One of the reasons to drive classic conveyances is because of the winning view. Before every car had to survive the gnashing jaws of the NHTSA roof-crushing test robot, even coupes afforded a view not offered in modern cars. One cause of the diminishing vista is the growing width of pillars--the uprights support the roof and visually separate doors and/or windows.
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Pillars are categorized by location in alphabetical order from front to rear. The A-pillar stands between the front window and side glass, the B-pillar in the middle, the C-pillar just ahead of the rear glass, and so on. Cars with a D-pillar might be wagons or hatchbacks. A limousine can extend the alphabet. A hardtop coupe usually eschews the B-pillar, though it is still counted in its absence, so a coupe without a B-pillar still has an A- and C-pillar.
Closed coupes and sedans were out of reach for most during the early days of automobile production, due to price. It was less expensive for a manufacturer to produce an open car than one with a closed roof, as the pillars and roof simply cost more. Owners wanting a roof over their heads built their own out of wood and canvas, or purchased a ready-made version with isinglass see-through portholes or panels.
As costs narrowed between the two types of machines, people could choose designs based on utility and style. Beyond the obvious leak-free and quieter interior of an all-steel roof with glass windows was the benefit of strength. Flipping a coupe or sedan with a steel roof onto its top was likely more survivable than the same mishap in an open roadster with a wood and canvas roof.
Pillarless cars of the future featured unencumbered bubble-top designs that were presumably strong enough to protect the occupants' noggins as they hurtled down the highway of tomorrow at breakneck velocity. The problem was these clear-top cars were road-going versions of a garden greenhouse, better suited for growing tomatoes than for the effortless travel of tomorrow. Pillars, as it turns out, were the future.
Federal safety standards influenced automotive styling in the 1970s. Pillars became stronger (and bulkier) to meet rollover standards. Today, pillars house airbag mechanisms. C-pillars have become so wide and encompassing that rear-view cameras are becoming the norm. Even window glass is a structural component. Glass, steel, and space-age adhesive work together as a composite structure.
Automobiles are safer than they have ever been, but style that featured impossibly thin A-pillars and wraparound front glass has given way to a clear case of form following function. Even if the A-pillar on some modern machines is about as wide as the D-pillar on this Saab 95 wagon, the basic ABC placement of pillars stands to define what sort of car is under the roof.
This article originally appeared in the September, 2013 issue of Hemmings Motor News.
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