I read the Autoblog headline—“Make it stop: Bad landau tops“—and I just knew Alex Nunez was the man responsible. Mr. Nunez earned my eternal admiration with his Knight Rider live blogging posts. I certainly don’t agree with his assertion that some Landau tops are acceptable. The phrase “a bad Landau top” is about as redundant/repetitive as you/one can get/be. Still, I’m getting the feeling that Alex has finally found a blog genre worthy of his dry-as-a-vermouthaphobic-martini humor. Here’s a taste of his Question of the Day thang: “Show us, say, a mid-to-late ’70s Olds Cutlass or Lincoln Town Coupe gussied up accordingly from the factory, and we’re liable to nod in approval and make one of those, ‘Ehh, not bad at all!’ facial expressions in appreciation of the old barge. That said, most modern landau roof applications are dealer-installed, and commensurately disastrous and stupid . . . Will anything ever stop these people?” Alex’s request for more examples of lame Landaus finds favor with Autoblog’s unmoderated mob. My favorite response after the jump.
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What’s with the speaker bit? Hackers, indeed…
Regarding the Landau Roof bit, can’t say I ever liked them. Even worse is the dealer-installed faux convertible top installed on anything from a Lincoln to a Volvo. Most convertibles look worse with the top up but you live with that for the ability to put the top down. Can’t see the logic in having the ugliness of the top up look with no ability to actually lower it…To each is own, I guess.
OK, how this landau top Mr. Farago?
I suspect the issue is about authenticity rather than the top itself. Real? OK. Fake? Make it stop!
–Chuck
I may like Lincolns, but I like them better without padded roofs. That said, the landau topped Escort is more interesting and head turning than a regular one, and that might be a good thing.
How about the stick on “portholes” infecting the automotive landscape. You see them on everything these days. Some round, some trapezoidal, all irritating.
Remember, it was Maximum Bob that designed the Chrysler LHS to defy vinyl roof application. Not that that stopped the creative aftermarket..
Huh? What has a Taiwanese flat speaker got to do with Landau tops?
No matter what the car is, someone will think they can make it look better than the designer. Somewhere there’s a Lamborghini with a full Cleveland.
Speaking of which, it seems that there are a number of variations on a full Cleveland, but I believe that the fullest Cleveland would be a padded vinyl roof, landau bars and a continental kit.
You haven’t known real luxury until you’ve been inside a 1977 Cadillac with a landau roof, T-tops, and a button-tufted red interior.
@John Horner
Isn’t the horrifying relationship self-evident? Landau roofs constructed out of this thin speaker material instead of vinyl! Because speakers and subwoofers inside the car just don’t terrorize the general public like they used to.
Via Nocturna: Funny! Maybe we can add those glowing tires along with this speaker material to really make a statement!
I don’t think all Landau tops are bad looking. I had a 1979 Caprice Landau coupe (an actual factory trim level, not aftermarket) that had vinyl on the forward 3/4 of the roof. I thought it looked rather nice. Having said that…
The Landau top on the Escort in the photo is truly hideous and looks really out of place on an entry level car, not to mention it raises hell with visibility. The godawful fake tops plastered on today’s cars always look bad, no matter what they’re on. It’s partly because they’re so phony and partly because unlike cars of yesteryear, modern cars aren’t styled to wear tops like this. I see them most often on Grand Marquis and LeSabres, but I’ve seen them on Tauruses, Sables, Centurys, 300’s and, of course, Cadillacs and Lincolns. I’m really grateful that the previous owner of my 2004 Grand Marquis spared it the indignity of wearing one of these tops. The car looks so much better without it. These tops are near the top of automotive bad taste.
The Sable ones are all class when it’s black on black with the gold metal trim.
I’d take this one:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y16/rnds/LANDAULET_–_-bigb.jpg
Then again, it’s not a fake Landau…
The only reason these tops continue to exist is they are a very profitable add on for the new car dealer.
I wandered into a dealership repair bay where one of these tops was being installed. The metal strip across the top was installed using about 1″ screws driven through the roof, leaving about 3/4″ protruding into the passenger compartment just behind the headliner. I still cringe thinking about back seat passengers, and a big bump.
Unmoderated or not, as long as Artt Ri avoids broad-brush denunciations of groups—liberals, conservatives, environmentalists, smokers, women, gays, men, straights, Republicans, Democrats, Tories…, I’m thoroughly entertained and informed.
The speaker bit is SPAM from a poster, due to the unmoderated comments section.
It wouldn’t have been anything without the carriage lights………
I remember seeing a Landau-topped on an otherwise unmodified 98 Chevrolet Silverado 4×4.
Never understood the concept behind Landaus…why put the softness outside???
@ ajla
“Button Tufted”, thanks for finally giving me the correct words to describe that form of upholstering, can we bring those back??? So much class, so “pimpin\'”
Ugh. Landau tops are the toupees of the automotive world.
However, you can catch character actor extraodinaire Martin Landau in North By Northwest, on Turner Classic Movies tonight.
Sweet! I can’t wait to have a giant Landau top speaker.