Pillar (car)

Pillars are the vertical or near vertical supports of a car's window area or greenhouse—designated respectively as the A, B, C or (in larger cars) D-pillar, moving from front to rear, in profile view.

Typical pillar configurations of a sedan (three box), station wagon (two box) and hatchback (two box) from the same model range.
Typical pillar configurations of a sedan (three box) and station wagon (two box) from the same model range.
Diagram of a five-door hatchback (two-box) superimposed over the station wagon (two-box) from the same model range—in this case, both with a D-pillar.

The consistent alphabetical designation of a car's pillars provides a common reference for design discussion and critical communication. As an example, rescue teams employ pillar nomenclature to facilitate communication when cutting wrecked vehicles, as when using the jaws of life.[1]

The B pillars are sometimes referred to as "posts" (two-door or four-door post sedan).[2][3][4]

Design

In the case of the B (or center) pillar on four-door sedans, the pillar is typically a closed steel structure welded at the bottom to the car's rocker panel and floorpan, as well as on the top to the roof rail or panel.[5] This pillar provides structural support for the vehicle's roof panel and is designed for latching the front door and mounting the hinges for the rear doors.[5]

As the most costly body components to develop or re-tool, a vehicle's roof and door design are a major factor in meeting safety and crash standards.[6] Some designs employ slimmer, chamfered windscreen pillars, A pillars, to help improve driver vision (thus reducing blind spots) through the use of stronger alloy steel in these components.[6] As "perhaps the most complex of all the structures on the vehicle", the center or B-pillar may be a multi-layered assembly of various lengths and strengths.[7]

Closed vehicles without a B-pillar are widely called hardtops and have been available in two or four-door body styles, in sedans, coupes and wagons.[8] Designs without a center or "B" pillar for roof support behind the front doors offer increased occupant visibility, while in turn requiring underbody strengthening to maintain structural rigidity.[9] In the early 1970s, General Motors broadened their definition of "hardtop" to include models with a B-pillar although: "up to then, everybody thought a hardtop was a car without a center pillar."[10]

Pillars are implied, whether they exist or not; where a design's greenhouse features a break between windows or doors without vertical support at that position, the non-existent pillar is "skipped" when naming the other pillars. Thus a two-door hardtop or a three box designed coupé could have its rearmost pillar called the C-pillar even in the absence of a B-pillar. Conversely additional doors, such as on limousines, will create additional B-pillars; the B-pillars are then numbered, B1, B2, and so forth.[11]

In addition to the pillar nomenclature derived from viewing an automobile in profile, some older cars have a two-part windshield or a split rear window, with the two halves separated by a pillar. Posts for quarter windows (a smaller window typically between the front window and the windshield) are not considered a named pillar.

  • A photographic typology illustrating variations of the design of the C-pillar
  • The B or center pillar between the front and rear doors on an AMC Concord station wagon
  • From left to right: A, B1, B2, and C-pillars, with small quarter glass in both doors (AMC Ambassador)
  • A Lincoln Town Car with five pillars (A, B1, B2, B3, and C)
  • A crash due in part to an A-pillar blind-spot
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See also

References
  1. Anderson, Brian G. (2005). Vehicle extrication: a practical guide. PennWell. pp. 141–143. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  2. Mueller, Mike (2015). Chevy Chevelle Fifty Years. Motorbooks. p. 26. ISBN 9780760346532. Retrieved 22 May 2016. Postwar American sedans, with two doors or four, can be recognized by the B-pillar, or “post,” located between front and rear side glass.
  3. Bedwell, Steve (2009). Holden Vs Ford: The Cars, the Culture, the Competition. Rockpool. p. 313. ISBN 9781459619906. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  4. Bongard, Tim; Coulter, Bill (2001). The cars of the king: Richard Petty. Sports Publications. p. 14. ISBN 9781582613178. Retrieved 22 May 2016. The two Pettys alternated between a 1959 Plaza two-door post sedan and a Savoy two- door hardtop.
  5. Scharff, Robert; Mullen, Keith; Corinchock, John A. (1990). Complete automotive estimating. Delmar Publishers. p. 172. ISBN 9780827335851. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  6. Kenwright, Joe (4 November 2007). "Slimmer Commodore windscreen pillars coming". Carpoint Australia. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  7. Thomas, Alfred; Jund, Michael (2013). Collision Repair and Refinishing: A Foundation Course for Technicians (Second ed.). Cengage Learning. pp. 479–480. ISBN 9781285687032. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  8. "Rambler has everything new - even a hardtop wagon". Popular Mechanics. 105 (1): 116–117. January 1956. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  9. Thomas, Alfred; Jund, Michael (2009). Collision repair and refinishing: a foundation course for technicians. Cengage Learning. p. 164. ISBN 978-1-4018-8994-4. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  10. Lund, Robert (June 1974). "Detroit Listening Post — same cars, different label". Popular Mechanics. 141 (6): 42. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  11. Ikpe, Aniekan; Orhorhoro, Ejiroghene; Gobir, Abdulsamad (2017-03-01). "Design and Reinforcement of a B-Pillar for Occupants Safety in Conventional Vehicle Applications". International Journal of Mathematical, Engineering and Management Sciences. 2: 37–52. doi:10.33889/IJMEMS.2017.2.1-004. Retrieved 2019-12-26.
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