Retractable roofs have my vote along with "self parking car" and "four wheel steering" for the goofiest automotive innovations, or re-innovations, of the last two decade. From 1939 (Peugeot) until recently no automaker tried to do it except Ford in the late 50s, briefly. There was a reason for that.
Are you and I so old that "recently" is a 15 year period? Mitsubishi introduced the Spyder a decade and a half ago, followed by the SLK, the Peugeot CC, etc.
And it's not that "no automaker tried to do it" because there were concepts over the years. It's just that convertibles of all sorts (hardtop or softtop) were on the no-no list for a number of years. It took just over ten years between when Chrysler "reintroduced" the convertible the US market (the world's largest, at the time) and when Mitsubishi "reintroduced" the production hardtop convertible.
Yeah, I'd say that from 1958 to the 1990s is about a 40 year dry spell. As for the Mitsubishi, now you know why their two-seater ended up over 3800 pounds.
Convertibles weren't a "no-no", they were a "no sell". The retractable hardtop were an attempt to overcome increasing buyer resistance to soft tops, due to a) being spoiled by comforts b) fear of the sun.
I think the biggest advantages retractable hardtop convertibles offer are security, especially when the car is parked, and quietness on the highway with the top up. It is really like having two cars, a coupe and a convertible.
I've had several softtops which were much too noisy with the top up, both on the highway and in city driving. And I had a softtop vandalized. No problem with a metal roof.
Convertibles weren't a "no-no", they were a "no sell". The retractable hardtop were an attempt to overcome increasing buyer resistance to soft tops, due to a) being spoiled by comforts b) fear of the sun.
It was believed by most manufacturers in the 1970s that the American government would outlaw convertibles, which is the primary reason why American manufacturers stopped making convertibles in 1976.
The complexity of Ford's hardtop convertible probably stopped any development of new hardtop convertibles, just like the variable displacement engines disappeared after the infamous V-8-6-4 until technology caught up to the concept in the 1990s.
Yeah. That logo was affixed to that joke of a car. My wife had a 1999 Oldsmobile Cutlass sedan. I can now see why some people don't like GM. That car was mediocrity personified and a disgrace to the Olds name. To me, an Oldsmobile is my Dad's 1955 Ninety-Eight Starfire convertible, a 1960s 442, or even my 1979 Ninety-Eight Regency sedan with the 403 V-8. An Olds is NOT an ugly clone of a mediocre Chevy! :lemon:
It was believed by most manufacturers in the 1970s that the American government would outlaw convertibles, which is the primary reason why American manufacturers stopped making convertibles in 1976.
. . . and a primary reason for the existence of this ungainly beast.
The late unlamented Triumph TR-7. A sad end to a once proud marque. I believe it was followed-up with a TR-8. My little brother thought these were the coolest cars at the time and even had an ad for one taped to the wall of our bedroom.
A popular myth but interestingly, not supported by auto historians. You won't find a whisper of evidence from government agencies or the legislature of the time about a "ban". Automakers stopped making convertibles because nobody bought them anymore. re: SECURITY---yes, I complete forgot about that advantage!
Then, there are automakers who couldn't make up their minds if they were building coupes or convertibles:
Same here, I agree 100% and went through the same thing.
My NA Miata's soft top was vandalized, a new top is a grand or more installed. They only last 10 years - if you're lucky.
The PRHT costs about $1400 more, but like I said, in 10 years a new soft top will cost you about that much. And you'd still have to pay for a manually removeable hard top for the winter, which costs $1800+ IIRC.
In the long term, a PRHT may actually cost you less. Especially with resale factored in.
The Spyder was massively heavy, and the mechanism was very complex. The Miata's PRHT is simple and adds only 70 lbs to the Miata, less than one passenger. You can't feel the difference, even performance mags tested them and the numbers proved it.
I doubt power soft tops are any simple than my PRHT, though a manual soft top on the Miata is elegantly simple.
Funny...that car made my 1981 Consumer Guide predict "there may not always be a British auto industry". A prediction that turned out to be correct...as today, there is effectively no British-owned auto industry.
Although I will admit, when I was about 5, I thought the TR7/8 were very cool looking
A popular myth but interestingly, not supported by auto historians. You won't find a whisper of evidence from government agencies or the legislature of the time about a "ban". Automakers stopped making convertibles because nobody bought them anymore.
A "myth" backed up by threatened rollover regulations of the 1970s which would have basically outlawed convertibles. Sales were lower at the time, but still enough to build and sell them.
This speculation makes no sense to me, since there were no regulations ever presented to congress or issued by DOT, and I hardly think any US automaker would kill a highly profitable product based on a rumor from Washington. But they would kill a money-loser that already had its head on the chopping block.
If you plot convertible production from say 1970 onwards, it's a death spiral downward. There's your answer---follow the money and the graph.
The year is easy ....a Jeepster in the background, and the woody might be a Chevy? It looks like a 46-48 GM of some kind. Further back by the white house looks like a 40 Ford, and way in the background above the woody's hood ornament looks like a ca. 40 Caddy limo.
I can't find much to like about it, try as I may. It just looks like awkward chaos to me, even in the dim light of sunrise with the sepia setting on the camera and soft music playing in the background. :P
that's my '79 New Yorker! It's just that the way the snow blew around, it really filled in behind the rear window, and obscured that formal roofline.
Here's a pic I took of the Silverado...
