convertibles

[random works]

It seems convertibles were more popular decades ago, and I wondered if I might be recollecting more because I was younger and always thought they had the cool factor. Seeing one go by with happy people in sunglasses and hair streaming behind in the wind made me want to ride along too!

[TBman]

They were fun. I had a few Triumph Spitfires and really enjoyed owning them (when they ran, ). The last one I had also had a removable hard top and a 5th gear overdrive which was really a lot of fun to drive. Here's a picture of the model I had (not mine). I wouldn't mind having a time machine and go back there for a while.....

[Acousticado]

I love mine. My wife does too, but lesser so...a hair thing. I have a full head, let the wind do its thing.

It’s true they’re much less offered for some time now, likely because of safety and insurance. My insurance isn’t very much in part because my Solara is an ‘03 and it’s in winter storage each year for 6 months.

[The Watchman]

I think they were more prominent on TV and the movies back then, because, well, it was Hollywood, and people in convertibles look good on camera. But they have always been pretty impractical as a daily use vehicle here where we have cold and winter seasons.

As a kid, I always heard that high insurance rates discouraged them, but that may have been an excuse.

[fitness1]

Insurance companies had something to do with the lack of ragtops in the modern day!

[tinnitus]

Originally Posted by TBman

They were fun. I had a few Triumph Spitfires and really enjoyed owning them (when they ran, ). The last one I had also had a removable hard top and a 5th gear overdrive which was really a lot of fun to drive. Here's a picture of the model I had (not mine). I wouldn't mind having a time machine and go back there for a while.....

Not a convertible, I owned an Austin Mini (when they were still British), also wired by Lucas "The Prince of Darkness." It had sufficient issues to steer me away from a convertible MGB, or its sexy fastback counterpart, the MGBGT.

Borrowed and drove a Spitfire very similar to yours with a ragtop and 4-speed tranny back in 77-78, but mostly with the top up - it was wintertime in Oregon and Washington.

Any time-machine effect either of us might experience in going back to those Triumphs would, of course, include that noticeable whine of the manual transmission, unlike the smooth isolation from a car you feel (or rather don't feel) in modern vehicles. There was no mistaking in the Spitfire that you're driving an actual mechanical device. Very pleasant memories for me.

[Slothead56]

I drive a 2011 Volvo C70. It’s a hardtop that does a Transformer move to stow the roof in the trunk. I love this car (I’ve owned Volvo’s forever) and will drive it until the wheels fall off. It only has 127,000 miles so there’s a chance it will outlast me.

My wife is definitely a ragtop girl. After a LeBaron 30 years ago and a BMW 325 she now drives a 2014 Mini convertible. I call it “the go cart”. Super fun to drive though lousy in bad weather.

Nothing like the first Spring day you can drop the top. I adhere to the 60* rule. If it’s cooler than 60* the top never goes down.

[K20C]

We’ve had this one for many years. Design supposedly inspired by vintage Chris Craft boats. Rarely drive it, maybe 1,000 miles/year. We keep thinking we will sell it but…..






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[dilver]

My daily driver is a convertible. It even does well in the snow…

[KenL]

I've had two. My first car was a '65 Corvair Corsa convertible. And 30 years later I had a 1990 Mazda Miata "B" pkg.

Both were great cars. But my dermatologist wouldn't be happy if I bought another convertible.

[RedJoker]

I built a shelby cobra replica that I put a soft-top on. With a heater and heated seats, I drove it year round. But I have to admit, as I age I prefer the relative quiet of a hard top.

I still say I'll get another convertible someday. We'll see.

[Bob Womack]

Originally Posted by TBman

I had a few Triumph Spitfires and really enjoyed owning them (when they ran, ). The last one I had also had a removable hard top and a 5th gear overdrive which was really a lot of fun to drive. Here's a picture of the model I had (not mine). I wouldn't mind having a time machine and go back there for a while.....

Yup. The first car I ever drove was a Spit. When I was a teen I was the crew chief on a Spit team, We had a pair of them in BRG and white. We scabbed the one for parts to keep the other running. The owner said it wouldn't do for me to keep them running without getting a chance to drive them.

A few years ago another friend owned a vermilion Spit and I got to drive it as well.

Note the ubiquitous Spitfire oil stain beneath it. I loved the low-end grunt.

I grew up in a family with various sports cars. Mini Coopers, MGs, Alfa Romeos, etc. Never got over it, either.






Bob

[TBman]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

[IMG]
........
Never got over it, either.

I still daydream about my Spitfires. My wife has me driving Rav4s forever now,

[Silly Moustache]

I've been driving (legally) since 1966 (in my last year at school, I got caned by the headmaster for driving to school and parking my Ford Anglia next to his Vauxhall).

My Dad was in the Motor trade for most of his working life and would have sourced sports cars if I'd wanted but I really wasn't interested in soft tops.

Later in the '70s I bought an MG google eye for a girl friend and it was quite fun for a while, but I couldn't get used to hearing the cars behind me as well as those in front and coming in the opposite direction.

I really enjoyed having sunroofs in my Fords, BMW, and Hondas, but even they have gone out of fashion now.

[RP]

I don't know that I'll ever get one, but I'd like to have a Toyota Solara convertible having previously enjoyed the somewhat cramped driving conditions of a Mazda MX5 for several years. There are some days here in Central Virginia that are just perfect topdown weather...