[jtheory]

You're making my point for me. You can spin it only negatively if you choose to do so, but it's not hard to find good points.

In your complaints here, it's pretty clear you aren't even trying to sort out a reasoned view at all.

I mean, look at these: why would more blow out of a car with a sliding door than, say, a minivan with a (much larger) sliding door? Why wouldn't Grandma be unable to use grips at the top & side of the door (or: maybe cars targeting aged drivers don't need to switch to this kind of door? There are plenty of other target markets)? Why would the door be uncloseable with a dead battery (can't we assume it would be counterweighted or on springs, to minimize motor requirements)? About door dents: if there were any significant number of these doors around, my own car would be that much less likely to be dented -- plus, I'm not keen on denting other people's doors. For the whole final scenario with kids in the rain -- er... just don't open your door until the kids are ready. You're sitting right there, and you control the door (unlike if they have their own door in the back).

But what's the impulse that's driving you & other commenters to just knock down the idea as quickly as possible, rather than explore it?

It's not my idea; I don't have any stake in the game, but if I notice problems with someone else's idea, my first thought is "are there ways to fix that, and are you implementing these solutions".