Hardtop convertibles gain popularity
`Gee-whiz factor' supplemented by a more silent ride
SAN JOSE, Calif. --
It was sold for only three years.
Now, a half-century later, hardtop convertibles have become a popular choice, thanks to improvements in electronics and manufacturing. Buyers who like the wind in their hair choose them for added security, ease of use, and all-weather functionality.
And watching their steel roofs release, fold, and hide in a trunk still draws curious onlookers.
Two new ones -- the Volvo C70 and the Pontiac G6 -- went on sale this year . One more, the
For Joe Wiesenfelder, senior editor at cars.com, the appeal is obvious.
``For one, they're quieter," he said. ``When the top is up, they tend to be better all-weather cars. And they tend to have less of a blind spot, at least better than the average soft top."
Still, there's no denying what he calls ``the gee-whiz factor."
``You stop traffic anytime you make the top work," Wiesenfelder said.
One industry expert predicts that by 2015, more than two-thirds of convertible sales will be hardtop models.
Convertibles nearly died in the late '70s and early '80s -- the 1976 Cadillac Eldorado was lamented as the last American convertible -- as buyer tastes changed and automakers focused on fuel efficiency. In 1982 -- the year, coincidentally, when domestic convertibles returned to the market as Chrysler brought out its LeBaron and Dodge 600 models -- only 43,000 convertibles were sold.
But Asian and European automakers found U S buyers still thrilled to top-down driving, and by 1990, when the Mazda Miata was introduced, convertible sales had grown to 188,000 units.
U S convertible sales topped 300,000 for the first time in 2001, and hit another record in 2004, with sales spurred by two-seat roadsters, versions of such popular models as the Chrysler PT Cruiser, VW New Beetle, and Ford Mustang, and a continuous stream of new choices.
Auto-information website Edmunds.com lists 50 convertibles on the U S market, costing from under $20,000 to more than $300,000.
New ones this year include the Pontiac G6 ($29,150), the Saturn Sky ($23,690), the Volvo C70 ($39,405), the
Jace Stokes, a Pontiac product manager, acknowledges, ``The convertible market is kind of fickle. It has got its highs and lows." Still, he's optimistic that the new G6 convertible could represent 25 percent of the sales of that vehicle, which also is sold as a sedan and a coupe. That could mean 15,000 to 25,000 G6 convertible sales a year, he said.
The
``We want to be cool," Stokes said. ``We think we're becoming cool."
The four-seat VW Eos comes with a five-piece roof that opens as a sunroof or fully retracts as a convertible. In fact, VW is calling it a CSC roof, for coupe-sunroof-convertible. Engine choices include a turbo-charged, 200-horsepower four-cylinder priced from $27,990 and a 250-horsepower, 3.2-liter V-6 priced from $36,850.
Volkswagen has sold more than 1 million convertibles, or cabriolets as it calls them, worldwide, including its Beetle, Karmann Ghia, Gold, and New Beetle models. A new one, based on the Concept R roadster, might be coming, too, from the German automaker.
Wiesenfelder said the practicality and affordability of the new hardtop models should further boost convertible sales. Still, the wane in popularity of two-door models, the relative small size of the back seat in many convertibles, and the diminished cargo capacity of trunks once the roof is stored will keep some away.
The new Volvo C70 deals with some of those issues, he said. It features front seats that slide forward electronically to allow better access to the back and a trunk setup that allows the storage of larger items, even with the roof down.
© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.
