Landau is a
carriage
A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping an ...
design with a folding fabric top consisting of two sections supported by external elliptical springs.
When used in referencing an
automobile
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...
, landau generally means a simulated
convertible
A convertible or cabriolet () is a passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary among eras and manufacturers.
A convertible car's design allows an open-air driving expe ...
.
The
Nash Rambler Landau introduced in 1950 is a
cabrio coach
A cabrio coach or semi-convertible is a type of car that has a retractable textile roof, similar to a convertible/cabriolet. The difference is that where a convertible often has the B-pillar, C-pillar and other bodywork removed, the cabrio coac ...
with a power-operated fabric top.
A ''landau bar'' is an ornamental feature located on a car's rear quarter panel, mostly used on
hearse
A hearse is a large vehicle, originally a horse carriage but later with the introduction of motor vehicles, a car, used to carry the body of a deceased person in a coffin at a funeral, wake, or memorial service. They range from deliberately ano ...
s.
Origins
![State landau, 1885](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/State_landau%2C_1885.jpg)
Carriages that had a fabric top that could be lowered and raised were named "Landau" carriages after the city of Landau in Germany where convertible carriages were first produced.
Thus the name "landau", like many other automobile terms, originates from
coachbuilding
A coachbuilder or body-maker is someone who manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles.Construction has always been a skilled trade requiring a relatively lightweight product with sufficient strength. The manufacture of necessarily ...
(since coachbuilders began making motor car bodies instead, and because customers were familiar with coachbuilding terms).
The "landau" described a carriage that featured a manually folding fabric roof that was supported by elliptical springs.
The top was designed with separate folding front and rear sections that raised or lowered independently or locked together in the middle to cover the carriage.
To differentiate the landau models, the coachbuilders typically included large sidebars.
The automotive equivalent to the horse-drawn
landau carriage was not popular, since a forward view was generally insisted upon by passengers. Instead, the more popular body style for automobiles was the
landaulet Landaulet may refer to:
* Landaulet (carriage), horse-drawn carriage
* Landaulet (car)
A landaulet, also known as a landaulette, is a car body style where the rear passengers are covered by a convertible top. Often the driver is separated from t ...
(half-landau), with its covered front seats and open rear seats.
The 1935 handbook of the
Society of Automotive Engineers
SAE International, formerly named the Society of Automotive Engineers, is a United States-based, globally active professional association and standards developing organization for engineering professionals in various industries. SAE Internatio ...
defines the landau as "a closed-type body with provision for opening or folding the rear quarter, by the use of landau joints" and this usually makes it impossible to include
quarter glass
Quarter glass (or quarter light) on automobiles and closed carriages may be a side window in the front door or located on each side of the car just forward of the rear-facing rear window of the vehicle. Only some cars have them. In some cases ...
.
Simulated convertible
![1957 Imperial Crown 4 door Hardtop (45555208831)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/1957_Imperial_Crown_4_door_Hardtop_%2845555208831%29.jpg)
In the 1920s and 1930s, especially in the United States, "landau" became associated with cars where the fixed (eg metal) roof and rear
quarter panel
A quarter panel (British English: rear wing) is the body panel (exterior surface) of an automobile between a rear door (or only door on each side for two-door models) and the trunk (boot) and typically wraps around the wheel well. The similar f ...
s were covered with fabric or leather and fitted with S-shaped side landau bars, to make it appear like a
convertible
A convertible or cabriolet () is a passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary among eras and manufacturers.
A convertible car's design allows an open-air driving expe ...
roof.
Following the 1920s and 1930s, when custom-built bodies were available with a split front and rear roof design, the use of landau changed from a functional feature on limited production cars to that of a decorative feature in some higher market segment production cars.
The term landau fell into disuse from the mid-1940s until the late-1950s. It was used to describe fixed-roof cars styled to simulate a two-piece roof or to resemble convertibles, sometimes time using
vinyl roof
Vinyl roof refers to a vinyl covering for an automobile's top.
This covering was originally designed to give the appearance of a convertible to models with a fixed roof and eventually evolved into a styling statement in its own right. Vin ...
s. An example of a two-piece roof is the 1957
Imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imperial, Nebraska
* Imperial, Pennsylvania
* Imperial, Texa ...
four-door hardtop with simulated "landau-type" roof design. Some models were called "landaus" by their manufacturers, and many were fitted with landau bars on the rear quarters (faux cabriolet).
