Archive | February 2013
February 15, 2013  

Suicide Doors

Reed Brothers Dodge owned a 1928 Dodge Brothers Standard Six with rear-hinged suicide doors.

Suicide doors on Reed Brothers' 1928 Dodge Brothers Standard Six

1928 Dodge Brothers Standard Six

So why are these doors called suicide doors? Did someone commit suicide with one? What’s suicidal about a door?

The theory is that the forward motion of the car could cause the door to fly open, possibly causing the unlucky person sitting next to the door to be pulled out of the car, or the door itself could be ripped from its hinges. It’s debatable as to whether this was speculation or reality, but cars of this era did not have seat belts, so there was nothing to hold a passenger in the car.

The term “suicide doors” was therefore placed on vehicles with the rear-hinged door configuration, the theory being that anyone inside was on a suicide mission because of the design.

February 9, 2013  

Reed Brothers Can Now Be Found On “Peerless Rockville”

Peerless Rockville Website

Peerless Rockville has placed a link to “Reed Brothers Dodge History 1915-2012” blog under the Resources section of their website. Our thanks and gratitude to Peerless Rockville for sharing the link to our blog so our local historical information can be preserved and shared with future generations.

Peerless Rockville Historic Preservation, Ltd. is an award-winning nonprofit, community-based organization founded in 1974 to preserve buildings, objects, and information important to Rockville’s heritage. Please take some time to explore their official website here.