Originally posted by mayonaise
i can't believe no one else knew this...
a sun roof has no glass, you can't seen thru it, and slides open. no, it doesn't matter how it slides open, where it slides to, etc... as long as it slides open, its a sunroof.
a moon roof is glass, and doesn't necessarily open in any way.
isn't it obvious? i mean a sun roof means you get direct sunlight. a moon roof (which was introduced after the sun roof) allows you to see the sky, without having to expose yourself to the weather. so you can take it as being able to see the sky at night from your car, but the name "moon" was probably also selected to contrast "sun."
sun/moon roofs that tilt open are called.... TILT sun roofs. or tilt moon roofs, whatever.
Agreed. At least many people on this thread are agreeing on the main element that sunroofs are the older and limited (in fuction) options on cars and moonroofs are what's more offered as options on cars today. Some people call moonroofs, sunroofs, just because sunroofs came out first and it's a more widely accepted term for roof openings. But I agree with mayonaise's definition.