I'm a tall, skinny guy. 6'3" and 180lbs. Because of this, I tend to prefer coupes to equivalent sedans for the sake of comfort. I was recently thinking about the couple MkII Supras I've had over the years, and how I loved the big liftback storage area combined with the room to stretch out. That got me thinking: what ever happened to the big liftback coupes that used to be everywhere? Almost everything has gone to a traditional trunk.
In the 80's you had the Supra, 300ZX, RX7, Starion, GM F-bodies and even the Fox Mustang with liftbacks. Heading into the 90's most of these cars went out of production, leaving the smaller Celica alongside cars like the MX-6 and Probe, which both died before the decade was over. Heading into the 2000's Saab was pretty much the only company offering such a thing except for the final Celica and Tiburon, and both stopped production by the middle of the decade. The only car I can think of that currently fits the larger liftback coupe mold is the Genesis Coupe (edit: this is not true, Gen Coupe actually has a regular trunk 
)
Am I forgetting something, or are liftback coupes all but dead?
T.J.
PowerDork
1/14/15 9:56 a.m.
Is a liftback coupe a hatchback?
Technically, the Corvette qualifies.
The BMW Gran Coupe has 4 doors, but is called a coupe.
Not sure if the Mazda Coupe is a liftback or not. Or if it is real or not.
The Beetle kinda qualifies.
pinchvalve wrote:
Not sure if the Mazda Coupe is a liftback or not. Or if it is real or not.
I don't think that's real, but it needs to be.
How soon before Comstock's head explodes?
First of all, I was wrong; the Genesis Coupe does NOT have a liftback. Also, I don't care what you define as a hatchback, but for the sake of this thread, THIS is what I refer to:
NOT this:
Even tradtional trunk openings have shrunk. Several non-car people in my life have commented on this in the past five years. I suspect it has a lot to do with engineers increasing unibody stiffness.
The Scion TC and FRS should both qualify, too.
the driver's side of a velostar?
Btw, I completely agree with SlickDizzy's definitions.
Looks like the are options out there, you even can decide between two and four seats.
So the difference is the angle of the rear glass? Do we have a specific angle that converts from a hatchback to a "liftback coupe"? Or is it like the classic pornography definition, you know it when you see it?
In reply to Keith Tanner:
See T.J's post above. I will resist the urge. If you really want my opinion search for that thread 
I'm primarily trying to think of something Grassroots-y and on the larger, less hardcore side. FRS/BRZ fits the definition but is a bit small and hardcore. The BMW Gran Coupes are stupid expensive and kind of silly for what they are. I just wish there was a modern equivalent of the MX-6, really. A Mazda 6 coupe would basically be exactly what I want. Even the Genesis would be great if it didn't have a regular trunk.
MadScientistMatt wrote:
The Scion TC and FRS should both qualify, too.
The TC is a liftback but the FRS has a traditional trunk...glass not included.
In reply to Keith Tanner:
I think the difference is pretty simple; park a Supra and a GTI next to each other and tell me which is a liftback coupe and which is a two-box hatchback.
At the end of the day, though, the exterior distinction isn't as important to me as the design intent and resulting seating position. In most hot-hatches, you have a much more upright and cramped seating position, versus a sports coupe where you can sit in a much more relaxed fashion with your legs stretched out. I like liftback coupes because I get that seating position with the added practicality of a liftback/hatchback. See what I'm getting at? Again, I'm 6'3", with a 34" inseam. I drive a Focus right now and wish I could keep the hatchback function but sit lower and stretch out a bit in something with a longer wheelbase, which is what got me thinking...
Having owned many SAABs, I can vouch for the versatility of hatchback/liftback sedans and coupes. I was a big mistake when GM / SAAB dropped the hatchback body style completely from their line. I would gladly trade a bit of body stiffness for a more useful back end. In SAABs case, it wasn't like the 9000 or c900 were floppy chassis to start with.
T.J.
PowerDork
1/14/15 11:34 a.m.
In reply to Nick_Comstock:
Rupert
HalfDork
1/14/15 11:43 a.m.
In reply to T.J.: Ok, no discussion of hatchback versus liftback. How do you feel about roadsters versus convertibles?
