When did everyone stop liking convertibles?

In reply to Klayfish:

I'm 6'-3" and 250lbs and drove a Samurai. It can be done

In reply to ebonyandivory:

Two words 'Hillman Imp'

You guys are making me want to go buy a Miata. Seriously, if someone buys the MGB GT I might have a hard time not shopping for a perfect NA to put in the stable.

When I had mine, if it was moving and it was not raining, then the top was down. All the way from London Ontario to Bozeman Montana in one frantic 36 hour topless blast I swear that fear and fresh air is the only reason I did not die.

I never did figure out what exactly the true definition of Montana's "Safe and Prudent" speed limit was back in the 90's. I translated to "Foot to the floor and pray the elk stay off the road" and it seemed to have worked. Can also state with confidence that 120 mph in 5th is about all that a Miata will do with the top down.

To this day my nephew ( 13 at the time) wont get in a car with me. He must be a convertible hater.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: You guys are all missing the most obvious reason- it's hard to look at a smartphone screen with all of that sun glare, and that's the only thing most drivers care to look at

Quoted for (my perceived idea of the) truth.

Will they make autonomous convertibles? I doubt it. In the future, we are statistically irrelevant, weather we like our sports cars topless or not.

NOHOME wrote: I never did figure out what exactly the true definition of Montana's "Safe and Prudent" speed limit was back in the 90's. I translated to "Foot to the floor and pray the elk stay off the road" and it seemed to have worked. Can also state with confidence that 120 mph in 5th is about all that a Miata will do with the top down.

Stock? If your speedo said 120 then it was being awfully optimistic. :)

I think there's several contributing factors, most of which have been mentioned already. But...

1.) Theft issues. This is especially true in densely populated urban areas to which more and more people are moving.

2.) Increased speed limits basically everywhere makes DDing a convertible very loud.

3.) Top maintenance. In a DD situation, who wants to deal with yet one more thing that can go wrong? In the past, manual tops and simpler mechanisms were less failure prone.

4.) Stigma against convertible owners, especially in performance oriented cars. You can never make the argument that your convertible corvette or 996 is for track use.

5.) Convertibles, in my experience, engage the driver more. It's more elemental. My observation lately is that people are looking less to experience the world around them and more interested in isolating themselves in comfort. (See smartphone comment earlier).

That being said, I love dedicated convertibles like Miatae (obviously) or a z3/z4. Something about taking a coupe, lopping the top off and adding a bunch of weight to stiffen up the chassis just dosen't sit right with me.

wheelsmithy wrote:

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: You guys are all missing the most obvious reason- it's hard to look at a smartphone screen with all of that sun glare, and that's the only thing most drivers care to look at

Quoted for (my perceived idea of the) truth. Will they make autonomous convertibles? I doubt it. In the future, we are statistically irrelevant, weather we like our sports cars topless or not.

Whether the weather?

codrus wrote:

NOHOME wrote: I never did figure out what exactly the true definition of Montana's "Safe and Prudent" speed limit was back in the 90's. I translated to "Foot to the floor and pray the elk stay off the road" and it seemed to have worked. Can also state with confidence that 120 mph in 5th is about all that a Miata will do with the top down.

Stock? If your speedo said 120 then it was being awfully optimistic. :)

I dunno, I think I could manage it

I've seen 125 on the autobahn in a Miata with the top down. That's about all she had though.

Keith Tanner wrote: I dunno, I think I could manage it

In a stock 1.6 NA?

Is that the only kind of Miata there is?

Actually, it was. Well, I think it had an intake. That 5 hp makes all the difference. I'm not saying we got there immediately, but we got there.

I have always been a convertible guy, have always had at least on in the stable. Wear sunscreen unless it is raining. Wear earplugs on the interstate. I think people like the "idea" of a convertible, but are not that into it. My kids and grandkids all dig the Miata.

Miata RF is not really a coupe, it is a convertible with a retractable targa top, whether you disable the power top or not. I always liked the looks of the NB Miata coupe.

codrus wrote:

NOHOME wrote: I never did figure out what exactly the true definition of Montana's "Safe and Prudent" speed limit was back in the 90's. I translated to "Foot to the floor and pray the elk stay off the road" and it seemed to have worked. Can also state with confidence that 120 mph in 5th is about all that a Miata will do with the top down.

Stock? If your speedo said 120 then it was being awfully optimistic. :)

Eastern end of Montana offers some mighty long stretches where you can keep your foot to the floor, so yeah, I stand by the 120 on the speedo. Was it really 116 or so? Was I seeing it at an offset angle where it might have been less, I don't have a clue. Too busy looking for elk and cops who might have a different interpretation of Safe and Prudent.

http://i.imgur.com/qEGudEg.jpg

As mentioned, this was with the top down cause I was a bit of a convertible hardcore person.

