Early Examples
In 1938, Citroën introduced the Traction Avant Commerciale initially with a two-piece tailgate and after 1954 with a one-piece top-hinged tailgate.
In 1946, DeSoto marketed the Suburban, a full-size sedan with a rear accessible door, and folding rear seats.
In 1949, Kaiser-Frazer introduced the Vagabond and Traveler hatchbacks. Although these were styled much like the typical 1940s sedan, they incorporated an innovative split rear tailgate, folding rear seats and no separate trunk.
In 1953, Aston Martin marketed the DB2 with a top-hinged rear tailgate, manufacturing 700 examples. Its successor, the 1958 DB Mark III also offered a folding rear seat. The 1954 AC Aceca and later Aceca-Bristol from AC Cars had a similar hatch tailgate, though only 320 were built.
Read more about this topic: Hatchbacks
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