greenhouse

n. the upper, windowed portion of an automobile. Subjects: English, Automobiles & Transportation

Editorial Note: Airplane pilots have been referring to glass cockpits or turrets as “greenhouses” since at least as early as 1941.

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Citations: 1987 Tom Incantalupo Newsday (Long Island, New York) (Mar. 15) “The Rise and Fall of American Motors” p. 70: AMC Pacer: Notable for its unusual “greenhouse” style, it was designed for a rotary engine, but fitted with conventional piston power when the proposed rotary failed to meet federal emissions requirements. 1992 Wall Street Transcript (July 20) “Roundtable Discussion Automobile Industry” vol. 117, no. 3,: Saturn could have been done better. I’m not talking about the engine mount or the shape of the greenhouse. 1993 Art Suderman Kitchener-Waterloo Record (Ontario, Canada) (Mar. 19) “Jaguar XJ6 Vanden Plas combines grace with pace” p. D2: Fluted chrome trims both the top of the upright grille as well as the boot plinth (trailing edge of the decklid for those who aren’t conversant in British auto lingo). More delicate brightwork surrounds the greenhouse and door handles. 2007 Phil Patton New York Times (Apr. 1) “Body Language: How to Talk the Designers’ Talk”: With cars, words and metal share territory: each brand’s vocabulary of shapes is collectively known as its design language. The beltline divides the greenhouse, or glassed-in upper body, from the portion that extends down from the window sills.…The angle of the windshield is known as its rake—an extreme tilt is said to be fast—while the inward angle of the side greenhouse windows is called the tumblehome.

Posted 5 Apr 07 | Permalink | Tell a Friend