Random thought for the day - Door handles...

[WestCoastSVX]

So I was sitting in my SVX in the parking garage a few minutes this afternoon (finishing up lunch after doing errands) and was admiring the RX-8 parked next to me. Sitting in the SVX, I was right at the level to be staring at the door handle.

The RX-8 has one of those handles that loops out, so you can grab it from either the top or bottom and put your hand all the way around it when you pull it outwards. Outwards, as opposed to UP like the SVX door handle.

I'm no physics major, but it seemed to me that on a sporty car like the RX-8, keeping the handle close in and flush like on the SVX would do that much more for aerodynamics. Maybe?

I then sat there thinking how almost every new car on the road now has these type of handles. It seems that as any new changeover happens in a current model in the last 4 or 5 years, they get the new pull out handles. I think at this point the more flush pull up handles are in the minority on any new vehicles. I walked back to the office through the garage and confirmed this - I could not spot one car or truck built in the last 3 years that didn't have the looped door handles.

I remember these started back in the late 80's/early 90's with Mercedes and the like, and like everything else they have trickled down through the luxury to mid-luxury brands, and now everything has them.

Why? Is there like only one door handle manufacturer that all car companies order their parts from? The pull up "flush" handles on the SVX give it a "dated" 80's look next to a newer car, but wouldn't they be more aerodynamic? Even if only over 100mph? I think back to the XT, that took it a step further and had the spring-loaded bottom section on the flush door handles so that when not in use, there was no gap or indent anywhere in the door surface. The type of handles used on aircraft.

For decades, a big thing in the custom hot rod (and by hot rod I mean classics/muscle cars) world has been "shaving" the handles and totally eliminating them. Is the current trend that a more prominent "carriage" type handle that pulls out is cool looking?

I don't really have an opinion either way, I don't think either handle type is ugly or anything. Just a random observation and one of those little details that not everyone notices or thinks about. Or writes several paragraphs about.

[NikFu S.]

It makes little to no difference. It's just convenience. I personally would prefer pop out handles to the SVX handles, and especially over the XT6. Those got iced over real easy.

[Evil One]

I had a 1969 Grand Prix that had VERY cool door handles for the day.
They were flush mount except for a bump at the rear... you pushed the bump with your thumb and the handle pivoted out for you to grab and pull.
Not bad for almost 40 year old GM.
http://www.azpartsandcars.com/pics/6...oorhandles.jpg


Jim

[crazyhorse]

+1 for the XT handles icing over! Though I've seen them transplanted onto a '69 Firebird.

I hate the handles on the 90's GM coupes (Beretta GrandPrix ETC) The passenger side is not easy to use! You have to twist your wrist to open it with your right hand.

The best handles are the older V-Dub/Audi units. Grab, squeeze, pull.

[Crazy_pilot]

I haven't had my SVX for a winter yet, but my Taurus has the same style handles as the SVX. If we had freezing rain the doors would freeze shut and it was very difficult to get any leverage on the handle. I was worried about breaking it sometimes. The Foresters have the loop handles, which have much beter leverage and feel much more secure (not like they will break off if I pull too hard).

[Ron Mummert]

Ah, yes, doorhandles. I remember the first pushbutton device with a fixed handle appeared on the '49 Ford. Ooos & aaaahs were everywhere when drooling over this space-aged feature. Subsequently, dam' near everything hailing from Detroit copied this design for decades. Yeah, the button would would freeze up, but the ubiquitous Zippo provided a quick thaw, & wouldn't mar the chrome.
Just about every style fad that one maker draws attention with WILL be copied by the rest. Even the Henry J had to have tail fins.
'53 GM "dream" cars flashed the wraparound, knee scraping windshield. By '55 just about anything on rubber wheels had "funny" windshields.
Today it's the chrystal chandolier headlights, rhinestone tailights, & the forward leaning sweepspear body crease. Why, once upon a time cars actually had "bumpers" that if in use today would actually protect both ends of a car from that harried housewife in her Escalade yakking on her cellphone from smooshing that $2,000 piece of "styling" inherent on everything on the road today. Oops...this is turning into a rant.
Style always reigns over logic, ladies & gentlemen.

Amen, Ron.

[It's Just Eric]

the xt's door handles are pretty cool.

