Editing Coupe (section)

== History ==
The early coupé automobile's passenger compartment followed in general conception the design of horse-drawn coupés,{{sfn|Haajanen|2017|pp=52–53, 57}} with the driver in the open at the front and an enclosure behind him for two passengers on one [[bench seat]].{{Sfn|Haajanen|2003|p=51}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Clough |first=Albert L. |title=A dictionary of automobile terms |year=1913 |publisher=The Horseless Age |page=89 |url= https://archive.org/stream/adictionaryauto00clougoog#page/n93/mode/1up |access-date=17 May 2015}}</ref> The French variant for this word thus denoted a car with a small passenger compartment.{{sfn|Haajanen|2017|pp=52–53, 57}}

By the 1910s, the term had evolved to denote a two-door car with the driver and up to two passengers in an enclosure with a single bench seat.{{Sfn|Clough|1913|p=89}}<ref name="NYT1916_08SAEbodies" /> The [[coupé de ville]], or coupé chauffeur, was an exception, retaining the open driver's section at front.{{Sfn|Haajanen|2003|pp=51, 55-56}}

In 1916, the [[SAE International|Society of Automobile Engineers]] suggested nomenclature for car bodies that included the following:<ref name="NYT1916_08SAEbodies">{{cite news| title=What's What in Automobile Bodies Officially Determined |url = https://www.nytimes.com/1916/08/20/archives/whats-what-in-automobile-bodies-officially-determined.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=20 August 1916 |quote=Here it is, with other body types and distinctions, officially determined recently by the Nomenclature Division of the Society of Automobile Engineers |access-date=22 April 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Forbes |first=Kingston |title=The Principles of Automobile Body Design: covering the fundamentals of open and closed passenger body design |year=1922 |publisher=Ware Bros. |page= [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_oqU7AAAAMAAJ/page/n235 238] |url= https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_oqU7AAAAMAAJ |access-date=22 April 2015}}</ref>
{{Blockquote|text=Coupe: An enclosed car operated from the inside with seats for two or three and sometimes a backward-facing fourth seat.

Coupelet: A small car seating two or three with a folding top and full height doors with fully retractable windows.

Convertible coupe: A [[Roadster (automobile)|roadster]] with a removable coupe roof.}}

During the 20th century, the term coupé was applied to various close-coupled cars (where the rear seat is located further forward than usual and the front seat further back than usual).{{Sfn|Clough|1913|p=33}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Beattie |first=Ian |title=The Complete Book of Automobile Body Design|year= 1977 |publisher=Haynes Publishing Group |location=Yeovil, UK|isbn= 0854292179|page= 17}}</ref>

Since the 1960s the term ''coupé'' has generally referred to a two-door car with a fixed roof.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sedan vs. Coupe: What's the Difference? |url= https://www.carmax.com/articles/sedan-vs-coupe |website=carmax.com |access-date=14 April 2018}}</ref>

Since 2005, several models with four doors have been marketed as "four-door coupés", however, reactions are mixed about whether these models are actually sedans instead of coupés.<ref>{{cite web|title=Car Review: 2005 Mercedes-Benz CLS 500|url=http://driving.ca/mercedes-benz/cls-class/reviews/road-test/road-test-2005-mercedes-benz-cls-500-2|website=driving.ca|access-date=14 April 2018|archive-date=14 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180414233819/http://driving.ca/mercedes-benz/cls-class/reviews/road-test/road-test-2005-mercedes-benz-cls-500-2|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=2018 Mercedes-Benz CLS Class Review |url= https://www.thecarconnection.com/overview/mercedes-benz_cls-class_2018 |website=thecarconnection.com|access-date=14 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=2005 Mercedes-Benz CLS 500 - First Look|url=http://www.superstreetonline.com/cars/new-car-reviews/epcp-0503-2005-mercedes-benz-cls-500/|website=superstre etonline.com|date=16 March 2005|access-date=14 April 2018|archive-date=13 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613123535/http://www.superstreetonline.com/cars/new-car-reviews/epcp-0503-2005-mercedes-benz-cls-500/|url-status=dead}}</ref> According to [[Edmunds (company)|Edmunds]], an American automotive guide, "the four-door coupe category doesn't really exist."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Montoya |first1=Ronald |title=Defining Vehicle Types |url= https://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/defining-vehicle-types.html |work=Edmunds |date=28 May 2013 |access-date=14 July 2018}}</ref>