{{short description|Type of car window}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}} thumb|right|Pivoting quarter "vent" window in a front door thumb|right|upright|Stationary quarter glass in a rear door
'''Quarter glass''' (or '''quarter light''') on automobiles and closed carriages may be a side window in the front door or located on each side of the car just forward of the rear-facing rear window of the vehicle.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ateupwithmotor.com/terms-technology-definitions/automotive-design-terms/ |title=From Pillar to Post: More Automotive Definitions |first=Aaron |last=Severson |date=15 August 2009 |website=Ate up with motor |access-date=18 April 2015}}</ref> Only some cars have them. In some cases, the fixed quarter glass may set in the corner or "C-pillar" of the vehicle. Quarter glass is also sometimes called a '''valence window'''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.getusedparts.com/auto_parts_guide/Q/ |title=Auto Parts Guide – 'Q' |website=getusedparts.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060314155214/http://www.getusedparts.com/auto_parts_guide/Q/ |year=2005 |archive-date=14 March 2006 |access-date=18 April 2015}}</ref>
This window may be set on hinges and is then also known as a '''vent window''', '''wing window''', '''wing vent window''', or a '''fly window'''. Most often found on older vehicles on the front doors, it is a small roughly triangular glass in front of and separate from the main window that rotates inward (see top right image) for ventilation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.safelite.com/windshield-auto-glass-technology/vent-window|website=Safelite.com|title=Vent Windows on Your Car: Function of Vent Windows}}</ref>
==Designs== Many early closed cars, such as the 1933 Pontiac Economy Eight had front and rear vent windows called "ventipanes" and were installed on all GM products that year. It has hinges and a latch, so it can be opened for additional ventilation. 1933 was the first year all GM vehicles were installed with optional vent windows which were initially called "No Draft Individually Controlled Ventilation" later renamed "Ventipanes" which the patent application was filed on 28 Nov. 1932. It was assigned to the Ternstedt Manufacturing Company, a GM subsidiary that manufactured components for Fisher Body.<ref name="kimes1996">{{cite book|last=Kimes|first=Beverly|title=Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805–1942 |year=1996 |pages=1217–1232 |publisher=Krause Publications |isbn=0-87341-478-0}}</ref>
Most vehicles since the 1960s have removed this feature for cleaner styling known as "ventless" windows. Some automakers continued to offer vent windows with the American Motors made AMC Pacer having optional front vent windows for increased flow-through ventilation.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L0NWAAAAMAAJ&q=AMC+Pacer+vent+windows |title=The Pacer and the Rabbit: A Tale of Two Subcompacts |journal=Michigan Living – Motor News |volume=57–58 |year=1974 |page=10 |access-date=18 April 2015}}</ref> Although the front venting windows "provide unmatched ventilation, air turbulence and leakage outweigh the benefits".<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xAEAAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22front+vents%22&pg=PA46 |page=44 |title=Intermediate sedans – big cars of the future |first1=Jim |last1=Dunne |first2=Ray |last2=Hill |journal=Popular Science |date=February 1976 |volume=208 |issue=2 |access-date=18 April 2015}}</ref> As automobile air conditioning became more popular, front window vents disappeared by the 1980s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.automoblog.com/10-old-car-features-no-more/ |title=10 Old Car Features We Desperately Miss |first=Matt |last=Winte |date=23 December 2014 |website=automoblog.net |access-date=9 September 2024}}</ref>
Lincoln vehicles in the late 1970’s and throughout the 1980’s had powered vent windows which retracted into the door, similar to a regular car window, before the main window would retract.
thumb|Retracted vent window of 1979 Lincoln Continental Town Car
The Toyota Century had vent windows that would pivot out, and were operated with a dedicated electric switch for the front and a separate vent window in the rear doors.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.autobodytoolmart.com/dent9.html |title=Glass Removal and Installation, Page 1 (Automotive Tutorials) |website=Auto body tool mart |access-date=18 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150322113825/http://www.autobodytoolmart.com/dent9.html |archive-date=22 March 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> This may be a side window between the B-pillar and the C-pillar, and in the case of US minivans between the C and D-pillars (examples include the Chrysler Town and Country power-operated venting glass).<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2LuTQ6VgCL8C&q=Chrysler+minivan+power+vent+rear+quarter+windows |pages=219 & 229 |title=AAA Autotest: New Vehicle Evaluations for 1994 |publisher=American Automobile Association |date=December 1993 |isbn=9781562510916 |access-date=18 April 2015}}</ref>
A quarter glass can be found set in the body or A-pillar ahead of the front door opening (examples include the Buick Encore, Chevrolet Lumina APV, Toyota Prius, Opel Astra J, Mitsubishi Endeavor, Fiat Grande Punto, Suzuki SX4 sedan, and the 8th-generation Honda Civic sedan). They are non-movable and mounted in the door itself because that section of the rear side glass would not be able to slide down because of the cut-out in the rear doors required to clear the rear wheel housings. The fixed portion of the glass is separated from the main window that rolls down by a slim opaque vertical bar (see top left image of a close-up of rear door).
In some automobiles the fixed quarter glass may set in the corner or "C-pillar" of the vehicle. There are also designs that incorporate two quarter windows (see bottom left image) one that is part of the door and the second mounted in the roof pillar. This arrangement may help to increase driver visibility. In this case, the quarter glass in the C-pillar would not be called an "opera window". Non-opening, fixed quarter windows are installed like windshields in that they are bonded to the body with urethane.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QuSjBAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Quarter+glass%22+venting&pg=PA121 |page=121 |title=Auto Glass Technical Training Manual |first=Walter Ray |last=Mills |location=Newnan, GA |publisher=Lulu.com |year=2011 |isbn=9781300751281 |access-date=18 April 2015}}</ref>
<gallery widths="220px" heights="200px"> File:Two quarter glass windows.jpg|Two non-movable quarter windows of a Volvo 940, one as part of door and a second mounted in the C-pillar File:Quarter glass venting Chrysler minivan.JPG|Interior view of a venting quarter glass in the rear of an American minivan between the C-pillars and the D-pillars File:Prius2004DSide.JPG|The Toyota Prius has both front and back non-venting quarter glass File:MHV MB W189 300d 1959 02.jpg|The Mercedes-Benz 300d is a rare example of a vehicle with a fully removable rear quarter window. Called a "parade limousine", removal of its final triangular pane created an unbroken expanse to the rear of the car, allowing crowds to see dignitaries seated in the back. </gallery>
==See also== * Opera window
==References== {{reflist}}
{{CarDesign nav}}
Category:Automotive styling features Category:Car windows