The Untold Story Of The Two-Door Sedan (1920-2011): Its Origins And The Last Two-Door Sedan For Each American Brand And Model

There are two once-common automotive body styles that have become extinct: the two-door sedan and the two-door station wagon. We already covered the history of the two-door wagon, whose lifespan was considerably shorter than the two-door sedan’s. Although the two-door sedan had a 90 year lifespan, it too is obsolete. Let’s take a look at its history, from beginning to end, including the last of its kind built by make and model by US market post-war manufacturers.

Part 1: Definition and the First Two-Door Sedans

First, let’s review the definition of a two door sedan as we use it here, and as it should be used everywhere: It’s a two-door version of a four-door sedan, and one that shares the same roof — as in all or much of the actual same roof structure and/or pressings.

As we can see, that very much applies to the 2008 – 2010 Focus (NA Market only), despite it being repeatedly referred to as a “coupe.” Well, who would refer to a car as a 2-door sedan in 2010? That was so 1900s. Admittedly, there are going to be some gray areas as well as likely disagreements. Sometimes, it’s hard to distinguish between a genuine 2-door sedan and a coupe, especially as that name came to be used more extensively since it sounded much more appealing than “two-door sedan,” which had rather acquired the image of a cheapskate’s or fleet car.

Before we go on, let’s briefly touch on the coupe. The definition of a coupe is a body style that is differentiated from the corresponding sedan in having a roof that is shorter, lower, or perhaps fastback, or otherwise clearly different than that of the sedan. It originates from the French word couper, meaning “to cut.” It’s a sedan that’s been cut down, literally or stylistically. Or is just a two-passenger fixed-roof body.

During the prewar era, the coupe was commonly but not always a two-passenger body style, perhaps with a rumble seat.

In the postwar era, there were still some two-seat coupes, like this 1949 Dodge.

However, they were now more commonly either business coupes (top), with a cargo area behind the front seat, or club coupes, with a shorter rear seat. As its name implied, the business coupe was aimed at salespeople and other business users who needed to carry merchandise or supplies. It gradually disappeared in the ’50s. At the bottom is a genuine two-door sedan for comparison purposes.

Starting in 1949-50, the hardtop coupe arrived. This was essentially a club coupe with a special fixed roof and no B-pillar, making it look like a convertible with the top up. Within a few years, the hardtop coupe would become one of the most popular body styles for American cars. True hardtops mostly faded away in the ’70s due to rollover crash regulations and other factors, although a few sporty cars and imported luxury coupes held out for longer.

This led to a new era of two-door models that Detroit continued to call hardtops or coupes, although many were really just two-door sedans. There were a lot of gray areas, like the two-door Dodge Aries pictured above. Except for the base model, which was advertised as the Dodge Aries Coupe, Chrysler mostly just called it a “2-door.” By our strict definition, it’s not quite either coupe or sedan, as it has the same roof line of the sedan, but a different C-pillar. So, maybe Chrysler was correct in hedging.

Enough about coupes, and back to sedans:

 

The sedan body style takes its name from the sedan chair (which may look like a coupe, but that’s beside the point).

Enclosed car bodies originated in France—this 1899 Renault Voiturette being the first—and adopted many of the French terms as used in horse-drawn coaches. There were a number of early enclosed body styles, but sedan came to be adopted in the US for a fully enclosed car that used the full length of the available room on the frame for passengers.

At this point, we need to clarify that we are using the terminology used in the US. In the UK and many of its former colonies, saloon would be comparable. In German, it’s a limousine. In French, berline is the most common term, although sedan might also be used. Italians call this a berlina.

The enclosed car took a big step forward in 1905, when new longer and more powerful chassis on the style of the first Mercedes became common, and town car body styles suddenly proliferated, like this 1905 Renault. In the US, Simplex and Pierce-Arrow also fielded similar sized and styled town cars.

I’m going to use the Ford Model T as a proxy for so many other cars of the time, as its body styles reflected the changing market, typically a few years behind. In addition to the open roadster and touring cars, there was a Town Car and a Landaulet, two enclosed cars that both arrived in 1909. The main difference between them was that the Town Car generously gave the chauffeur some protection from the elements, unlike in the Landaulet, where he sat out in the open. Clearly, these body styles were designed for the use of the wealthy, and not as family vehicles. In its early years, the Model T was not yet affordable to the working class as it would later become.

Starting in 1911, a new body style, called a sedan in the US, was suddenly the hot new thing. The idea was that a relatively affluent owner-driver could now enjoy the sociable experience of motoring with three other companions in enclosed comfort. One of the first and most influential was the 1911 Rambler. (this was the first incarnation of the Rambler, built by the Jeffrey Company from 1897 to 1914.)

