So if the rearview mirror is not the window you have in the back of the car but, counter-intuitively, the thing you have sticking in front of you, what is the correct name for the window in the back?
I have also just discovered that when people say, “Great car! Is this a 4 or a 6?”, the answer of “I bought it used” is not what they are expecting.
Clarissa's Blog 
The window on the back is the back window. The rear view mirror allows you to see backwards without turning your head away from the way you are moving.
LikeLike
To me a window can be rolled up or down (electrically or manually). So the back window-kind-of-thing is the rear windshield (though I might slip and call it a window)
The rearview mirror is the one inside the car in front of you and the one outside is a side view mirror.
I’m pretty sure that 4 or 6 has to do with cylinders in the engine though I’m too ignorant to say more…..
LikeLike
I was told to attach my parking badge to the rearview window, and I spent 2 hours swearing and almost crying because I couldn’t find a way to do that. 🙂 🙂
It is quite a relief to feel like a dumb blonde sometimes. 🙂
LikeLike
Did the instructions actually say “rearview window”? I’ve NEVER heard that term used in American English. “Rear window” and “back window” are the commonly used terms. “Windshield” applies only to a forward-facing pane of glass on a vehicle that deflects the flow of wind.
LikeLike
OK, OK, I’m a careless reader, shame on me. 🙂 Yes, it did say rearview mirror.
LikeLike
Yes, 4 or 6 refers to the number of cylinders. If it is an 8 cylinder, it is usually referred to as a V-8, since straight 8’s are rare (likely nonexistent) nowadays. There are also a few five cylinder cars.
LikeLike
Car Model!
Is it an Audi A4 or Audi A6?
LikeLike
It’s pretty. That’s all I know. 🙂 Sorry, I really have no idea. Should I read the owner’s manual?
LikeLike
Or is this information written on the car somewhere?
LikeLike
No, I meant the person asked wether you are driving an A4 or an A6.
They can be hard to distinguish at a distance.
Normally there is an emblem on the rear door or trunk that displays the model, the motor and maybe some options.
LikeLike
Reading an owner’s manual is sometimes interesting, and often helpful. It can also be amusing!
LikeLike
Yes, when all else fails, try reading the instructions! 🙂
LikeLike
Huh. I never thought of that as a confusing term. It’s the mirror to view what is at the rear of the car, hence rearview mirror. It’s the window you look through to see the rear of the car -> rearview window (although I hear just plain rear window and back window more often). I guess when you grow up around cars it’s one of those things you take for granted. Or maybe it’s a product of being in a field that has very uncreative naming conventions – dark matter (it has mass but doesn’t interact with light, so it’s dark!), the Very Large Array (that array of telescopes is very large), the 30 Meter Telescope (guess how big it is?)…
LikeLike
I see “rear” and I stop reading. Gosh, I would so fail my students for this sort of carelessness. 🙂
LikeLike
Is it a sedan or a hatchback or something else?
LikeLike
You are mocking me, right?
LikeLike
No, you got me real curious as to what kind of car you have… You see, I also got late into this car thing business. As a matter of fact I just got my license and perhaps I’ll get a car and discover the uk countryside…. Anyway, you’ll have to post pictures so I can tell what kind you have… An SUV maybe? 🙂
LikeLike
OK, definitely not an SUV. How many of me do you think there are? As hard as it is to believe, all of these posts are written by just one person. 🙂
The car is an Audi (bought used.) Four doors. Not a truck, obviously.
OK, that’s all I’ve got. 🙂
LikeLike
OK, behind the rear seat, is there a small shelf leading to the rear window, or a large open compartment for carrying stuff? Sedans have the shelf, while hatchbacks, station wagons and SUVs have the open compartment.
LikeLike
Yes, a small shelf! Thank you, this is a very good explanation.
I have a sedan, people, how cool is that?
LikeLike