The configuration of a car body is typically determined by the layout of the engine, passenger and luggage compartments, which can be shared or separately articulated. A key design feature is the car's roof-supporting pillars, designated from front to rear of the car as A-pillar, B-pillar, C-pillar and D-pillar.
Common car body configurations are one-box (e.g., a van/minivan/MPV), two-box (e.g., a hatchback/SUV) and three-box (e.g., a sedan/saloon) designs.