How much more expensive could it possibly be...

"Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo" (thetomselleck) 01/22/2017 at 13:36 • Filed to: Save the liftbacks

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... for manufacturers to offer liftback versions of well-selling sedans? The Camry, Accord, and Mazda6 could wrangle in a few more folks perhaps with the liftback varaints. The Fusion does it overseas. Mazda did try it for a few years here, so maybe I’m wrong, and maybe the numbers showed it wasn’t worth the investment. But with the 4-series GC, A7, and the upcoming A5 “spertbahk,” obviously there must exist some demand for a 5-door liftback, right?

bob and john > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/22/2017 at 13:40

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very.

you have to redesign the rear of the car, as you are losing the bar that goes along the lower part of the window for structural support.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/22/2017 at 13:46

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They don’t make them because Americans don’t tend to buy them. You can almost tell the level of exposure to the world based on the cars people drive here - a modern car that usually sells as a sedan in wagon form in the US will almost invariably be owned by someone upper-middle-class or above with a passport that has stamps from countries on at least one other continent.

Hoccy > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/22/2017 at 13:53

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The Skoda Superb even went from giving you the choice to being just a liftback with the new model.

It has a tendency to become the ugliest option though, see Toyota Avensis.

fintail > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/22/2017 at 13:58

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Camry sportback, never considered that for the first gen liftback. Maybe even call it a “gran coupe” :)

I see one of those 5 door Camry on the road in Bellevue now and then.

mrbaits > Hoccy 01/22/2017 at 14:07

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This is the problem for Americans, if the liftback option doesn’t look as good nobody will choose it. If it looks the same nobody will notice it.

unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/22/2017 at 14:11

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It’s a lot of time, money and R&D to create a liftback chassis of an existing sedan. The initial chassis design has to support the option of a liftback. Like how the wagon version of a sedan is created as well. If it is done late model design or life cycle, bracing and chassis modifications must be done to ensure rigidity. Your initial chassis must be stiff since the liftback is an elongated trunk with glass. This can result in weight gain. Extensive retooling of the manufacturing process must be done along with stamps dies, and the welding/production process. Manufactures like BMW looked at the market trends and decided to go on with the liftback option because it looked viable since the CUV liftbacks started to gain appeal and took the initial “gamble” of bringing back the liftback.

shop-teacher > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/22/2017 at 14:12

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It’s gotta be millions of dollars. You have to reengineer the whole back of the car, make a bunch of different parts, and recrashtest it all. Then they need to figure out how many people would buy the liftback that wouldn’t buy the sedan. There has to be enough of those people to justify the cost.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 01/22/2017 at 14:23

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Svend > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/22/2017 at 15:05

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They should just put the Mk2 Skoda Superb Liftback back into product for the U.S., market it as a junior VW Passat and there you’ll have your saloon boot opening and your liftback opening.

Simples.

Press the centre button under the lip for saloon opening or off centre button for full hatchback opening.

It wasn’t a bad looking car.

and the later facelift looked a bit better.

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/22/2017 at 16:02

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To me at least, the new civic hatch is a liftback.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 01/22/2017 at 16:04

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[dumps bleach in eye sockets]

Sorry, what?

BlurpleToyotaDishwasher > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 01/22/2017 at 16:27

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Most manufacturers do make them, though. It’s just the cost of going through all the Federal approval I guess.

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/22/2017 at 16:33

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Sorry should’ve been more clear

I don’t think the civic hatch is a real hatchback.

There shouldn’t be a Civic sedan. The hatchback should be the sedan.

bhtooefr > Hoccy 02/20/2017 at 07:15

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The Superb didn’t give you the choice when you picked which model you’re getting, though - it gave you the choice every time you opened the back of the car . This means that there was only one unibody.

bhtooefr > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 02/20/2017 at 07:16

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Americans won’t buy them when there’s a choice, but let’s say something like the Camry went all-liftback. Would that hurt sales?

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > bhtooefr 02/20/2017 at 13:06

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Probably not, but Toyota would take the hit on the extra cost of doing it.

Hoccy > bhtooefr 02/21/2017 at 02:54

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That’s the point - it went from giving you the choice each time to being just a liftback with the new model.