You know what door handles bother the ever loving snot out of me? The ones on the nissan 350z. I wouldnt buy the car based souly on the doorhandles. The whole car is all swoopy and curvy(By today's standards, anyway) and here you have this big, ugly, painted silver brick perched VERTICALLY on the end of the door. inconvienient for left handers or passengers, and a massive distraction from the car's overall styling (Particularly if the car is any color other than silver)

Mini coopers have cool grab n squeeze style handles. My cadillac had mounted hoops with push buttons. I hate the 01+ ford explorer's doorhandles, they are too chunky...not very ergonomically designed. Plus they are cheap plastic, which makes nothing but bad thoughts of snapping on a frosty morning.Thinking particurlarly about the newish chevy silverado, and other GM trucks, who have a similar design, but are mounted to more plastic, and aren't as tonka trucky as the ford's

Actually, I lied. I hate every handle, controll, or other thing you genrally touch with your hands, fingers, feet, or body on the 01+ ford explorers...They tried to make the truck look like robocop's insides, but ended up with a cheap, hard to grab set of controlls, levers, buttons, ect. but enough about that, this is specificaly about doorhandles

I genrally dont like loop style door handles that are in fact levers. I prefer them mounted solid with a seperate button for latch operation.The 80's up to about now had lift up style handles, which really just blended into the body...hardly noticble. In this age of excessive flashyness, and ornate chrome fixtures in evry not-painted orofice of the automobile (thinking particularly about tail lights) , door handles that stick out are cool, only because they can be chromed, and keep a "clean" look

those 69 grand prix handles are freakin cool.

[ensteele]

Ah yes, I remember Handles! That is a nice thought for the day. I haven't thought of her in years, but she was in my High School Biology class. She did have very nice curvy handles. I would tell you how she got her nickname, but that is another story.

[Turbone]

Originally Posted by ensteele

Ah yes, I remember Handles! That is a nice thought for the day. I haven't thought of her in years, but she was in my High School Biology class. She did have very nice curvy handles. I would tell you how she got her nickname, but that is another story.

Earl, I think I know her sister

Back in the day, door handles had 2 purposes.
One to operate the latch mechanism and the other was to aid in opening the door. Modern technology loves to incorporate things, so they came up with door handles that serve 2 purposes at the same time. And not always with the best results, engineering wise.
Maybe the newer gen engineers have figured it out and now give the door operater something significant to pull the door open with. Like Nick and Paul said, when things freeze up, its a bear to open the door. My XT6 was frozen to the rubber door seals and pulling on the door handle gave me a very uncomfortable feeling. Like I was going to break the sucker. Actually, I have a couple of XT doors that I pulled the handles off of for XT members(that broke thiers) and I found that everyone of them had cracks.
So the XT gets my vote for the worse designed door handle.....but also the coolest and most co-efficient.

Ron, when you mentioned the Zippo and pushbutton handle, I immediately flashedback to the when I got a exact copy of the button melted to my thumb one frozen morning from a 68 Opel I owned

[Ron Mummert]

Originally Posted by ensteele

Ah yes, I remember Handles! That is a nice thought for the day. I haven't thought of her in years, but she was in my High School Biology class. She did have very nice curvy handles. I would tell you how she got her nickname, but that is another story.

I think you've confused handles for knobs, Earl.

Handles are what your belt must fight to keep your pants up.

Ron.

[Hondasucks]

I like the handles on my Polara, and my truck (I think Chrysler must have had a two billion unit contract with the door handle manufacturer, since it seems like damn near every mopar from the sixties up to the early 90s vans/trucks had the same stinkin door handles...) where you have the fixed handle with the pushbutton to open the door.

Coolest handles I've seen: my buddy's GF used to have a 510 with shaved handles, and you waved a magnet over a certain spot on the driver's door and a solenoid popped the door open. I'm waitin for cars with a touch pad on the door that opens it.. Toyota is pretty close with their "smart key" system on the Prius and some of the higher end Camrys and Avalons, you just have to have the fob with you, and you touch the door handle and it unlocks (You still have to pull the handle to open the door though) and there is a black square on the door handle itself that you push when you close the door to lock it. Kinda nice since you don't have to fumble for your keys and such. (There is a mechanical key in the fob in case the remote's battery dies, although I don't know what you do beyond that on the Avalon and Camry, but the Prius has a slot in the dash you can stick the remote doohickey in)