It should be noted that these early sedans typically had only one or two doors, which might be mounted in the front (as in the Rambler) or in the middle. Entry was more like boarding a small airplane than getting into a car. Technically, these were one- or two-door sedans, but since there was no four door version, it’s our first gray area. They’re not two-door sedans in the mold we know and will be focusing on here.

Packard also fielded a new sedan in 1911, which it called The Single Compartment Brougham.

Only one year later, the 1912 Packard Six sprouted two more doors, making it possibly the first four-door sedan in the US.

The interior of the Packard Single Compartment Brougham makes it quite clear that this was a very luxurious place for four people to motor sociably.

There were so many manufacturers back then, it would be a huge undertaking to determine just who had the first sedan, two-door or four-door (especially since many automakers had different names similar body styles). But what’s pretty obvious is that for its first decade (the teens), the sedan was typically a two-door model, commonly with center doors, and usually pricey. Ford’s first Model T sedan, which arrived in 1915, reflects that. The sedan’s price, $740, was 70% higher than the four-passenger open touring car. Sedans, even two-door sedans, were not yet common or generally affordable.

That all changed drastically in the twenties, thanks to Essex (owned by Hudson). In 1920, it brought out two sedans, a four-door (above), and a two-door (below), with prices that had a substantially lower premium over an open car than any US automaker had offered before. Essex anticipated a shift to enclosed cars, and invested heavily in efficient production facilities to build them more economically.

As is quite obvious, the two-door sedan version of the 1920 Essex is essentially identical to the four-door. It was specifically built to reduce its cost, which became the key feature of all two-door sedans henceforth. As such, I’m calling it the first American two-door sedan that fully meets our definition.

The 1922 Essex Coach further brought down the price, which was now only 25% more expensive than the open version. The Coach was a hit, and propelled Essex to great growth in the ’20s — all the way to the #3 spot by 1927, behind Chevrolet and Ford.

Naturally, Ford had to respond. Responding to dealer requests, Ford replaced its center-door sedans with new ones, beginning with the Fordor (four-door), which arrived in late 1922.

This was followed in 1923 by the Tudor (two-door). These followed the Essex model, in that they were largely the same except for the doors and side windows. Prices also dropped, and enclosed cars rapidly became an ever-larger percentage of the Model T.

The two-door sedan was now a mainstay of the American car. It offered less convenient ingress and egress to the rear than a four-door in exchange for a lower price. Initially, these bodies were made of aluminum, to keep the weight down for the rather modest Model T chassis, which had not been designed for enclosed cars. Later, steel replaced the lower body sections.

To document all the first use of two-door sedans by other makes would be a massive undertaking. But suffice it to say, the model set by Essex and soon followed by Ford became essentially universal. According to the National Automobile Chamber of Commerce (predecessor of the Automobile Manufacturers Association), 28% of all US passenger cars built in 1929 were two-door sedans. This rose to 35-40 percent in the 1930s.

The exception was the luxury brands, which soon eschewed the two-door sedan (or never built them at all) in favor of coupes. There was no consistent naming convention: For example, the 1935 Pierce-Arrow lineup shown above included a five-passenger “Club Brougham” that could be considered either a two-door version of the four-door Club Sedan, but that was more of a four-door coupe, with a different roof line than the five-passenger sedan or the longer-wheelbase seven-passenger sedans.

 

Part 2:  The Last American Two Door Sedans:

This undertaking turned out to be a bit more demanding than I expected, and there are likely omissions and mistakes. Please point them out, and I will add/correct as appropriate.

 

Buick

The last full-sized RWD Buick two-door sedan was offered in 1963, in the LeSabre model line. The 1961 Special and Skylark (through 1979) only offered coupes.

However, the two-door sedan body style came back on the new FWD Electra for three years, 1985 to 1987.

The X-Body Skylark two-door was clearly a sedan, despite being called a coupe. The last one was built in 1984.

The new 1982 Century played the same game; it was called “Coupe,” but in reality was a two-door sedan. The last year it was built before a genuine coupe replaced it was 1988. The one above was the only one I could find on the web. Obviously not many were built in its last year.

The N-Body Buick arrived in 1985 as the Somerset, and exited in 1991 as the Skylark. The Custom Coupe was clearly a two-door sedan.

Cadillac

I started to write that there had never been a proper Cadillac two-door sedan, and prior to 1985, that was probably true. But the drastically downsized FWD ’85 models (this one here conveniently posing for me with a Toyota Tercel two-door sedan) certainly seem to have changed that tradition: the Two-Door Sedan DeVille.

The last of these was built in 1993.

