Italian designers were the first to introduce rear hatches to compact family sedans, realizing the huge benefits they had in terms of cargo capacity. Previously the style had only been seen on some exotic fastback coupes, but cars such as the Austin A40 Farina showed...
The Mini revolutionized small cars in the 1960s, so in the 1970s manufacturers battled for a slice of its market with their own interpretations of the ideal small car. Almost all kept the Mini’s front-engine layout and added a hatchback, but not all were transverse,...
Hatchbacks were the big trend of the 1970s. Within a few years almost all small cars had adopted the front-engine, front-wheel drive layout and the semi-estate body style with three or five doors to add practicality. Fold-flat rear seats provided even more versatility. The seats...
Small cars made great strides in the 1970s. Hatchback bodies were used almost universally, making little cars more useful and adaptable than they had ever been before. Many manufacturers adopted front-wheel drive, which brought with it improvements in space utilization, allowing for more passenger and...