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Comment by ptaipale | Hacker News Reader

In normal cars, when you're on the freeway, it doesn't really matter if the door opens, because the air pressure will keep it tightly shut. It takes some considerable effort to push open a car door at 80 km/h.

Gull wing doors are different though, not to mention rear-hinged doors (aka suicide doors).

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That's a very good point about rear-hinged doors. Never thought of that. I've seen Honda Element and some other cars have that rear-hinged doors and the setup didn't feel quite right but never able to figure out why.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_door

In Element and similar pickup-SUVs the rear door is still quite small so it doesn't feel so scary. In others, such as current Opel Meriva B, the door about as big as the front door. And just look at Rolls Royce Wraith.

My dad's first car (which he bought in 1960) also had suicide doors in the rear; that was a Moskvitch 400, which in turn was practically the same design as Opel Kadett model 1938 - the Soviets took the design, toolings and machinery from occupied Germany after WWII.

The Element, and all the other modern, pillar-less 'suicide rear door' cars I've seen (Landcruiser FJ, Mazda something-something), have the rear door latched by the front one, so you can't open the rear without first opening the front, 'normally hinged' door - it's a pretty good safeguard against latches failing and doors being sucked open while driving.

Yep. Same on the electric BMW i3 btw.

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