1917 Three door car where would it have been used ? Taxi ?

[Mark Gregory]

Can anybody tell me anything about this REO? It is supposed to be a 1917 3 door Reo?

 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3036959863020792&set=pcb.2176404912510830&type=3&ifg=1&__tn__=HH-R&eid=ARAt2strME3bGIjWPu0fAz2xgMTEKYFlHEBmhPch7q1KJ6yJLJsACSEbtJZY8yD1nADT6Tu0NsEgIQQR 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1937hd45]

Great car for a family with little kids, no door to open and step out into traffic. Bob 

[zeke01]

I once owned a 1924 Overland Champion. They only had three doors. The missing rear door was advertised as a safety feature. Really it was a cost cutting move so that the price of the car would be closer to a Model T.  Zeke

[wayne sheldon]

Three door sedans were made by a lot of companies in the late '10s into the mid '20s. I have seen Overlands, two Willys Knights (a good friend had one!), as well as a couple others. The stated reason was safety, "one should not be exiting the rear seats into the traffic lane". The real reason as zeke01 said was much cheaper to build and be strong.

One might remember that Chevrolet's Suburban (and the GMC variant) around '68 to '72 (?) was also a three door!

[ryan95]

Minivans did it all the way into at least the mid 90's. This is a picture of an Oldsmobile Silhouette that I found online. It is the most recent example that I can think of.

 

[8E45E]

13 hours ago, 1937hd45 said:

Great car for a family with little kids, no door to open and step out into traffic. Bob 

Today, you can buy a Hyundai Velostar with no left rear door.

 

There's no real reason for not having a door now, with the inside door handle lockout feature that nearly all cars & trucks with rear doors have had for a couple of decades.

 

Craig

 

 

Edited April 24, 2020 by 8E45E (see edit history)

[jan arnett (2)]

Once had a Borgwald station wagon with three doors.  Only one I ever saw.

 

[Bud Tierney]

The Kaiser Travelers (wagons) were functionally 3-door cars...outside they appeared regular 4-door sedans, but the spare was mounted on the inside of the left rear door, and it was either bolted or welded shut, did  not open...had a 49, domn't recall ever looking to see if welded or what...