Tonneau

÷1910 Buick side-entrance tonneau without tonneau cover

1903 Sunbeam rear-entrance tonneau

A tonneau was originally an open rear passenger compartment, rounded like a barrel,^[2] on an automobile and, by extension, a body style incorporating such a compartment. The word is French, meaning 'cask' or barrel, cf. “tun”.^[3]

Rear entrance tonneau

Early tonneaus normally had a rear-facing hinged door, but single and dual side doors were soon introduced.

When the street was muddy or dirty, the car could be backed up to the curb so tonneau passengers could exit directly onto the sidewalk.

Discover more about Origin related topics

Buick

Buick

Buick is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General Motors in 1908. Before the establishment of General Motors, GM founder William C. Durant had served as Buick's general manager and major investor.

Sunbeam Motor Car Company

Sunbeam Motor Car Company

Sunbeam Motor Car Company Limited was a British automobile manufacturer with its works at Moorfields in Blakenhall, a suburb of Wolverhampton in Staffordshire, now West Midlands. Its Sunbeam name had been registered by John Marston in 1888 for his bicycle manufacturing business. Sunbeam motor car manufacture began in 1901. The motor business was sold to a newly incorporated Sunbeam Motor Car Company Limited in 1905 to separate it from Marston's pedal bicycle business; Sunbeam motorcycles were not made until 1912.

Car body style

Car body style

There are many types of car body styles. They vary depending on intended use, market position, location, and the era they were made in.

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The first Australian ute (vehicle) was a 1934 Ford Coupe Utility. It included a tonneau.

Tonneau covers^[4] are used in coupé utility cars and pickup trucks to cover and secure the cargo tray and come in a variety of styles. Mainly they are categorized by material Soft or Hard covers. Soft covers can be rollup or folding and Hard covers are rollup, folding or one piece.

The most common style is the roll-up tonneau made from cloth or vinyl, which uses a rib-like structure to support the fabric and keep it taut. A snap-based system is also used, but has become less common due to truck owners not wanting to install the snaps on their vehicle as they typically require drilling or permanent adhesive.^[5] Roll-up tonneaus are opened by rolling the cover up toward the cab of the truck. Hard roll-up tonneau covers are more firm than regular roll-up tonneau covers.^[6] They are made of a wall of individual aluminum slats, covered with soft vinyl. In the unrolled position, these aluminium slats form a hard aluminium shell, which not only covers the cargo inside the bed, but also may support loads up 400 pounds on top of it.

Another style of truck bed tonneau cover is a retractable unit, which is mounted at the front and sides of the bed and rolls up or retracts from the tailgate towards the cab. The retractable tonneau is typically made of vinyl, plastic or aluminium. Retractable tonneaus are more secure than soft tonneau covers, since they usually lock and are made from a harder composition, but they take more time to install and are designed for semi-permanent installation. ^[7][8] Fiberglass, hard plastic, or aluminium tonneau covers are also common. Some may be painted to match the truck, are solid in construction, and can be locked. These covers are usually heavy and require gas struts to assist in opening and closing. They operate much like a vehicle's hood, typically opening from the tailgate end of the bed (back to front). Some have multiple compartments that open front to back, back to front, side to side, or even rise vertically. Fiberglass, hard plastic, or aluminium tonneau covers are sometimes installed as a factory option on new vehicles. ^[9]

Many sellers claim that tonneau covers improve gas mileage because they make the truck more streamlined. However, air currents create a wake inside the pickup bed, which helps the aerodynamics. ^[10]A tonneau cover interferes with this wake, and scientific tests have shown little to no improvement in mileage by using a tonneau cover traveling at less than 70 mph (110 km/h). A similar effect is seen when the tailgate is down and the mileage goes down.^[11][12]

Early open-bodied touring-type automobiles used tonneau covers to protect unoccupied rear seats. As early as the 1930s, lakes racers, searching for an extra competitive edge, imitated early automobile construction and skinned the cockpits of their roadsters and streamliners with removable canvas. The skins covered gaping cockpits that would otherwise disturb airflow and create undue drag; as a result, tonneau-equipped cars ultimately went faster with a given amount of power.^[13]

Tonneau cover on an MGA

Tonneau covers are available for open sports cars such as the Porsche Boxster, MG, Triumph, and Austin-Healey.^[14] These covers, often made of natural or artificial leather, cover the entire passenger compartment, and are zippered so the driver's seat can be uncovered while the rest of the interior remains covered.^[15][16] Tonneau covers may be used in lieu of hard or soft convertible tops.

Discover more about Sports cars related topics

MG MGA

MG MGA

The MGA is a sports car that was produced by MG from 1955 until 1962.

MG Cars

MG Cars

MG is a British automotive marque founded by Cecil Kimber in the 1920s, and M.G. Car Company Limited was the British sports car manufacturer that made the marque famous. Best known for its open two-seater sports cars, MG also produced saloons and coupés, with engines up to three litres in size and 3.5L in the case of the MGB GT V8. The marque is now owned by Chinese state-owned automaker SAIC Motor Corporation Limited.

Triumph Motor Company

Triumph Motor Company

The Triumph Motor Company was a British car and motor manufacturing company in the 19th and 20th centuries. The marque had its origins in 1885 when Siegfried Bettmann of Nuremberg formed S. Bettmann & Co. and started importing bicycles from Europe and selling them under his own trade name in London. The trade name became "Triumph" the following year, and in 1887 Bettmann was joined by a partner, Moritz Schulte, also from Germany. In 1889, the businessmen started producing their own bicycles in Coventry, England.

Austin-Healey

Austin-Healey

Austin-Healey was a British sports car maker established in 1952 through a joint venture between the Austin division of the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and the Donald Healey Motor Company (Healey), a renowned automotive engineering and design firm. Leonard Lord represented BMC and Donald Healey his firm.

Artificial leather

Artificial leather

Artificial leather, also called synthetic leather, is a material intended to substitute for leather in upholstery, clothing, footwear, and other uses where a leather-like finish is desired but the actual material is cost prohibitive or unsuitable, or for ethical concerns. Artificial leather is known under many names, including leatherette, imitation leather, faux leather, vegan leather, PU leather, and pleather.

Tonneau case is used to describe a type of watch case, with rounded, bulging sides resembling a barrel (or cask).

A mid-20th century tonneau watch by Helbros