 

Chevrolet

The last year for the full-size Chevrolet two-door sedan was 1969. It was available as a Bel Air (pictured) or Biscayne. Given that Chevrolet had just retooled for this model year, it’s a bit surprising that it wasn’t carried over into the very similar 1970 MY. But sales numbers were falling off a cliff.

 

The first two generations of Chevelle (1964-1967) included a two-door sedan, but starting in 1968, the A-body intermediates had unique coupe bodies. It’s tempting to see the 1978 Malibu coupe as a two-door sedan, but a closer look shows that its roof is shorter as well as having frameless windows. So, 1967 was the end of the road.

The same applies to the Chevy II, whose last year as a genuine two-door sedan was 1967. Pictures of these in unmolested form are impossible to find; this one was shot by CC’s Don Kincl.

Of course there were cars that were only made as two-door sedans, with no four–door counterpart. Obviously we can’t exclude them for that; the Chevrolet Vega was the first of the bunch. Of course, it should have had a proper four-door sedan version, but that’s a different story. This was the only example I could find from 1977, the last year for Vega production.

Like the other new FWD A-bodies, the Chevrolet Celebrity arrived with a 2-door sedan, which was finally ditched after the 1988 MY. No coupe model replaced it.

 

Chrysler

Like many higher-end brands, Chrysler had a number of two-door sedans in the ’20s and ’30s, typically called “touring sedans.” The end of the road first came in the 1949 “first series,” which were the end of the line for the prewar bodies that were built until the all-new 1949 “second series” cars were ready. Those included a club coupe, but its roof was decidedly shorter than the four-door sedan’s.

However, the new 1953 Chrysler Club Coupe shared the same roof as the sedan, so that makes the 1954 (above) the last of the line.

 

Crosley

Crosley only ever made two-door models, and although there were supposedly a few made in 1952, this 1951 was the closest I could find.

 

DeSoto

Like the Chrysler, DeSoto’s last two-door sedan was in 1954.

 

Dodge

The last full-sized Dodge two-door sedan was in 1964, but a slightly shorter-wheelbase version (119″ to 117″) was used by the now mid-sized Coronet line in 1965.

That continued through 1967. Starting in 1968, there were only coupes and pillared coupes.

I was a bit surprised to see that 1968 was the last year for the Dart two-door sedan. Good thing my father bought one of the last ones, otherwise he’d have been forced to by a Swinger (god forbid)!

We discussed the Aries earlier. It has the same roof as the four-door sedan, but the C-pillar is wider. This is going to be a recurring issue as we move into the ’80s and beyond. The last of these was in 1989.

Then there’s the Neon. Except for a filler panel on the C-pillar, the sedan and “coupe” same the same roof. Shall we call the 1999 Neon the last Dodge two-door sedan?

 

Edsel

1960 was the Edsel’s final year in any body style.

 

Ford

Like Chevrolet, Ford’s last full-size two-door sedan was in 1969, making this another one-year wonder.

1965 was the last year for the Fairlane two-door sedan, as the 1966 used a shortened coupe roof shared with the Falcon.

 

Which also makes 1965 the last year for the Falcon two-door sedan.

But the Fairmont picked up what the others left behind; the last Fairmont two-door sedan was built in 1981.

And then in 1981 and 1982, the Granada carried on the tradition a bit longer.

I’m a bit ambivalent about the Pinto’s inclusion here, as it’s intrinsically coupe-like. But there never was a coupe (thankfully), and this non-hatchback version was pretty consistently called a two-door sedan in Ford marketing materials. This 1980 version was the last of its kind.  (The badge-engineered Bobcat supposedly offered a non-hatch sedan, but I’ve not been able to verify that).

The NA market-only gen2 Focus was a curious thing all-round, and generally regarded as a retrograde step from its highly-regarded predecessor. That Ford would re-engineer the gen1 hatchbacks into genuine sedans was a bit of a shocker, but presumably the lack of the hatchback saved them a few bucks, and it was quite clear that cost-cutting was the priority. The result is the last genuine two-door sedan, in 2011.

 

Hudson

The last of the big “step down” Hudsons was in 1954, and the 2-door sedan was referred to as a “brougham.” It was not as common as the club coupe, with its shortened roof line.

The compact Jet also had its last outing in 1954, and a two-door sedan was part of its lineup.

In 1955, after the merger with Nash, Hudson dealers began also selling the Rambler, including this two-door sedan. It was a one-year affair only, as the little 100″ wb Rambler was temporarily dropped before being resuscitated for 1958 as the Rambler American.

 

Kaiser

The second-generation Kaiser (1951) did have a two-door sedan version, although a two-door hardtop would likely have been a bigger draw. This is a final-year 1955 Kaiser Manhattan.

