Chrysler's "Club Coupe" was a 6-passenger coupe with a front and rear seat.
The passenger area was smaller, or as it was referred to by custom body
builders in the custom era, "close coupled". The Club Coupe also had a
larger trunk than the sedan. A Club Coupe was offered in the Custom
Imperial series in 1951 and 1952. Another common name for the Club Coupe
in the 1930's was "Victoria Coupe".
A business coupe had just the front seat. Those coupes with no room for a
back seat had an extra large trunk. That style was also used for the
rumbleseat coupes, putting a folding seat where the trunk was.
In 1940 Chrysler offered a business coupe with a small area behind the seat
for parcels, etc. Another version of that body style offered two jump
seats to make a 5-passenger coupe, the successor to the rumbleseat coupe and
the predecessor to the Club Coupe.
Of course Chrysler decided to muddy the body classifications by referring to
the 2-door hardtop as s "Special Club Coupe". And when the 4-door hardtop
came out in 1956 it was referred to as a "Special Sedan".
When the coupe body style faded from view in the early 1950's many
manufacturers offered a "Business Sedan" - a 2-door sedan with no back seat.
Instead there was a flat platform that was used to store whatever needed to
be hauled around.
The problem with trying to define various names, styles, etc. is that each
manufacturer used the various terms in different ways. Chevrolet offered
fastback sedans in 1949-52 that they called Fleetline sedans. GM of Canada
used the same bodies on their line of Chevolet-based Pontiacs and called
them Sedan Coupes. And in the 1960's, particularly with the arrival of the
pony car, hardtops began to be called coupes.
Bill
Vancouver BC
----- Original Message -----
From: "M Turner" <tminjesu@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2004 7:15 PM
Subject: Re: IML: Fw: Hardtop V. Sedan & More Coupes
> My mom and dad had a 1951 or '52 Chrysler Club Coupe. My dad and I had to
> put new head gaskets on the bloody thing in the middle of winter when I
was
> about 14! (We owned a small farm in Maryland.) It had a full seat in the
> back and Fluid Drive.
> Vince in Boston
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <RandalPark@xxxxxxx>
> To: <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2004 9:29 PM
> Subject: Re: IML: Fw: Hardtop V. Sedan & More Coupes
>
>
> > I think that is called a Business Coupe. Other Coupes that held more
> people were called Club Coupes. I think that a '51 or '52 Imperial Two
Door
> Sedan may have been called a Club Coupe. The only ones of those that I
have
> EVER seen as an Imperial were in the sales brochure. I have seen examples
of
> these in Chryslers and Desotos.
> >
> > Paul
> >
> > In a message dated 7/13/2004 2:29:50 PM Eastern Daylight Time, Jim
> <jbrown62@xxxxxxxxx> writes:
> >
> > >I think a "coupe" was originally an enclosed car
> > >with 2 doors and 1 seat.
> > >
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