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Convertible

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For the bond or stock that can be converted to equity, see convertible security.
Saab 900 Convertible
1966 Lincoln Continental 4-door convertible
1981 AMC Eagle 4-WD convertible

A convertible is a car body with a folding or retractable roof, the roof itself known variously as the top, soft top or hood (chiefly UK).

The collapsible textile roof section may be canvas or vinyl over an articulated folding frame. The textile roof may include sound-deadening linings (Volkswagen Beetle) and interior linings (Chrysler LeBaron} and may have electrical or electro-hydraulic mechanisms for raising the roof. When the top is erected it is secured to the windshield frame header with automatic or manual latches. When the top is made of a rigid material such as steel, it is called a retractable hardtop, coupé convertible or coupé cabriolet.

Convertibles by their nature can suffer poor break-in protection, poor rear visibility or pronounced skuttle shake, a characteristic wherby the structural design of the bulkhead between engine and passenger compartment of a convertible suffers sufficiently poor rigidity to negatively impact ride and handling — and to allow noticable vibration, shudder or chassis-flexing into the passenger compartment. Modern structural design can minimize skuttle shake.

Variations

In Europe, a two door convertible or drophead coupe may also be termed a cabriolet.[1]

Unlike a roadster, which may also have a soft folding top offering little protection from inclement weather, and thus called a "ragtop"; a convertible has roll-up glass windows in the sides so the entire vehicle is "convertible" to an enclosed coupé or sedan. Because most convertibles utilized a cloth type material, as opposed to a metal roof, the term "ragtop" often used as slang for a convertible.

Convertibles are usually 2-door models, with far fewer 4-door models exist e.g. the 1960s Lincoln Continental.

Unusual convertibles include an early four-wheel drive AMC Eagle line with a steel targa bar, removable fiberglass roof section. In 2003 Audi offered its A4 Cabriolet with all-wheel drive. During the 80's, Jaguar produced an XJ-6C with two removable panels over the front seats and a partial fold-down convertible section in the back.

Tonneau covers

Convertible design may or may not hide completely the folded top, or may expose the interior of the folded top to sun exposure -- in which case tonneau covers of various designs can be snapped or secured in place to protect the folded roof.

  • The second generation Mercedes SL popularized the manually operated rigid tonneau cover -- in its case accompanied by a separate removable hardtop.
  • The Porsche Boxster, Toyota MR2 and later Mazda Miata featured "Z-fol" tops, whereby the exterior of the retracted fabric roof protected the remaining roof from sun exposure — eliminating the need for a separate tonneau cover.

Windblocker

Mazda pioneered the windblocker with its Mazda RX7 convertible -- also the first textile convertible top to be manufactured on its own assembly line and dropped into place during assembly as a single unit.

The windblocker controls prevents unwanted drafts from reaching the occupants — air that rushes from behind the passengers having been forced over the windshield into a natural lower-pressure zone where the passengers sit.

Current convertibles feature windblockers of various designs including detatchable fold-up designs (Toyota Solara, vertically retractable glass (Audi TT), and carefully designed minimally designed flaps (Mazda Miata).

Mercedes currently offers a feature to provide heated air to the neck area of the occupants of its SLK and SL models.

Safety

Contemporary convertible design may include such features as electrically-heated glass rear window (for improved visibility), seat belt pre-tensioners, boron steel reinforced A-pillers, front and side airbags, and a safety cage — a horseshoe like structure around the passenger compartment and roll over protection structures or (ROPS) with pyrotechnically charged roll hoops hidden behind the rear seats that deploy under roll-over conditions whether the roof is retracted or not.

Notably, the Volvo C70 retractable hardtop includes a door-mounted side impact protection inflatable which inflates upward from the windows sill — vs. downward like the typical curtain airbag.[2] The curtain has an extra stiff construction with double rows of slats that are slightly offset from each other. This allows them to remain upright and offer effective head protection even an open window. The curtain also deflates slowly to provide protection should the car roll over.

History in America

1962 Rambler American

In the vintage car era, the convertible was the default body style. It was not until 1910 that Cadillac introduced the first closed-body car. A combination of weak engines and public expectation that a car was analogous to a wagon meant that steel roofs were not in demand until then.

During the 1950s and 1960s, convertibles were available from automakers in the U.S. in a broad variety of models and trim levels. Most often they were the prestige models in their respective line, such as the Packard Caribbean, Oldsmobile 98, or the Imperial by Chrysler. However, economical versions in compact sizes were also popular, including the Rambler American and the Studebaker Lark.

Later, convertibles were made less often, possibly due in part to an unfulfilled threat made in the mid-1970s by the United States government to increase rollover safety requirements that may have made auto manufacturers hesitant to manufacture cars that would be unsellable under those new restrictions. By the 1970s they had almost disappeared in the U.S. In 1976 the Cadillac Eldorado was advertised as "The last convertible in America". During this period of very low convertible production, T-tops became a popular alternative to convertibles, especially in muscle cars.

In other parts of the world and on the European market in particular, convertible production continued throughout this era, some of the more notable models being the Mercedes SL, the VW Beetle Cabriolet, the VW Golf Cabriolet and the Jaguar E-type.

It was not until the 1980s and cars like the Chrysler LeBaron and Saab 900 convertibles that the body style made a comeback in the United States. Also in the 1980s, hot hatches such as the Ford Escort XR3i and Volkswagen Golf GTI were selling a high amount of cabriolets, and in the 1990s, the Mazda MX-5 again cemented the convertible as the sports car body style of choice. Today, there are scores of convertible cars offered by nearly every manufacturer.

A cabriolet (or cabrio), also known as a drophead coupe, is a two door automobile that has a removable or retracting roof and rear window, known more commonly as a "convertible". Soft tops are usually made of vinyl or canvas, and folding plastic rear windows are common. A convertible can have any number of doors, but cabriolets can only have two.[3]

Notable convertibles

See also

2005 Porsche Boxster S

References

  1. ^ - Definition from Dictionary Reverso Online Dictionary(Retrieved 3 January 2008)
  2. ^ "2006 Volvo C70 Convertible". Motorweek Program #2533.
  3. ^ Cabriolet - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary(Retrieved 3 January 2008)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to convertibles.
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