was easier to follow.
 
ArtW said:
which is perzacly what I said, based on visiting Dealer Showrooms and having various vans described to me by the guys that push them for the maker, as 3 or 4 door, depending on number of holes in the van not used for cargo
I am not guessing ...
Based on this, since I'm the only person (usually)(99.9% of the time) in my 95 Astrovan with stowaway2 carrier, AND I use all other openings to add (or subtract) cargo, I would advertise MY van--if I were wanting to sell it--as a one door van. :D
 
Ella1 said:
Based on this, since I'm the only person (usually)(99.9% of the time) in my 95 Astrovan with stowaway2 carrier, AND I use all other openings to add (or subtract) cargo, I would advertise MY van--if I were wanting to sell it--as a one door van.  :D
Hahahaha...............
 
Vagabound said:
Though not a rocket scientist, I can count my fingers and toes pretty quickly without help.  So, I should be able to crack the code on this, but not so far.  A few minutes of Internet searching didn't help.

On those occasions when I count the doors of any van for sale, and try to match it to the description (3-door, for example), the math never works.  There always seems to be more doors than it says.  Maybe the driver and passenger doors are supposed to be ignored when counting.

Although this might be the shortest thread in history, can someone please explain to me how to count van doors?

Thanks,

Vagabound

If it has a handle it's a door. If not it's an entryway. I think we just count the handles tho not the locks. Maybe?
 
romeosierrabravo2 said:
If it has a handle it's a door. If not it's an entryway. I think we just count the handles tho not the locks. Maybe?

Close, but no cigar.  What do we have for him, Johnny?

At the risk of inviting tomatoes launched in my general direction, of the few things we do seem to "know", one is that we don't count handles.  For example, on the passenger side of the van, behind the normal passenger door (front seat), there is another door.  Sometimes it is a sliding door (one handle), sometimes barn doors (two doors=two handles).  Even when there are two barn doors, it constitutes just  one door  for counting / category / marketing purposes, because it's the opening that's counted, not the doors.

Vagabound
2nd Year Apprentice, Doorology
 
when is a door not a door?


when it's a jar. lol. I can't believe this thread has gone on so long. highdesertranger
 
Hell, I'm not mad, I was having fun
it is funny, though
A car with 2 doors and a trunk? 2 door
a car with 4 doors and a trunk? 4 door
A car with 2 doors and a hatchback? 2 door hatch back from 78 through to the 2000s or so (see below)
a car with 4 doors and a hatchback? 4 door hatchback from 78 through the early 2000s or thereabouts, then all of a sudden some chucklehead in the auto industry gets cute, and calls it a 3 or 5 door, so now we have folks who think the rear door on a van should count as a door, too, and a long silly argument

Oh and Ella, good catch, I should have said
Every door in the vehicle intended by the manufacturer for passenger ingress / egress
shoot, by my own description most every car I own would be a 1 door, at some point in time
 
highdesertranger said:
when is a door not a door?

when it's a jar.  lol.  

Haaaaar, haaaaar, haaaaaar about the jaaaar, jaaaar ....  (oh sorry, wrong thread ;-)

I can't believe this thread has gone on so long.  highdesertranger

You and me both.  In my OP, I said, "Although this might be the shortest thread in history ..."

Maybe we didn't take the direct flight, but I'm still learning along the way.

Vagabound
 
Vagabound said:
  In my OP, I said, "Although this might be the shortest thread in history ..."
That's exactly what I was thinking.   :p
Oh, and HDR, good one about a door being a "jar."   :D
 
I recall my Aunt getting one of the first 'talking cars' If you put the key in with the door open it said 'A door is a jar'
Wow, computers aren't very bright :D
 

Latest posts

Top