And these pics were taken last Saturday/Sunday. So naturally, everything looks worse now, with the 9-10" or more we've gotten since then. And it's blown around so much, I really don't know how much we got. Oh, and I just heard on the news that this is now the snowiest winter in recorded history here. We had been #3 before this storm started, behind 1995-96 (#2) and 1898-1899 (#1).
That's crazy how the easy coast is getting pounded with snow and here in Vanocouver we don't have enough for the Olympics that are starting in 2 days. :surprise: They have to truck in snow from mountains a few hundred miles away.
That's crazy how the easy coast is getting pounded with snow and here in Vanocouver we don't have enough for the Olympics that are starting in 2 days.
Can you say "El Nino"?
Andre, I would have never guessed that the mystery pic was one of your R-bodies!
I've got similar pictures from a storm we had a number of years ago here in Colorado. The Volvo wagon across the street slowly became buried with the drifts that were created from the wind.
here's the whole photo album from that storm. Mainly a bunch of snow pics, some that didn't turn out well when it started getting dark, but there's a few cars buried here and there...
Noticed on my way into work this morning so got pictures when we left early cause of the storm.
Ugh hang on how do you resize pics on here again? I can edit and shrink them down on my end but trying to open any kind of photo editing software on this computer could take an hour or more just to load.
Comments
Are you and I so old that "recently" is a 15 year period? Mitsubishi introduced the Spyder a decade and a half ago, followed by the SLK, the Peugeot CC, etc.
And it's not that "no automaker tried to do it" because there were concepts over the years. It's just that convertibles of all sorts (hardtop or softtop) were on the no-no list for a number of years. It took just over ten years between when Chrysler "reintroduced" the convertible the US market (the world's largest, at the time) and when Mitsubishi "reintroduced" the production hardtop convertible.
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and Bravada. :confuse:
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
and Bravada.
Wasn't the last Cutlass (Malibu clone) in there with that logo, too?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Convertibles weren't a "no-no", they were a "no sell". The retractable hardtop were an attempt to overcome increasing buyer resistance to soft tops, due to a) being spoiled by comforts b) fear of the sun.
I've had several softtops which were much too noisy with the top up, both on the highway and in city driving. And I had a softtop vandalized. No problem with a metal roof.
It was believed by most manufacturers in the 1970s that the American government would outlaw convertibles, which is the primary reason why American manufacturers stopped making convertibles in 1976.
The complexity of Ford's hardtop convertible probably stopped any development of new hardtop convertibles, just like the variable displacement engines disappeared after the infamous V-8-6-4 until technology caught up to the concept in the 1990s.
. . . and a primary reason for the existence of this ungainly beast.
Then, there are automakers who couldn't make up their minds if they were building coupes or convertibles:
My NA Miata's soft top was vandalized, a new top is a grand or more installed. They only last 10 years - if you're lucky.
The PRHT costs about $1400 more, but like I said, in 10 years a new soft top will cost you about that much. And you'd still have to pay for a manually removeable hard top for the winter, which costs $1800+ IIRC.
In the long term, a PRHT may actually cost you less. Especially with resale factored in.
The Spyder was massively heavy, and the mechanism was very complex. The Miata's PRHT is simple and adds only 70 lbs to the Miata, less than one passenger. You can't feel the difference, even performance mags tested them and the numbers proved it.
I doubt power soft tops are any simple than my PRHT, though a manual soft top on the Miata is elegantly simple.
Although I will admit, when I was about 5, I thought the TR7/8 were very cool looking
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
A "myth" backed up by threatened rollover regulations of the 1970s which would have basically outlawed convertibles. Sales were lower at the time, but still enough to build and sell them.
If you plot convertible production from say 1970 onwards, it's a death spiral downward. There's your answer---follow the money and the graph.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Regards,
Jose
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
Given the slope of the roof in the rear (that would be on the right side of the picture), I'm guessing that's Andre's Grand Am.
I think everything else he owns is a sedan, except for the Silverado.
Oh, wait, it could be the Catalina, if it isn't stored in the garage.
Hope you can dig out enough to get to the liquor store for more beer!
Here's a pic I took of the Silverado...
And these pics were taken last Saturday/Sunday. So naturally, everything looks worse now, with the 9-10" or more we've gotten since then. And it's blown around so much, I really don't know how much we got. Oh, and I just heard on the news that this is now the snowiest winter in recorded history here. We had been #3 before this storm started, behind 1995-96 (#2) and 1898-1899 (#1).
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
Can you say "El Nino"?
Andre, I would have never guessed that the mystery pic was one of your R-bodies!
I've got similar pictures from a storm we had a number of years ago here in Colorado. The Volvo wagon across the street slowly became buried with the drifts that were created from the wind.
My last car in snow photo is not nearly so dramatic...one sucker decided to drive in an overpowered low profile tire RWD car...
* two lawn mowers facing away from each other
* the backside of tail-finned Cadillacs from 1955-62 in order sequentially
* Jimmy Hoffa
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Frua tended to designs that looked alike so that by just showing the nose, I was hoping someone mistake it for a Monteverdi or something. :P
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Ugh hang on how do you resize pics on here again? I can edit and shrink them down on my end but trying to open any kind of photo editing software on this computer could take an hour or more just to load.
Imidazol97 has the height/width dialed in for an "exact" fit, but I keep forgetting to save his numbers.