 

Lincoln

Lincoln fielded not one but two two-door sedans in their new 1949 postwar lineup. The base Lincoln (top) shared its sedan body with Mercury. The Cosmopolitan (bottom) was also a genuine two-door sedan, which didn’t exactly help against the new Cadillac Coupe de Ville. 1951 was the last year for both Lincoln two-door sedans.

 

Mercury

1966 was the last year for the full-size Mercury two-door sedan; all of 2,749 were sold that year. A mighty rare bird.

The Comet’s last two-door sedan was offered in 1965, like the Falcon.

The Fairmont-based Mercury Zephyr two-door sedan had its last outing in 1981.

The baton was then handed off to the Cougar, which fielded a genuine two-door sedan for 1981 and 1982.

 

Nash

The senior Nash models last offered a two-door in 1954. It’s impossible to find one on the internet; even the brochure renderings are small and poor quality. So, this very fine ’52 Custom 2-door will have to stand in; it differed from the ’54 only in minor trim details.

The last Nash-badged two-door sedan of any kind was the 1955 Rambler.

 

Oldsmobile

Oldsmobile bowed out of the full-size RWD two-door sedan field after 1961, two years before Buick.  Because Olds was known as “the experimental division”?

But from 1985 to 1987, the new FWD Olds 98 offered a coupe that was really a two-door sedan under its padded top.

 

The 1980-1984 Omega two-door is a gray area, as it had a unique kick-up at the base of the C-pillar, although its basic roof structure was the same as the sedan’s. Your call.

The Olds Ciera got a new genuine coupe roof in mid-year 1986, so this early ’86 Ciera GT represents the end of the line for the two-door sedan.

The Cutlass Calais two-door bowed out in 1991.

Both Alero body versions shared the same roof, so the 2004 Alero two-door would be the last of its kind.

 

Packard

Not only was 1954 the last year for a Packard two-door sedan, it was also the last for the venerable straight eight. Make mine a Clipper Sportster.

 

Plymouth

This one is a bit of a dilemma: the 1970 Fury I and Fury II two-door sedans. They’re even called that in the brochure, but the reality is that their roof was just a bit different that of the sedans, shared with the Fury III “formal hardtop.”  Hmm.

If that’s stretching it too much for you, than we can play it safe (and dull) with the 1968 Fury two-door sedan.

1967 was the last year for a genuine B-body Plymouth two-door sedan.

The Valiant hung on as a 2-door sedan for one year longer than the Dart, until 1969.

Like its Dodge Aries sibling, the Reliant 2-door was a borderline case. Last one was 1989.

 

Pontiac

Pontiac’s last full-size two-door sedan was the 1968 Catalina. The Y- and A-body models all had different roofs for their two-door models, so they weren’t two-door sedans by our definition.

There was no Phoenix four-door sedan, but this sure looks like a two-door sedan to me. 1984 was its last year.

The Pontiac 6000 two-door, whose two doors would quite likely interchange with the Phoenix, was made through 1987.

Given the identical roofline on the two- and four-door versions of the W-body Pontiac Grand Prix, that would make the 2003 version the last year for two-door sedans in that line as well.

And Since the final generation of the Grand Am also shared roofs, the 2005 would be the last two-door sedan of that line.

 

Rambler/AMC

Oddly enough, there was only an Ambassador two-door sedan for two years: 1965 and 1966. Given that’s it’s impossible to find any images of one in existence today, we can safely assume it wasn’t a big seller.

There does seem to be one example of a 1966 Classic 550 two-door sedan, though. They’re essentially the same basic car as the Ambassador anyway.

Don’t let that horrendous wig fool you; this 1982 Concord was a genuine two-door sedan, and was even called that in the brochure.

The only thing that can top it is the Eagle AWD version. 1982 was also its last year.

 

Studebaker

The last of the pre-Lark (116.5″ wb) Studebakers were built in 1958, including this Champion two-door.

1966 was the last year for all Studebakers, two-doors and four-doors alike.

 

Willys

No, it’s not a Volga GAZ M-21, although the Willys may well have influenced it. The red car is a final-year 1955 Willys Aero Ace Custom two-door sedan.

And since it’s not something you’re too likely to encounter on the street, here’s the view from the rear. More on the Willys Aero here.

PS: If any of you would like to list the last two-door sedans by import brands, that would be great. I started to include them here, but it quickly turned into a quagmire. As an honorary mention, I’ll include what was probably the last one, the 2005 Toyota Echo, which may well have been the unfortunate inspiration of the 2008 Focus.

 

Note: a rerun of an older post with some updated images.