Boats Wagon Car

Boats Wagon Car

"Landyacht" redirects here. For sail-powered wheeled vehicles, see Land sailing.

A land yacht is an informal category of large automobiles.^{[1] [2] [3]} While full-size cars are manufactured worldwide to this day, the term is most often used in reference to full-size cars of American origin between 1960 and 1976.^[4] Land yachts are among the largest mass-produced cars ever manufactured, a category which today is represented by full-size SUVs. Land Yachts are normally coupes and sedans.

Alongside full-size and luxury four-door sedans, the land yacht term was applicable to multiple body styles, including two-door notchback sedans, personal luxury coupés, convertibles, station wagons, and SUVs.^{[5] [6]}

American cars [edit]

The term "land yacht" began to appear in the late 1950s, as full-size luxury cars began to grow in size independently from mainstream nameplates.^[7] Initially descriptive of the high level of comfort features and soft ride, land yachts were designed "for the open road where living room-comfortable seats made the front seat seem like a plush couch with a windshield and steering wheel in front of it."^[7] During the 1960s and 1970s, land yachts of various types were produced by nearly all American automobile manufacturers; the largest were offered by Cadillac, Lincoln, Imperial and Buick.^[8] Many examples of the 1970s were denoted by a "Brougham" trim level. Following the 1973 and 1979 oil crises, the "land yacht" term had negative connotations, primarily referencing the cars' poor handling (as a consequence of the soft ride), unwieldy size, and vague steering.^[7]

The 1973 oil crisis brought the first wave of American-produced cars to face pressure toward downsizing, coinciding with a shift by consumers away from glamour alone towards quality, feature content, and fuel economy. For example, American Motors' last full-size car was a redesigned 1974 Ambassador on a 122 in (3,099 mm) wheelbase offered only in Brougham trim that was discontinued after one model year as consumers shifted toward more economical cars.^{[9] [10]} Following the 1979 oil crisis, US car manufacturers again "struggled to redirect the inertia of bigger cars and engines."^[9] The New Yorker, the flagship of the Chrysler brand with a 124 in (3,150 mm) wheelbase and a 440 cu in (7.2 L) V8 engine, was discontinued after 1978 before being succeeded by a smaller model. In 1991 and 1992, respectively, General Motors and Ford would introduce redesigned full-size cars for the last time. After the 1996 model year, General Motors phased out production of the Buick Roadmaster, Chevrolet Caprice, and Cadillac Fleetwood,^[11] with the Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis, and Lincoln Town Car outlasting them by 15 years.

Excluding limousines, the longest American-produced production sedan is the 1974-76 Cadillac Fleetwood 75 nine passenger sedan at 252.2 in. At 5,712 lb (2,591 kg), the heaviest American-produced car (excluding trucks and SUVs) is the 1960 Lincoln Continental convertible. As of 2019, these remain the largest vehicles ever produced by American-market manufacturers.

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  1960 Lincoln Continental Convertible

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European cars [edit]

Outside of North America, the term "land yacht" sees little use on locally produced cars, largely due to differing consumer demands. Past and present, several flagship models from Mercedes-Benz and Rolls-Royce have placed ride comfort as a primary design objective, with dimensions comparable to the largest American sedans produced.

In contrast to its LWB counterpart, the Mercedes-Benz 600 SWB was developed to be driven by its owner; it was produced nearly exclusively as a four-door sedan. The 1963–1981 600 SWB has a length of up to 5,540 mm (218.1 in) and a curb weight of 2,475 kg (5,456 lb).^[12]

In more recent times, the Rolls-Royce Phantom VII (and the currently produced Phantom VIII successor) have been built by Rolls-Royce as flagship sedans, breaking from the previous Phantom model line of limousines bodied by coachbuilders. The standard-wheelbase Phantom VII is 5,760 mm (226.9 in) long, with a curb weight of 2,560 kg (5,644 lb). Following the 2002–2012 Maybach 57 and 62, Mercedes-Benz revived the nameplate as its Mercedes-Maybach sub-brand in 2015. The Mercedes-Maybach S650 is 20 cm (7.8 in) longer than its Mercedes-Benz S-Class counterpart, with the S650 having a length of 5.45 m (214.7 in), weighing 2,285 kg (5,037 lb).^[13]

