Is the 135i a sedan?

[Esteban]

Understanding BMW naming conventions

Notice the 2 door models are called coupes or convertibles and the 4 door models are called sedans, unless the 4 door is a 4 door version of a coupe, then its called a Gran Coupe.

Honestly, it doesn't matter what's said in this thread. It may not be as sleek or have a sloping roofline like some other coupes, but my 135i has 2 doors, framless windows, and a trunk. And that's my definition of a coupe.

Everybody else can call theirs whatever they want. lol

[duder13]

Originally Posted by Esteban

Understanding BMW naming conventions

Notice the 2 door models are called coupes or convertibles and the 4 door models are called sedans, unless the 4 door is a 4 door version of a coupe, then its called a Gran Coupe.

Honestly, it doesn't matter what's said in this thread. It may not be as sleek or have a sloping roofline like some other coupes, but my 135i has 2 doors, framless windows, and a trunk. And that's my definition of a coupe.

Everybody else can call theirs whatever they want. lol

Yeah, those are the current conventions, and we do know the E82 was considered to be a coupe by BMW. I was just wondering when and why BMW simplified their nomenclature, because that definitely wasn't the case in the past, at least as far back as the E30. The two-door E36 looks like it was the first 3 series "coupe," and it was also the first with frameless windows, so you're probable onto something there with BMW, although other companies do make frameless window sedans:





The different perspectives here are interesting. Coming from smaller coupes and needing more space, I naturally considered the E82, like the 2002, to be a tiny sports sedan.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by duder13

The different perspectives here are interesting. Coming from smaller coupes and needing more space, I naturally considered the E82, like the 2002, to be a tiny sports sedan.

Not really too many different perspectives on the E82. Most people here think it's a coupe. Not trying to disagree just for the sake of disagreeing, just went through this thread and that's what I noticed.

[Esteban]

Maybe you should start a poll.

[duder13]

Originally Posted by Esteban

Not really too many different perspectives on the E82. Most people here think it's a coupe. Not trying to disagree just for the sake of disagreeing, just went through this thread and that's what I noticed.

What I'm finding is that people don't agree on what makes a coupe. Somewhere along the line, the traditional coupe/sedan definitions got traded for the simpler 2-door/4-door distinction, so I guess that's why people are having a hard time with the recent trend in 4-door coupes from the likes of BMW and Mercedes. Maybe BMW will also go back to their old definition of sedan/coupe and bring some 2-door sports sedans again...probably not.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by duder13

What I'm finding is that people don't agree on what makes a coupe. Somewhere along the line, the traditional coupe/sedan definitions got traded for the simpler 2-door/4-door distinction, so I guess that's why people are having a hard time with the recent trend in 4-door coupes from the likes of BMW and Mercedes. Maybe BMW will also go back to their old definition of sedan/coupe and bring some 2-door sports sedans again...probably not.

Have to disagree again. Most people, at least here in this thread, agree that a coupe has 2 doors and a trunk. Except for maybe the pizza comment.

[Tommm]

Originally Posted by Esteban

Also, in the VIN decoder, notice the chassis is called a coupe.

And my E39 540 6M was called a limosine on the VIN decoder

Originally Posted by Esteban

Everybody else can call theirs whatever they want. lol

Then mine is called a 128i Mildred.

Bottom line is Caddy had it right for decades. Coupe de Ville and Sedan de Ville.

There used to be another class. The four door with no B pilar.

WE CANNOT CALL OUR CARS SEDANS. THERE IS NO DISCUSSION ON THIS. IF WE DO, THE POWERS THAT BE WILL HAVE TO CHANGE THE NAME OF THIS FORUM TO SEDAN AND CONVERTIBLE DISCUSSION FORUM. WE DONT WANT TO POKE THE SLEEPING DOG!

[duder13]

Originally Posted by Esteban

Have to disagree again. Most people, at least here in this thread, think a coupe has 2 doors and a trunk. Except for maybe the pizza comment.

I don't know. There were a few qualifiers: no pizza window???, frameless windows, tight backseat.

Fun fact: The standard two-door, rear-engined VW Beetle made for decades? Volkswagen always considered it a sedan.


p.s. I hope none of this is coming off as too argumentative. I just love talking and debating nerdy car stuff like this.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by duder13

I don't know. There were a few qualifiers: no pizza window???, frameless windows, tight backseat.

