Landau (automobile)

2025-10-20T15:17:14Z

2601:188:CB82:D170:E403:77B0:9046:F35B: /* Origins */ Caption cleanup.

{{short description|Type of car design derived from an earlier Landau carriage form}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}

The '''Landau''' began as a [[carriage]] design with a folding fabric top consisting of two sections supported by external [[elliptical spring]]s. This landau roof design was adopted in early automobiles as a [[convertible]] top. The term, however, came to mean a simulated convertible.<ref>{{cite web |last=Demuro |first=Doug |title=Remember the Landau Roof? |url= https://www.autotrader.com/car-news/remember-landau-roof-259392 |website=autotrader.com |date=28 November 2016 |accessdate=7 May 2022}}</ref> A ''landau bar'' is an ornamental feature located on a car's c-pillar derived from the roof form, primarily used on [[hearse]]s.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Milner |first1=Richard |title=The Real Reason Hearses Have This Decoration Instead Of Windows On The Back |url= https://www.grunge.com/1445384/real-reason-hearses-have-decoration-instead-of-windows/ |work=Grunge |date=18 November 2023 |access-date=13 January 2024}}</ref>

The [[Nash Rambler#1950|Nash Rambler Landau]] introduced in 1950 is a [[cabrio coach]] with a power-operated fabric top.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=You've Never Seen Anything Like It! (advertisement) |magazine=Life |date=26 June 1950 |volume=28 |issue=26 |page=2 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=50oEAAAAMBAJ&dq=Rambler+Landau&pg=PP2 |access-date=7 May 2022}}</ref>

== Origins ==
[[File:State landau, 1885.jpg|thumb|Landau carriage drawing, showing collapsed forward and rear landau frameworks and sketch of their outlines extended]]

Carriages that had a fabric top that could be lowered and raised were named [[Landau (carriage)|"Landau" carriages]] after the city of [[Landau]] in Germany where convertible carriages were first produced.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Upton |first1=Chad |title=Why Some Cars Have Fake Convertible Roofs |url= https://brokensecrets.com/2010/11/22/why-some-cars-have-fake-convertible-roofs/ |work=Broken Secrets |date=22 November 2010 |accessdate=7 May 2022}}</ref>

Thus the name "landau", like many other automobile terms, originates from [[coachbuilding]], as coachbuilders transitioned from horse-drawn conveyances to motor car bodies, many carrying over the "coachworks" terminology for their businesses, and early era customers retaining their familiarity with coachbuilding terms.<ref>{{cite book |last=Haajanen |first=Lennart W. |title=Illustrated dictionary of automobile body styles |date=2003 |publisher=McFarland |location=Jefferson, N.C. |isbn=9780786412761}}</ref>

The "landau" described a carriage that featured a manually folding fabric roof that was supported by [[elliptical spring]]s.<ref name="Muaddi">{{cite web |last=Muaddi |first=Nadeem |title=Why Do We Call It a 'Landau Top'? |url= https://www.thehogring.com/2014/01/12/where-did-the-term-landau-top-come-from/ |work=The Hog Ring |date=12 January 2014 |accessdate=7 May 2022}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Muaddi"/> To differentiate the landau models, the coachbuilders typically included large sidebars.<ref name="Muaddi"/><ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Poppe |first1=Charles W. |title=The Hugh Holbrock Collection |magazine=The Carriage Journal |date=Winter 1987 |volume=25 |issue=3 |page=114 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=tyk-DwAAQBAJ&dq=landau+hearse+design&pg=PA114 |access-date=7 May 2022}}</ref>

The automotive equivalent to the horse-drawn landau carriage was not popular, as both the driver and front seat passengers faced forward, rather than an elevated coachman handling a team and front seat passengers facing rearward. Instead, the more popular body style for automobiles was the [[Landaulet (car)|landaulet]] (half-landau), with its covered front seats and open rear seats.

