suicide doors

A four-door car with rear doors that are hinged in reverse.

The Lincoln Contintals of 1961 - 1970, the new Rolls-Royce Phantom, and the upcoming Lincoln Continental retro car (yes, you read that right).

by Ryan Thompson August 11, 2004

suicide doors

Doors such as those on pickups, the Honda Element, etc. that are double and open in opposite directions. So called because of the supposed danger of falling out while the vehicle is in motion.

I tried to open the suicide doors on my Element while it was on the Golden Gate Bridge.

by David G. Epstein August 11, 2004

suicide doors

Doors that open the oposite way than they usually do. Used in the 1930's by gangsters because they could easily hang out of their car with their tommy guns and shoot at the vehicle that was following them.

In the movie Dick Tracy they use vehicles with suicide doors.

by Red Dog September 23, 2005

Suicide doors

Suicide doors refer to car doors that open in the opposite of the regular direction - hinges are at the back and the front of the door opens. Many cars before WWII had those and now it is a popular conversion on tuned trucks. Suicide doors are considered far more dangerous than normal doors because of the possiblity of opening during movement.

I am thinking of converting my truck to suicide doors

by Darkwise July 14, 2004

Suicide doors

Automotive doors that hinge from the rear edge of the door instead of the leading edge. They acquired the "suicide" nickname due to the fact that if the door was not fully closed and the occupant tried to open and reclose the door while the car was moving (which for some reason was once common practice), the rushing air would catch the door and pull it open violently, often pulling the person still holding the door handle out of the car.

Grandpa told us that Uncle Wilbur was run over after he tried to shut the suicide doors on his 33 coupe and was thrown out under a truck. He was never the same after that.

by frnkly December 25, 2005

Suicide door

A door that is deeply unhappy or depressed and likely to commit suicide.

I can't help but feel bad for that suicide door

by jjplatinum August 13, 2018

suicide door

A car door whose hinge is near the rear of the car rather than near the front of the car. So called because it tends to fly open if caught by the wind (especially in the case of poor panel fit or an open-top car that does not channel air efficiently) rather than shutting right away, causing the car to become unbalanced at speed and leading to numerous other possibly fatal results, such as the car being thrown to one side and crashing or an occupant thrown out of the car.

They used to put suicide doors on a lot of cars in the '20s, but now we know better.

by Airrider October 11, 2009