Most cars have bolt on fenders making replacement quite simple and relatively cheap. If only door and quarter panels were like that too. Just learned that my Jetta and many VW's do have bolt on door panels. Any other cars like that? Saturn if I recall.
More cars should have bolt on door skins.
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IIRC, Saturn was the first to use this design.
My smart car was the same. You could change the colour of the car in about an hour.
Came here to say this.. Plastic even..
I'd suspect that a bolt-on skin would be weaker in an accident, requiring more metal in the structure of the door to provide the same protection.
Or it's a production thing.
Or it's just cheaper.
Any of those or a combination is probably why you don't see more bolt-on panels.
Or it's a production thing.
Or it's just cheaper.
Any of those or a combination is probably why you don't see more bolt-on panels.
Pontiac Fiero and BMW Z1 both predate it. Color changes via panel swapping was touted as a feature of the latter.
The "Dustbuster" GM minivans concurrent with the Saturns had similar construction.
There are probably even earlier examples, but my memory isn't what it used to be.
The 1950s–1982 Checker Marathon. The fenders front and rear all bolted on for ease of repair (don't know about the door skins). These cars were built for serious taxi service and designed to be easy to return to service.
The Harlequin models are the weirdest thing to me. Pay extra for most people to just think you're driving a wrecked beater lol. I saw one before I knew they were a thing and that's all I really thought about it. Not sure about new price but these things go for like $10-15k plus while the same car with a normal paintjob can be found sub $2k all day long
even america got the golf version
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The outer skin really does not add to the structural integrity of the vehicle.
Also, bolt on outer door panels make working inside the door (window regulators, door latch) much easier. Did a door latch on an i3, easy peasy.
How about the one piece rear quarter panel bumper cover and rear ends on the 1984 through 1996 Corvettes? You wreck the car in the rear end and it’s all one piece. Bolt ons would have been much better.
The fit/finish would be horrific.
The next time you see a sub-$2k MK3 that isn't commandment wrecked you PM me.
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