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The 'trunk', or 'boot', of an automobile or car is the vehicle's main storage, luggage, or cargo compartment. ''Trunk'' is used in North American English and Jamaican English; ''boot'' is used elsewhere in the English speaking world.
The cargo compartment is most often located at the rear of the vehicle. Storage areas are normally at the other end of the vehicle to which the engine is located. Some mid-engined cars (such as the Ferrari 360) and rear-engined cars (such as the Volkswagen Beetle) have it in the front. Vehicles such as the Volkswagen Type 3, had storage compartments in the front and in the rear, above the low profile boxer engine. The Fiat X1/9 also had two storage compartments, although the rear one was very small.

Contents

Classification

Additional Functions

Active & Passive Safety

Shelves and boards

Central locking

Remote opening

See also

Classification

This loadspace may further be categorised as open or closed. Closed loadspaces have a decklid and are typically those found in saloon (sedan) or coupé bodies. Open loadspaces are those found in estate cars (station wagons), and SUVs. Closed boots are generally trimmed in simple materials whereas many estate cars are trimmed with higher cost and better looking materials as the loadspace forms an extension of the passenger compartment. In order to achieve privacy and or protect the contents of the vehicle from theft or excessive heat, a loadspace cover may be fitted, This may take the form of a rigid parcel shelf; typical of many hatchback vehicles, or in the case of estate cars; a roller blind in a removable cassette. Some manufacturers of large cars increase the flexibility of their closed loadspaces by adding folding rear seats to allow the occasional transport of luggage that would have otherwise required a much larger vehicle.

Additional Functions

Beyond carrying luggage, the trunk/boot of most passenger vehicles commonly contains various other components often behind the trimmed surfaces of the interior. These components may be accessed by the customer or the service personnel through (in some cases lockable) hatches in the trim, or by removing carpet and support boards etc. Typical components include:

★ Spare tire

★ jack and lug wrench

★ on-board tool kit for do it yourself repairs

★ electronics for sound, video, GPS, etc.

★ Battery and hybrid energy store (see plug-in hybrids).

★ Fuse boxes

★ CNG/LPG Tanks (for bivalent engines)
And increasingly in open loadspaces;

★ additional seating: 'third row seating'

Active & Passive Safety

The loadspace can contribute to the active- and passive safety of the vehicle. Active safety may be promoted in vehicles that are partially loaded. Here the use of lashing eyes to restrain luggage can prevent or reduce damage to the vehicle and its occupants in severe manoeuvres. In driving while cornering 'in-extremis', the prevention of sudden weight transfer due to poorly loaded luggage can be enough to prevent the vehicle losing grip.
If a crash should occur, lashing eyes can reduce the severity of outcome of the accident by keeping the luggage in the loadspace compartment and thereby preventing projectiles from harming correctly restrained passengers in the passenger compartment.
These lashing features may be in the form of fixed or foldable loops or in the case of certain European vehicles (for example BMW X3 BMW X5 Audi A6 Kombi) combine sliding loops in a rail system to allow optimal positioning of the lashing eyes and simultaneously ease the integration of accessories for loadspace management; dividers, bike carriers etc. into the interior of the vehicle.
Further, for items that have not been restrained, barrier nets are available. These may be directly attached to the body structure or, in vehicles with loadspace cover cassettes, as combined loadspace cover and barrier net (ger. Kombirollo), the net confining luggage to the loadspace in case of emergency braking and minor crash impacts.

Shelves and boards

Some vehicles offer configurable cargo conveniences such as a shelf or board. They often serve various purposes. The multiposition rear shelf on the Chrysler PT Cruiser can be used as a table for a picnic, a second cargo layer, or a security screen. The Citroën C3 has a foldable segmented false floorboard that compartmentalises the cargo area, makes loading easier, and evens out the load floor when the back of the rear seat is folded down.

Central locking

Remote opening

Some cars include an electric motor to remotely open the trunk. This function is available on more high-end cars (although it can be added to some mid-range saloon cars as a build-to-order option), and is primarily used as a luxury, to save opening the boot. Notable marques of automobile that employ such a system are Rolls-Royce, Lexus, and Maybach.
This feature is generally not found on estate cars, due to the awkward angle at which the motor would have to operate.

See also

★ Car boot sale

★ Continental tire

★ Hood (vehicle)

★ Refrigeration compartment

★ Trunking (auto)