Fun fact: The standard two-door, rear-engined beetle made for decades? Volkswagen always considered it a sedan.

I had one of those. A '68 Beetle (AKA Bug). My first car. Lots of fun. I think VW was saving "coupe" for the Karmann Ghia (AKA Cockroach, at least where I came from).

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by Tommm

Bottom line is Caddy had it right for decades. Coupe de Ville and Sedan de Ville.

Yep, you can't argue with that, it's right there in the name.

[duder13]

Originally Posted by Esteban

I had one of those. A '68 Beetle (AKA Bug). My first car. Lots of fun. I think VW was saving "coupe" for the Karmann Ghia (AKA Cockroach, at least where I came from).

Exactly right about the Karmann Ghia. Interestingly, the Bug is one of the few two-doors I think of where the roof keeps rising after the driver seat, along with the E82...but don't worry, I won't start a thread asking if the 135i is a Beetle.

[mackeroni]

I guess a 'coupe' is like porn. Hard to define exactly, but I know it when I see it.

Peace... Mack

[bobdavisnpf]

Coupe is French for "cut" so I think of any "cut sedan" as a coupe. On a modern car, this typically means - to me - cutting the back: less rear-seat headroom, sloped back window area, shorter rear end (reducing trunk and/or rear seat room).

de Ville is French for "of the city" so I think of "Coupe de Ville" as any "city car" that's been cut. On early cars, that meant cutting the front: no roof over the driver & mechanic seats, leaving the passengers covered behind them. This "cut" seems to have phased out around 1940, although the term perhaps did not.

[mackeroni]

Originally Posted by bobdavisnpf

Coupe is French for "cut" so I think of any "cut sedan" as a coupe. On a modern car, this typically means - to me - cutting the back: less rear-seat headroom, sloped back window area, shorter rear end (reducing trunk and/or rear seat room).

de Ville is French for "of the city" so I think of "Coupe de Ville" as any "city car" that's been cut. On early cars, that meant cutting the front: no roof over the driver & mechanic seats, leaving the passengers covered behind them. This "cut" seems to have phased out around 1940, although the term perhaps did not.

Did you just make this up? Je ne sais pas les coupes, mais je comprends les tomates. Alors, la tow-may'-tow est la meme que la tow-mah'-tow.

Paix… Mack

[blue135]

All one can do is laugh! Well done. Mack.

[dtla1]

Originally Posted by 1and1

It's totally a coupe, not a sedan.

And for those of you who insist we have a "useable back seat", well, my son sat back there for almost 30 seconds then threatened to call Children's Services, he call's it a fancy leather covered parcel shelf. A backseat in name only, useful for insurance purposes more than anything else.

Y'alls friends must be oompa-loompa sized...

6' 2", close to 300lbs here. I've sat in the backseat for at least an hour, probably more and I was fine.

The 135i is a sedan and my insurance knows nothing else.

[1and1]

Originally Posted by dtla1

6' 2", close to 300lbs here. I've sat in the backseat for at least an hour, probably more and I was fine.

The 135i is a sedan and my insurance knows nothing else.

With the front seat almost all the way forward, sure. You can do that if the oompla loompa is in the front seat....

[dtla1]

Originally Posted by 1and1

With the front seat almost all the way forward, sure. You can do that if the oompla loompa is in the front seat....

5'6" person in the front seat. How tall are oompa loompas?

[1and1]

Well, 5'2" wife in the front, 6'2" son in the back, and neither were happy. Enough so that they didn't even want to try the other way around...

No worries, the drivers seat is always comfy, and that's the only one I really care about

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by dtla1

How tall are oompa loompas?

At four feet, four inches tall, he has often been cast as diminutive characters, such as the Oompa-Loompas in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Keenser in Star Trek and subsequent films ("Kelvin Timeline"), and in television series such as The X-Files, Doctor Who and Eastbound & Down.

Deep Roy

[mackeroni]

Originally Posted by dtla1

6' 2", close to 300lbs here. I've sat in the backseat for at least an hour, probably more and I was fine.

The 135i is a sedan and my insurance knows nothing else.

It doesn't count if you remove the front seat and drive the car from the back seat.

Peace... Mack

[Gray_Panther]

Ignorance is bliss.
E82 is a coupé.
But maybe I will tell Geico my 1er is an SUV to get that haircut on my premium like someone else stated.