SCARRMRCC wrote:yamaha wrote: I still believe 4 doors + hatch = wagon.....the definition will change depending on who interprets it.so this is a wagon?
Might as well be......I have an extreme hatred for small cars with their small doors mascarading as "5 door hatchbacks" They shouldn't exist. Holy crap pinchvalve, you mean that abomination was intended to be that way.
My definition (the only correct one) is that it's a hatch if the floor is lower than the opening and a wagon if the load floor is flush, or proud of the bottom of the opening.
The other thing that makes a difference to me is the overall length of the vehicle. Hatches are shorter than the sedan version of the vehicle and wagons will be the same length. So, a 4 door golf is a hatch for example. The fuzzy one is the Subaru , as mentioned earlier.
I'd agree ^^
"hatchback" to me infers that the "hatch" opening is down low from the bumper area all the way to the roofline (like an SUV or wagon trunk), and the car has two doors. And a hatchback has a high interior volume.
"fastback" to me infers that the rear hatch slopes (reducing interior volume) and that it comes down at around the beltline of the car, not to the floor of the cargo area right above the bumper.
For instance, I've never referred to my GT6 as a "hatchback" but as a "fastback"
IDK, hatchback to me implies it's more of an "econocar" or "sport compact" without a trunk. VW Golf comes to mind. When I saw this thread I immediately thought the answer was "Starlet" (though the shooting brake BMW qualifies, on second thought).
"fastback" to me implies "sportscar" like Mustang, RX-7, etc.....
and if the "fastback" flattens out into a horizontal panel at the end, I guess that's a "notchback" :)
IS300 
Porsche 944, Porsche 968, Porsche 928, BMW 318i, BMW Z3, Chevy Camaro 3rd Gen, Chevy Camaro 4th Gen, Pontiac Firebird 3rd Gen, Pontiac Firebird 4th Gen, C4 Corvette, C5 Corvette, C6 Corvette, C7 Corvette, fox Mustang, Nissan 240SX, Nissan Z32 300Z, 1G Dodge Viper GTS, 2G Dodge Viper, 3G Dodge Viper, Porsche Cayman, do I have to keep going?
I always thought it was...
Fastback
The back is fixed, with a trunk like opening.
Hatchback
The whole rear opens up, with the rear glass.
But I think you could call the slope back cars like that Supra either a fastback or a hatchback. Just to make it more confusing, Toyota called it a Liftback.
Not that this is definitive, but here's a 1969 Car&Driver mag's take on it, referring to a Triumph GT6. Road&Track article I have from 1971 uses the same term to refer to the GT6 as well.
In an interesting non-sequitur....C&D in 1969 hated the GT6 calling it "joyless and unloveable.". R/T, on the other hand, raved about it.
Triumph GT6:
irish44j wrote: Not that this is definitive, but here's a 1969 Car&Driver mag's take on it, referring to a Triumph GT6. Road&Track article I have from 1971 uses the same term to refer to the GT6 as well. In an interesting non-sequitur....C&D in 1969 hated the GT6 calling it "joyless and unloveable.". R/T, on the other hand, raved about it.
I would say that wasn't relevant as the 1st cars to be labelled as hatchbacks were released after this car.
IMHO a hatchback is a 3 door, with the 3rd being the hatch which incorporates the trunk
Steve, How would you classify the 5 door version of my 1991 VW GTI then?
DeadSkunk wrote: Steve, How would you classify the 5 door version of my 1991 VW GTI then?
This is my opinion only, but that would be a wagon to me
aussiesmg wrote:DeadSkunk wrote: Steve, How would you classify the 5 door version of my 1991 VW GTI then?This is my opinion only, but that would be a wagon to me
Bad example--that's a five door hatch.
This is the wagon:
Not to me, 5 doors is a wagon, 3 is a hatch
In reply to vwcorvette:
Agreed.
1st gen BMW M Coupe, both rwd and hatchback.
Some hatches have wipers(my BMW Ti does) others don't, Do some hatches need to have a certain slope angle to have a wiper? what gives?
Lets just say "RWD and easily accessible rear cargo area that can hold more than two suitcases" but I'm sure that opens up a whole other can of worms...
westsidetalon wrote: Some hatches have wipers(my BMW Ti does) others don't, Do some hatches need to have a certain slope angle to have a wiper? what gives?
More vertical rears pick up more dirt due to aero. Ever see a minivan on a dirt road? If the driver is smart, there's a spare rear wiper blade in there somewhere, they go through them that quickly.
aussiesmg wrote:
DeadSkunk wrote: Steve, How would you classify the 5 door version of my 1991 VW GTI then?
This is my opinion only, but that would be a wagon to me
So, the above is a wagon, and the below is not?
That red car is pure awesome. I know. I owned one.
Why yes it is
how many rwd choices do you need???
fast eddie... this just makes it tougher... the "coupe" is also a hatchback... besides the "liftback" 
The Starquest twins
I haven't read through the entire thread thoroughly, so forgive me if these have been mentioned:
In reply to fast_eddie_72:
I know that Toyota put the word liftback on the Celica, but all cars with fastback-like hatches were commonlty referred to as liftbacks as well.
I think one of the standards from Fastback to Hatchback is the amount of practicality built into the opening.
A 318ti can swallow a lot of stuff through it's hatch and with the seat folded down, was meant to carry a sizable payload that would be easy to get into and out of the car because the hatch comes all the way down to bumper level.
I would be scared to put more than groceries in the back of a corvette
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