The 1935 handbook of the [[SAE International|Society of Automotive Engineers]] 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]].<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wuM3AAAAMAAJ&q=Landau+closed-type+body+with+provision+for+opening+or+folding+the+rear+quarter,+by+use+of+landau+joints+which+precludes+the+use+of+quarter+windows |page=730 |title=S.A.E. Handbook |publisher=Society of Automotive Engineers |year=1935 |via=Google Books|accessdate=7 May 2022}}</ref>

== Simulated convertible ==
[[File:1957 Imperial Crown 4 door Hardtop (45555208831).jpg|thumb|1957 [[Imperial (automobile)|Imperial]] four-door hardtop "landau-type" roof design]]

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]]s were covered with fabric or leather and fitted with S-shaped side landau bars, to make it appear like a [[convertible]] roof.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=W6yimFa9WcwC&q=as+its+promotion+stated,+with+landau+bars+falsely+conveying+the+impression+that+it+was+a+convertible+coupe&pg=PA87 |page=87 |title=Elcar and Pratt automobiles: the complete history |first=William S. |last=Locke |publisher=Mcfarland |year=2007 |isbn=9780786432547 |via=Google Books |accessdate=7 May 2022}}</ref><ref name="Merriam-Webster">{{cite book|url= https://archive.org/details/merriamwebsterne00merr |url-access= registration |quote= Landau used on automobiles 1920s mostly advertising device to indicate a fixed roof without a rear quarter window. |page=[https://archive.org/details/merriamwebsterne00merr/page/359 359] |title=The Merriam-Webster new book of word histories |publisher=Merriam-Webster |year=1991 |isbn=9780877796039 |accessdate=7 May 2022}}</ref>

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 of a decorative feature in some higher market segment production cars.<ref>{{cite web |title=Glossary A-Z (landau top) |url= https://www.haartz.com/vintage-restorers-guide/glossary-z |website=haartz.com |accessdate=7 May 2022}}</ref>

The term ''landau'' fell into disuse from the mid-1940s until the late-1950s.<ref>{{cite magazine |volume=106 |issue=5 |magazine=Popular Mechanics |title=1957 New Car parade: Chrysler family makes debut |date=November 1956 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ouEDAAAAMBAJ&q=hardtop+Landau-type+roof+automobile&pg=PA104 |page=104 |via=Google Books |accessdate=7 May 2022}}</ref> It was used to describe fixed-roof cars styled to simulate a two-piece roof or to resemble convertibles, sometimes time using [[vinyl roof]]s. An example of a two-piece roof is the 1957 [[Imperial (automobile)|Imperial]] four-door hardtop with a simulated "landau-type" roof design.<ref>{{cite web |title=1957 Imperial foldout |url= http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Chrysler_and_Imperial/1957_Chrysler/1957_Imperial_Foldout/1957%20Imperial%20Foldout-05.html |website=oldcarbrochures.com |page=5 |accessdate=7 May 2022}}</ref> Some models were called "landaus" by their manufacturers, and many were fitted with landau bars on the rear quarters (faux cabriolet).<ref name="Merriam-Webster"/>

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== Landau bar ==
[[file:1991CadillacHearseKDoe.jpg|thumb|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]] of a car. Mostly used on [[hearse]]s, the landau bar is [[skeuomorph]]ic and represents the folding roof structure on a [[Landau (carriage)|Landau carriage]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Landau Bars On Hearses Are So Very Stupid |url= https://jalopnik.com/landau-bars-on-hearses-are-so-very-stupid-487541882 |website=jalopnik.com |first=Jason |last=Torchinsky |date=3 May 2013 |access-date=7 May 2022}}</ref><ref name="Kovalchik"/>

The early horse-drawn hearses were horse-drawn carriages that had fully functional landau bars to open and close the fabric roof.<ref name="Kovalchik"/> As automobile-based hearses became popular, they "borrowed the landau bar flourish as an homage and an attempt to add a touch of Old-World class."<ref name="Kovalchik">{{cite web |last1=Kovalchik |first1=Kara |title=Why Do Hearses Have Metal S-Shaped Scrolls Where the Back Windows Should Be? |url= https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/66084/why-do-hearses-have-s-shaped-scrolls-where-back-windows-should-be |work=Mental Floss |date=30 October 2015 |access-date=13 January 2024}}</ref>

