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I am a native American English speaker, although, I am interested in the following syntactic aspect, regarding the order of adjectives, as, here in the U.S. (Savannah, GA, to be exact), I've come across both versions - what's the correct order of adjectives, in the following question: "a luxury 4-door sedan" or "a 4-door luxury sedan"? The one I've used all my life is: "a 4-door luxury sedan", although, I've heard quite a few people saying "a luxury 4-door sedan", in spite of the fact that the one I've used seems to be much more frequent, here in the U.S., statistically speaking, from what I've seen. I'm not exactly sure which one is syntactically correct and which of the 2 is the most commonly used phrase, that's why I'm asking this question. My question is strictly for native American English speakers, as myself. All help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you anticipatedly, The Unknown One

The Unknown One
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    Californian here: There's no rule and either way is acceptable. It might depend which adjective you want to emphasize, but honestly reading them aloud to myself it feels like "luxury" is emphasized either way. – The Photon Dec 02 '20 at 01:30
  • Side note: a sedan is, by definition, a 4-door vehicle, so the phrase is redundant. – The Photon Dec 02 '20 at 01:32
  • Related: https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/1155/what-is-the-rule-for-adjective-order – livresque Dec 02 '20 at 01:33
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    @The Photon: Thanks. I used that phrase idiomatically, as, in the automobile industry, you'll always see it pop up and being used like that ("4-door sedan"), even on the used/new car dealer websites, in the filter section, you'll always find that phrase just like that. – The Unknown One Dec 02 '20 at 01:37
  • Shouldn't it be "which of the two is the more commonly used...." – Centaurus Dec 02 '20 at 01:40
  • @livresque: Based on that link you posted up, the syntactically correct form would be: "a luxury 4-door sedan" (as, in this case, the rule would be: quality > size; luxury = quality, size = 4-door). Very interesting! I never would've thought. It didn't sound right to me ("a luxury 4-door sedan"), I must admit. – The Unknown One Dec 02 '20 at 01:43
  • "Correct" can be awfully subjective, and usage is ever-changing. The research is fascinating. Sometimes what sounds right is right. – livresque Dec 02 '20 at 01:47
  • @Centaurus: No, as, in my question, "the most commonly used" refers to the version that's being used in the majority of cases (almost all the time). – The Unknown One Dec 02 '20 at 01:48
  • @livresque: Until the grammar Nazis show up. Ha-ha! – The Unknown One Dec 02 '20 at 01:49
  • @The Photon: "Any car with 33 or more cubic feet of interior volume is considered to be a sedan, REGARDLESS of the door count." (link: https://www.hiltonheadhonda.com/blog/what-is-the-difference-between-a-coupe-and-a-sedan/), therefore, it's not a redundant phrase. – The Unknown One Dec 02 '20 at 02:01
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    Depends on what you mean. Is it a 4-door version of a luxury sedan, or a luxury version of a 4-door sedan? – Hot Licks Dec 02 '20 at 02:02
  • @Hot Licks: a 4-door version of a luxury sedan. – The Unknown One Dec 02 '20 at 02:03
  • @TheUnknownOne Do you mean that it's a sedan of which the manufacturer produces more than one model with different numbers of doors but all with the same trim level (in which case they are 2-door/4-door/(6-door?)) luxury sedans or does the manufacturer only produce 4-door versions with different trim levels (in which case the highest specification one is a "luxury 4-door sedan")? – BoldBen Dec 03 '20 at 06:53

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