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http://www.disappearing-car-door.com/

I like em!

Yeah, IMO this is the first TRUE innovation to hit car design since 'crumple zones'. At least on the structural end of things.

Dunno, but I'm sure the design includes (or will include when these get released for consumers) a nice safety switch that allows the mechanism to move freely by hand. For extreme situations such as auto accidents, I'm assuming you'll do the same as you'd do now: wait for the fire department to show up with the jaws of life.

First of all, I saw no "joint" or "fold points" in these doors. Second of all the FAQ: http://www.disappearing-car-door.com/dcd/company-jatech-llc/faqs/

States that testing indicated a far greater resistance to damage than a regular door:

What happens in a serious road accident?

Our doors are stronger and more impact resistant that standard car doors for the following reasons.

Our door integration technology along with our modular cruciform door structure ensure that our door reunites structurally with the body when closed in a way which offers greater resistance to crash impact than a standard door as shown in crash tests performed for us by a major supplier to the automobile manufacturers.

How do Passengers escape after a bad crash?

Jatech has developed a Proprietary Access/Escape System which is built into every Retractable Door vehicle. An Impact Sensor releases all latches after a short built-in time lapse to allow for secondary impacts. The door can then be pushed outwards to the ground as there are no hinges to hold front end of the door in place.

Paramedics, Firemen and other accident responding personnel also found that access to passengers would be much improved in any severe accident situation.