Since the mid-1940s, hearses in the United States commonly feature chrome bow-shaped landau bars on the simulated leather-covered rear roof sides.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Fpozwi3nyA8C&q=the+stately+“landau”+hearse,+featuring+bow-shaped+chrome+bars+on+either+side&pg=PA119 |page=119 |title=The Whole Death Catalog: A Lively Guide to the Bitter End |first=Harold |last=Schechter |publisher=Ballantine Books |year=2009 |isbn=9780345512512 |via=Google Books |accessdate=7 May 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Crown Landau Traditional funeral coach |url= https://armbrusterstageway.com/gallery-new-hearse-for-sale/new-funeral-coaches/crown-landau-traditional-hearses/ |work=Armbruster-Stageway |access-date=7 May 2022 |date=2022}}</ref> The landau bars have become a symbol of a funeral car to the point that hearse manufacturers continue to add them to "limousines as a matter of tradition."<ref name="Kovalchik"/>

Ford included simulated landau bars on the highest trim versions of the [[Ford Thunderbird (fifth generation)|Thunderbird]] beginning in 1962. Although the landau bar had become excessively gaudy trim on most passenger cars since the 1970s, there is an apparent return in the 2020s with "neo-landau bars" on some Genesis, Lexus, and Jeep SUV models.<ref name="Torchinsky"/> The objective is to "provide some bit of visual interest on an otherwise boring expanse of D-pillar area."<ref name="Torchinsky"/> These landau bar-type ornamentations are slimmer and also integrate into the bodyside brightwork.<ref name="Torchinsky">{{cite web |last1=Torchinsky |first1=Jason |title=The Landau Bar Is Making A Stealthy Return, So Everyone Be On High Alert |url= https://www.theautopian.com/the-landau-bar-is-making-a-stealthy-return-so-everyone-be-on-high-alert/ |work=The Autopian |date=3 October 2023 |access-date=13 January 2024}}</ref>

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== Nash Rambler Landau ==
[[File:1951 Nash Rambler Custom convertible at 2015 AACA Eastern Regional Fall Meet 3of9.jpg|thumb|1951 Nash Rambler Landau]]

In 1950, [[Nash Motors]] introduced the [[Nash Rambler|Rambler]], "the first true [[compact car]] of the post-World War II era" in a two-door [[cabrio coach]] body style called the "Nash Rambler Landau" achieving sales success "when big was better among most U.S. automakers."<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=m-k3ONS880cC&q=Rambler+was+initially+offered+only+in+a+two-door+Landau+convertible&pg=PA295 |pages=295–298 |title=American Cars, 1946-1959: Every Model, Year by Year |first=J. Kelly |last=Flory, Jr. |publisher=McFarland |year=2008 |isbn=9780786452309 |via=Google Books |accessdate=7 May 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=1950 Nash Rambler Landau Convertible |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1997/02/07/1950-nash-rambler-landau-convertible/abf30f08-1837-4edf-8a70-e70615828621/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=7 February 1997 |access-date=7 May 2022}}</ref>

This model was described as a "convertible landau"<ref name="Quarterly">{{cite journal |title=Rambler |journal=Automobile Quarterly |volume=33 |issue=2 |page=33 |year=1994}}</ref> and the roof section from the top of the windscreen could be retracted into the [[Trunk (car)|trunk/boot]]. A "bridge beam" steel structure remained in place at the top of the doors and windows.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=l096ebZSm9EC&q=Rambler+convertible+Landau+“bridge+beam”+side+rails+above+the+doors&pg=PA162 |pages=162–163 |title=Standard Guide to 1950s American Cars |first=John |last=Gunnel |publisher=Krause Publications |year=2004 |isbn=9780873498685 |accessdate=3 April 2014}}</ref>

No other convertible featured anything like the Nash Rambler Landau with the fabric top that slid back to open along the fixed side rails.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Flammang |first1=James M. |title=Classic American Convertibles |date=1996 |publisher=Publications International |isbn=9780785316299 |page=146 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=2UbLnHVcL7EC&q=Rambler+Landau |via=Google Books |access-date=7 May 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Never Seen One: 1951 Nash Rambler Airflyte Landau Convertible |url=https://bringatrailer.com/2015/06/19/never-seen-one-1951-nash-rambler-airflyte-landau-convertible/ |website=bringatrailer.com |date=19 June 2015 |quote=Interior shot shows of the interesting roof configuration nicely. |access-date=13 January 2024}}</ref> The fabric top was power-operated with a cover that could be snapped on when the top was open.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Castro |first1=David |title=AutoHunter Spotlight: 1950 Nash Rambler Custom Landau convertible |url= https://journal.classiccars.com/2021/12/29/autohunter-spotlight-1950-nash-rambler/ |website=journal.classiccars.com |access-date=7 May 2022 |date=29 December 2021}}</ref> The Rambler's strong body structure eliminated the internal bracing that was normally needed on other open roof cars.<ref name="Quarterly"/>