Landau bar
Landau bar on the rear quarter panel of a Cadillac hearse
A landau bar is an ornamental S-shaped metallic bar installed on the rear
quarter panel
A quarter panel (British English: rear wing) is the body panel (exterior surface) of an automobile between a rear door (or only door on each side for two-door models) and the trunk (boot) and typically wraps around the wheel well. The similar f ...
of a car. Mostly used on
hearse
A hearse is a large vehicle, originally a horse carriage but later with the introduction of motor vehicles, a car, used to carry the body of a deceased person in a coffin at a funeral, wake, or memorial service. They range from deliberately ano ...
s, the landau bar represents the folding roof structure on a
Landau carriage.
Since the mid-1940s, hearses in the United States commonly feature chrome bow-shaped landau bars on the simulated leather covered rear roof sides.
Nash Rambler Landau
![1951 Nash Rambler Custom convertible at 2015 AACA Eastern Regional Fall Meet 3of9](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/1951_Nash_Rambler_Custom_convertible_at_2015_AACA_Eastern_Regional_Fall_Meet_3of9.jpg)
In 1950,
Nash Motors
Nash Motors Company was an American automobile manufacturer based in Kenosha, Wisconsin from 1916 to 1937. From 1937 to 1954, Nash Motors was the automotive division of the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation. Nash production continued from 1954 to 195 ...
introduced the
Rambler
Rambler or Ramble may refer to:
Places
* Rambler, Wyoming
* Rambler Channel (藍巴勒海峽), separates Tsing Yi Island and the mainland New Territories in Hong Kong
* The Ramble and Lake, Central Park, an area within New York City's Centr ...
, "the first true
compact car
Compact car is a vehicle size class — predominantly used in North America — that sits between subcompact cars and mid-size cars. "Small family car" is a British term and a part of the C-segment in the European car classification. However, p ...
of the post-World War II era" in a two-door
cabrio coach
A cabrio coach or semi-convertible is a type of car that has a retractable textile roof, similar to a convertible/cabriolet. The difference is that where a convertible often has the B-pillar, C-pillar and other bodywork removed, the cabrio coac ...
body style called the "Nash Rambler Landau."
This model was described as a "convertible landau"
and the roof section from the top of the windscreen could be retracted into the
trunk/boot. A "bridge beam" steel structure remained in place at the top of the doors and windows. No other convertible featured anything like the Nash Rambler Landau with the fabric top that slid back to open along the fixed side rails. The fabric top was power-operated with a cover that could be snapped on when the top was open. The Rambler's strong body structure eliminated the internal bracing that was normally needed on other open roof cars.
Ford Thunderbird Landau
Ford marketed versions of the
Ford Thunderbird
The Ford Thunderbird (colloquially called the T-Bird) is a personal luxury car produced by Ford from model years 1955 until 1997 and 2002 until 2005 across 11 distinct generations. Introduced as a two-seat convertible, the Thunderbird was pro ...
using Landau as a model name. The 1962 Landau was a
hardtop
A hardtop is a rigid form of automobile roof, which for modern cars is typically constructed from metal. A hardtop roof can be either fixed (i.e. not removable), Convertible#Detachable hardtop, detachable for separate storing or retractable ha ...
that included a padded vinyl roof in white or black with simulated S-bars with a raised wing Thunderbird emblem on the C-pillars.
This model was popular and contributed to increased sales.
The "Town Landau" model was a model of the 1966 Thunderbird line. It featured a wide rear C-pillar with no rear quarter windows with painted roof or available with a vinyl-covered roof that came in black, white, parchment, or sage gold and included color-coordinated S-bars.
The Thunderbird was redesigned for 1967 and included a four-door sedan body design with rear-hinged (suicide) doors.
All four-door models included a vinyl roof and landau bars giving them the official name of "Landau Sedan".
The C-pillar was visually extended into the rear door window area and covered to match the vinyl top, with the landau bars helping camouflage the cut line.
The simulated landau design with overwrought trim on the four-door model has been described as "a one-car funeral procession".
The Town Landau two-door version was reintroduced as a mid-1977 model with standard luxury features, and it was continued for several more years.
References
{{reflist
See also
*
Landaulet Landaulet may refer to:
* Landaulet (carriage), horse-drawn carriage
* Landaulet (car)
A landaulet, also known as a landaulette, is a car body style where the rear passengers are covered by a convertible top. Often the driver is separated from t ...
Car body styles