What are "element antennas for cars"

Factual Questions
1

For reasons unknowable to mankind, I wanted to detail some HO scale vehicles for a diorama, including adding license plates and antennas. Among these vehicles was a late model Ford Crown Victoria (yes, the Walthers one, not the Busch), which apparently are only owned by fleets such as cab companies or police forces (I know this isn’t true, but it sure seems that way). There are ‘civilian’ Mercury Gran Marquis on the road, but when I looked at them I could not find either an antenna or the tell-tale hole where a motorized antenna would emerge from/descend into*. Several websites claim the Ford Crown Vic (and Mercury Marquis) has an “element antenna”, which I presume means it’s buried inside the vehicle somewhere (I am familiar with antenna elements, meaning directors and reflectors, but clearly this is a completely different term). Is this correct?

*OT: I had one of these silly motorized antenna on my 1995 Mercury Mystique; everytime I’d start the ignition the antenna would come up, and when I killed the ignition it would go back down again - pain if all you wanted to do was close the window.

2

Check the windsheild for wires.

3

Element antennas are usually integrated into the rear window defroster - at least that’s how it is on my '03 Accord. They’ve also been used on Camrys since the mid-90’s.

4

Nanoda, I had one of those in my first car ('76 Cutlass)

SirRay, I have a '97 Sable with the motorized antenna. If you turn the radio off, the antenna doesn’t come up.

Last, when I was a trucker I had a 2002 Volvo that had the tv antenna built into the roof of the cab, elminating the need for the rabbit ears you see bolted to the mirror frames and a simple 75 ohm hook-up in the sleeper.

5

In a typical windshield antenna, two hair-thin wires run up the center of the glass, then across the top in the tinted section. The good news is, nobody ever breaks your antenna off. The bad news is, it’s directional; sometimes you turn a corner and lose the station.