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== Ford Thunderbird Landau ==
[[File:Landau bar.jpg|thumb|Simulated landau bar (with a faux landau joint in the center) on the [[Pillar (automobile)|C-pillar]] of a 1967 [[Ford Thunderbird]] ]]

Ford marketed versions of the [[Ford Thunderbird]] using Landau as a model name. The 1962 Landau was a [[hardtop]] that included a padded vinyl roof in white or black with simulated S-bars with a raised wing Thunderbird emblem on the C-pillars.<ref name="automotivemileposts1962">{{cite web |title=1962 Ford Thunderbird Sports Roadster and Landau Models |url= https://automotivemileposts.com/tbird1962roadsterlandau.html |website=automotivemileposts.com |access-date=9 May 2022}}</ref> This model was popular and contributed to increased sales.<ref name="automotivemileposts1962"/>

The "Town Landau" model was a model of the 1966 Thunderbird line.<ref>{{cite book |page=87 |title=American Cars of the 1960s: A Decade of Diversity |first=John |last=Gunnell |date=2005 |publisher=Krause Publications |isbn=9780896891319}}</ref> It featured a wide rear C-pillar with no rear quarter windows with a painted roof or available with a vinyl-covered roof that came in black, white, parchment, or sage gold and included color-coordinated S-bars.<ref name="automotivemileposts1966">{{cite web |title=1966 Ford Thunderbird: The Four Body Styles Explained: Hardtop, Town Hardtop, Town Landau, and Convertible |url= https://automotivemileposts.com/tbird1966models.html |website=automotivemileposts.com |access-date=7 May 2022}}</ref>

The Thunderbird was redesigned for 1967 and included a four-door sedan body design with rear-hinged (suicide) doors.<ref name="Saur">{{cite web |last1=Saur |first1=Brendan |title=Curbside Classic: 1967 Ford Thunderbird Landau Sedan – Are Four Doors Really Better Than Two? |url= https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/curbside-classic-1967-ford-thunderbird-are-4-doors-really-better-than-2/ |website=curbsideclassic.com |date=30 April 2019 |access-date=13 January 2024}}</ref> All four-door models included a vinyl roof and landau bars giving them the official name of "Landau Sedan".<ref name="Saur"/> 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.<ref name="HowStuffWorks">{{cite web |author=((Auto Editors of ''Consumer Guide'')) |title=1967-1971 Ford Thunderbird |url= https://auto.howstuffworks.com/1967-1971-ford-thunderbird.htm |website=auto.howstuffworks.com |date=10 October 2007 |access-date=13 January 2024}}</ref> The simulated landau design with overwrought trim on the four-door model has been described as "a one-car funeral procession".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gillogly |first1=Brandan |title=The 1964–66 Thunderbird is the ugly duckling of the family |url= https://www.hagerty.com/media/buying-and-selling/1964-66-thunderbird-is-ugly-duckling/ |work=Hagerty |date=8 February 2019 |access-date=13 January 2024}}</ref>

The Town Landau two-door version was reintroduced as a mid-1977 model as the most luxurious Thunderbird that included many standard comfort and trim features.<ref>{{cite web |title=1977 Thunderbird Town Landau brochure |url= https://tdgv1.dezosgarage.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/1977-Ford-Thunderbird-Town-Landau.pdf |work=dezosgarage |access-date=13 January 2024}}</ref> It did not have any simulated landau bars, only the "Town Landau" name in script etched on the opera windows.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dennis |first1=Joseph |title=Curbside Classic: 1977 Ford Thunderbird Town Landau - Her Name Was Lola |url= https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics/cc-capsule-1977-ford-thunderbird-town-landau-her-name-was-lola/ |work=Curbside Classic |date=16 July 2021 |access-date=13 January 2024}}</ref> This top model continued to be marketed for several more years.<ref name="automotivemileposts1966"/>

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== References ==
{{reflist}}

== See also ==
* [[Landaulet (car)|Landaulet]]

[[Category:Car body styles]]

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Landau (automobile)