Keith Tanner wrote: Is that the only kind of Miata there is?

If NOHOME was driving an NC or ND under Montana's "reasonable and prudent" law, then he has a time machine, because it was struck down in '98. Could've been a 1.8, I suppose, or maybe a very early NB.

My understanding is that stock 1.6s top out around 115 actual speed and that the speedo is pretty inaccurate by that point. I've never actually measured it though. :)

In reply to SEADave:

You have no soul! Convertibles are very simply the best ride to cruise in. A drive around the lake on a pleasant day is a memory to cherish your whole life.. I grew up with the 1950's convertibles.. My favorite was the 1959 Cadillac Eldorado but I also enjoyed a 1963 Buick Wildcat.. Nothing however approaches the MG T series. The top is normally down or hung up in the garage. But it has one other feature you Miata owners can't enjoy..

Cut away doors.

Drop your arm down and you can touch the pavement. Yet you sit in the car, not on it like a motorcycle..

In vintage racing the guys with the biggest smiles and most fun per dollar always are the MGT series class.. OK our top speed is 75 MPH. with 54 horsepower stock acceleration is casual and skinny tires means cornering speed is tepid at best.. Yet the group has wonderful comradery since it is so easy to master that the experienced racers simply wait to dice with the new guys to share the pleasure..

The purchase price of MG T series is so modest that I was able to hang onto mine even during the deepest depth of the recession. Now with the premium of owning a driver with it's patina showing a particular cars history over a freshly (and expensively) restored version they can be maintained for pocket change and stored for those wonderful days yet to come..

A couple of things militate against convertibles for me, although I did spend much of my youth driving TR-3s and MGA roadsters.

We always did long trips to car events - into the thousands of miles. Convertibles just aren't that comfortable as you get out of the car wind blown and deaf most of the time.

And for the follicularly challenged, a baseball cap doesn't really solve the sunburn issue - and you can go through a lot of caps.

The deciding thing for me was that with a few exceptions, the coupes just look nicer to me.

My only remaining convertible is my old race car, the rest are all coupe, - MGA, Jensen, Solstice, Z4M, wife's Mazda, and three other cars I sold recently were also coupes. Hard to argue with looks better and more comfortable.

I never liked them, especially the convertible versions of coupes. Leaky, less rigid, theft issues, usually heavier if they were originally a coupe.

Then I drove a Miata.

I now own two convertibles, both with leaky tops and over 200k miles! Life is funny like that.

ebonyandivory wrote: In reply to volvoclearinghouse: Sex in a convertible!

Mk1 Mr2, T-Tops off. Had that great bar across the top for her to hold on to as well..

I've had my S2000 for over 17 years now and one of the things that I enjoy most after working late, is puttimg the top down on a cold dark night, setting the heater to nuclear meltdown level, and cruising home on the interstate. I also enjoy tracking it with the top down much more than with it up due to the increased sense of speed and better visibility.

I have 2 convertibles, don't care that they aren't the best versions of the models for track cars because I have a track car.

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An old man once told me "every man needs to own a convertible once in his life" I am now the old man and can't agree more. I swear when the top goes down my gray hair starts to turn darker again and the birth date on my drivers license starts rolling backward. Unfortunately when the key gets turned off everything goes back to normal. You are just so much more aware of what is going on around you, the smell, sights, feel, etc. My favorite time is early evening when the sun is going down!

Last night was a perfect for dropping the top. Temps in the high 60s, nearly full moon, clear skies, no traffic----- perfect!

I drove the TR6 around a bit, and was glad I did. I'll always have at least one convertible (or motorcycle) in my fleet.

Ive only had a convertible about 6 months or so. I love it. Very involving and liberating after a long day. Much like my motorcycle used to be before the accident. (No more bikes for me, so a convertible is as close as i can get to that feeling of connectedness)

In reply to Dusterbd13 :

Coupes and sedans are fine as transportation modules.  With traffic and congestion common in most peoples life it makes sense. Sure you have all sorts of touch skins and sound systems to entertain you during that soul numbing crawl home.  
But you're missing the pleasure of a cruise around the lake with the top down.  A casual drive in the country enjoying the sights, sounds, and yes smells.   It's  easy to relate to that slower pace of life when you're fully enmeshed in it.  
The fun of the frantic raising of the roof when that unexpected summer storm catches you.  Or do you make a dash for the coming bridge to  leisurely erect the top or sit it out waiting for the rain to stop?  In a coupe or sedan that's just a boring  flick of the wipers.  Nothing to laugh about or share the joy of the unexpected pleasure of a summer rain. 
 

Sure that top can remain up  in the daily commute. You can be like every other person going through their working years.    

Or the next vehicle  can be  different, that convertible 

Toyman01 said:

I stopped liking them about 40 years ago.

And 3 years later this answer still holds true. 

I want another - would love a TR6 or a big Healy