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Pillar (car)

 
Pillar (car)

 
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Pillar (car)
 
 
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An A-pillar is a name applied by car stylists and enthusiasts to the shaft of material that supports the windshield (windscreen) on either of the windshield frame sides. By denoting this structural member as the A-pillar, and each successive vertical support in the greenhouse
Greenhouse (automotive term)

The greenhouse of a car comprises the windscreen, rear and side windows, the more or less vertical pillars separating them , and the car's roof....
 after a successive letter in the alphabet (B-pillar, C-pillar etc.), this naming scheme allows those interested in car design to have points of reference when discussing design elements.






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A Pillar
An A-pillar is a name applied by car stylists and enthusiasts to the shaft of material that supports the windshield (windscreen) on either of the windshield frame sides. By denoting this structural member as the A-pillar, and each successive vertical support in the greenhouse
Greenhouse (automotive term)

The greenhouse of a car comprises the windscreen, rear and side windows, the more or less vertical pillars separating them , and the car's roof....
 after a successive letter in the alphabet (B-pillar, C-pillar etc.), this naming scheme allows those interested in car design to have points of reference when discussing design elements. The terms are also used by heavy rescue vehicle
Heavy rescue vehicle

A heavy rescue vehicle, often referred to as a rescue company, rescue squad, heavy rescue, or simply, fire engine is a type of specialty firefighting or EMS apparatus....
 teams to discuss cutting vehicles open with the jaws of life.

It is typical for this naming scheme to be used against a reference model with the A-pillar taken from the windscreen and the C-pillar to be taken as the last pillar regardless of the presence or absence of a B-pillar. Thus 2-door coupés
Coupé

A coup? or coupe is a closed car body style, the precise definition of which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and over time. Coup?s are often hardtopped sports cars or sporty variants of sedan body styles, with doors commonly reduced from 4 to 2, and a Close-coupled sedan interior offering either two seats or 2+2 seating ....
 can have references to the C-pillar even though there are only two in total.

In the most usual configuration, the C-pillar supports the rear window. However, depending on configuration, the final pillar can be B, D, or even higher in more extreme examples.

Occasionally cars have a break between windows or doors, but have no supporting material in the space. These non-supporting breaks are not considered to be pillars, and are skipped for purposes of the alphabetical naming scheme. Often these vehicles are known as pillarless hardtops
Hardtop

A hardtop is a term for a rigid, rather than canvas, automobile roof. It has been used in several contexts: detachable hardtops, retractable hardtop roofs, and the so-called pillarless hardtop body style....
.

With the introduction of monocoque
Monocoque

Monocoque, from Greek language for single and French for shell , is a construction technique that supports structural load by using an object's external skin as opposed to using an internal frame or truss that is then covered with a non-load-bearing skin....
 design in automobiles, supporting pillars have become increasingly important, and nearly every visual break in a modern vehicle contains a supporting pillar.

In addition to the pillars described above, some older cars have a two-part windshield
Windshield

The windshield or windscreen of an aircraft, automobile, bus, motorcycle, or tram is the front window. Modern windshields are generally made of Laminated glass, a type of treated glass, which consists of two curved sheets of glass with a plastic layer laminated between them for safety, and are Polyurethaned into the window frame....
 or split rear window, with the two halves separated by another pillar.

In British English
British English

British English or UK English is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere....
, the pillars are sometimes referred to as posts (A-post, B-post etc.).

Images


See also

  • Automobile design
  • Blind spot (automobile)
    Blind spot (automobile)

    Blind spots, in the context of driving an automobile, are the areas of the road that cannot be seen while looking forward or through either the rear-view mirror or side mirrors....
  • Driver visibility
    Driver visibility

    In transport, driver visibility is the maximum distance at which the driver of a vehicle can see and identify prominent objects around the vehicle....


External links

  • - design process into the 'A' pillar
  • - The Detroit News
    The Detroit News

    The Detroit News is one of the two major newspapers in the United States city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873 when it rented space in the rival Detroit Free Press's building....
    , 12 April 2004.
  • group created 2005-07-26; webpage accessed 2008-02-10