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Coupes & Convertibles Hardtops vs. Ragtops
19 messages, Last post on Apr 21, 2008 at 12:40 PM
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Hardtops edge out classic ragtop convertibles http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061019/BUSINESS01/610190308/10- - 14/BUSINESS01
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Replying to: rockylee (Oct 19, 2006 4:15 pm)  Rocky |
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...to me, sorta sad. The trend speaks to the growing, for lack of a better word, "disconnection" between drivers and the driving experience. Ragtops are always less attractive with the top up, and the tops almost always seem to be an awkward necessity. The car seems to say "I have to have this thing, but I don't like it. Put it down and drive me the way I'm meant to be driven." The first gen Viper had this ridiculous top that when up had terrible visibility, forced drivers to hunch down, and even had slide side windows made of plexiglass. To me, it was totally cool, a sign of a car for serious drivers, a racecar barely tamed. Convertibles are among the last vestiges of everyday cars that are purely for driving's sake. Noisy, windswept, possibly dangerous, and with handling compromises indemic. But tremendously immediate and fun in feel and operation. But people don't really seem to want that anymore. It started with those airflow screens behind the seats, to minimize the turbulence. And now retractable hardtops that approximate a coupe when up. I'm sure eventually, convertibles will have a magnetic field you can switch on around the cockpit, so you can have the top down, but with absolutely no wind. 
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Replying to: john_324 (Oct 23, 2006 6:36 am) I wouldn't have it any other way! Everyone should experience a convertible at some point in their driving life. A convertible for me now isn't about driving around during the hot daylight hours; they're for that perfect warm evening. You know the type of day where the high is like 90 degrees or better, but at night it cools down to like the lower 80's or upper 70's. There is absolutely nothing like it. Hell even the unbearable daytime temps are welcome at night because there is no sun to beat down on you. Now with hardtops making their way from roadsters to 4-seaters, convertibles will no doubt get even more popular because a few of those traditional compromises have now been eradicated from the convertible ownership experience. M |
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Replying to: john_324 (Oct 23, 2006 6:36 am)  I've always associated convertibles with leisurely, ponderously-handling touring cars. Any car intended to be driven vigorously would be better off designed with a fixed roof, even the S2000. Honda could have brought it in under 2600 pounds if it had been conceived and built as a fixed-roof coupe. Driving it with the top down detracts from my driving experience, which is why I'm going to get the hardtop and leave it on.
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Replying to: bumpy (Oct 24, 2006 8:25 am) But to me, unless I spend the majority of my time on a racetrack (which I don't), I'm not going to be operating within the space between the limits of a convertible version and the higher limits of a coupe version. And my driving skills simply aren't going to overtake the performance potential of a decent convertible. So "driving for driving's sake" is more than simply statistical performance (0-60 times, Gs in turns, etc.) to me. I think it has to do with what could be termed the immediacy of the experience...being viscerally connected to what's going on. And that's what convertibles can offer in a big way...you get much more a sense of the total experience when the wind is blasting over you, when you can hear the tires on the turns, etc. To me, that totally offsets the minor loss of performance potential.  I think a lot of people also feel this way. How else to explain the success of the Miata? |
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Replying to: john_324 (Oct 24, 2006 9:08 am) Not to mention the many other ragtop models that are selling very well out there. I know from experience that being out in the fresh air brings a whole dimension to driving that no steel top car can match (unless it's top comes off or goes down ). I would definitely consider an E92 BMW convertible if they can keep the price below $60,000 
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Replying to: john_324 (Oct 24, 2006 9:08 am) RWD under 2500 pounds. I can get the full wind and tire noise experience by rolling the windows down.
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Replying to: bumpy (Oct 24, 2006 2:07 pm) I still think that's too much of a "performance stats" reason. Most people simply aren't judging cars like the Miata that way... "I can get the full wind and tire noise experience by rolling the windows down." I'd have to respectfully disagree...I've owned both, and while windows down in a coupe is good, there's no comparison to the sensory input you get with a convertible. And not only sounds, but also visual. You see so much more of what's around you without b-pillars in the way...
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Replying to: john_324 (Oct 25, 2006 5:24 am) |
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Coupes & Convertibles Hardtops vs. Ragtops
