Is there a difference between a sunroof and a moonroof or are they both the same thing?

Answer 1

A sunroof is opaque (usually flush metal with the body color on the outside). This roof can either tilt open to vent, slide open to let in light, or both. It is called a sunroof because the opacity prevents the sun from heating up the vehicle. These have existed for quite some time. In the 1970s, Ford introduced a glass sunroof that they named the Moonroof (actually, the American Sunroof Company, the company that made all domestic sunroofs and now known as American Specialty Cars invented it, but Ford was the first to install it). So to answer the question, a moonroof is a sunroof made of glass. The problem is, the distinction is becoming lost as more and more people use it incorrectly, Most people today just consider any sort of hole in the roof a sunroof. But in the strictest sense, sunroof=metal, moonroof=glass.