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  1969 Mercedes-Benz 600

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  2015 Rolls-Royce Phantom

Recreational vehicles and trailers [edit]

Airstream three-axle travel trailer

The "land yacht" description was used in the 1941 film Sullivan's Travels to describe a bus converted with bedrooms, bathroom, and kitchen, or an early recreational vehicle (RV).^{[14] [15]}

Airstream, an American manufacturer of RV trailers (caravans), used Land Yacht as the model name of its flagship model line of trailers.^{[16] [17] [18] [19]}

See also [edit]

• Full-size car
• List of largest passenger vehicles in the United States

References [edit]

1. ^ Burkhart, Bryan; Hunt, David (2000). Airstream: The History of the Land Yacht. Chronicle Books. ISBN9780811824712.
2. ^ "Definition of Land Yacht". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
3. ^ Dirven, René (2003). Metaphor and metonymy in comparison and contrast. Mouton de Gruyter. p. 504. ISBN9783110173741 . Retrieved 29 March 2017.
4. ^ Quinteros, Luis (10 October 2010). "Ten Great Land Yachts". Jalopnik. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
5. ^ Stone, Matt (19 August 2013). "American Dreamboats". Hagerty Classic Cars. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
6. ^ French, Laura (25 April 2008). "The Station Wagon: Though mostly gone, these noble land yachts had rich history". StarTribune. Minneapolis. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
7. ^ ^{a b c} Sutherland, Jim (4 February 2012). "Why Every Car Guy Needs To Pilot A Giant Old School Land Yacht Barge". thetruthaboutcars.com. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
8. ^ Kunz, Bruce (25 August 2014). "The Imperial Crown was Chrysler's top-of-the-line land yacht". www.stltoday.com . Retrieved 29 March 2017.
9. ^ ^{a b} Rood, Eric (20 March 2017). "Tonnage: 10 Gigantic Malaise-Era Land Yachts". Roadkill . Retrieved 9 November 2019.
10. ^ Cranswick, Marc (2011). The Cars of American Motors: An Illustrated History. McFarland. pp. 167, 175. ISBN9780786485703 . Retrieved 9 November 2019. AMC still made one of those land yachts in 1974. The full-size car was still called Ambassador.
11. ^ Krebs, Michelle (19 May 1996). "Buick Roadmaster; A Land Yacht Sails Into the Sunset". The New York Times . Retrieved 27 May 2015.
12. ^ "Detailed specs review of 1981 Mercedes-Benz 600 offered until June 1981 for Europe North America worldwide". www.automobile-catalog.com . Retrieved 24 April 2019.
13. ^ "Detailed specs review of 2019 Mercedes-Maybach S 650 model for Europe". www.automobile-catalog.com . Retrieved 24 April 2019.
14. ^ "Buses on Screen - Sullivan's Travels (1941, Joel McCrea, Veronica Lake)". busesonscreen.net . Retrieved 21 August 2019.
15. ^ "Sullivan's Travels (1941)". www.filmsite.org . Retrieved 21 August 2019.
16. ^ Burkhart, Bryan; Hunt, David (2000). Airstream: The History of the Land Yacht. Chronicle Books. ISBN9780811824712.
17. ^ Bleier, Evan. "Airstream's Last Land Yachts Are Sailing Away Into the Sunset". InsideHook.com . Retrieved 5 October 2018.
18. ^ Cox, Tara (2013). Airstream: The Silver RV. Shire Publications. ISBN9780747814054 . Retrieved 27 May 2015.
19. ^ "Land Yacht". Airstream. Retrieved 27 May 2015.

Boats Wagon Car

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_yacht_(automobile)