I'm just here for the argument.

Convertibles are like boats -- they seem neat, then you own one and check that box.

Put me in the coupe camp.  

trucke said:

 

The only time a convertible looks better with the top up is when you're planning to drive it in the rain.

Beg to differ:

Looks just fine as a coupe:

And equally fine as a convertible:

I am in the depends on the car camp. 

IMO The Jensen interceptor coupe is a travesty of two thirds design. It looks great from the front but the styling in the rear is horrible. A heavy, bulbous overhang that is not at all complimented by the huge glass, disparate angles and giant stainless trim.

The convertible fixes this. Top up or down

Sleeker, a better coupe profile and a better (but still not perfect)  roofline with the top up

The hatch is..... ew.

Too much bulk just drooping over the rear axle. Like an octopus

Or a dude in a dread hat

Toyman01 said:

Since the advent of A/C and Heat, drop tops are pretty worthless 98% of the time. Looks are secondary. 

 

 

You really don't strike me as the "comfort over fun" kind of guy. A hard top is nowhere near as fun and involving as a convertible.

Makers like Fiat avoided the convertible problems by radically changing the range for each version of a given car

They are each different while still the same and all have their strengths. I wish automakers would still do this type of thing.

In reply to Jumper K Balls :

I agree with you that the Interceptor coupe is ugly, but for me it's kind of in the "so weird it's good" camp. It's just so strange, so out there, that it really catches your eye.

In reply to dculberson :

After being around one for the better part of a year I have gone from your opinion to revulsion. Usually I warm up to cars with iffy styling over time, but the Interceptor was the opposite.

Boy, you have to love Italian ads from the 60s.  Two couples walk toward three 850s.  How will they leave?  My best guess is that the two individuals who are having an illicit affair will leave in the convertible and the jilted spouses will depart in the hardtops.

In most cases the closed version may look better than the drop top, but top down motoring is so much fun that convertibles win 11 times out of 10 on the fun factor.  If the temp is higher than my age, the top is down and very frequently on days cooler than that.  Nothing beats a cool fall day, top down and heater on full.

In reply to Adrian_Thompson :

Start at the front bumper, and as your eyes move back, it just gets better and better until that awesome twin-antenna dismount. Kind of like watching a good ski jump.

Top up or top down? 

pinchvalve said:

Both nice, the roadster is better hands-down.

Maybe your hands are down----- but I much prefer the coupe.   Different strokes for different folks.

Of all the people that I personally know that have owned convertibles, 100% of them have had the top cut open with a knife. So not only are you giving up structural rigidity, increasing weight and adding senseless complexity. You are also significantly increasing the chance of vandalism or burglary happening to you. You've already chosen the ugliest version of you car. Add in all the other negative aspects of convertibles and I believe it clearly shows a serious deficit in decision making  abilities. 

Nick Comstock said:

Of all the people that I personally know that have owned convertibles, 100% of them have had the top cut open with a knife. So not only are you giving up structural rigidity, increasing weight and adding senseless complexity. You are also significantly increasing the chance of vandalism or burglary happening to you. You've already chosen the ugliest version of you car. Add in all the other negative aspects of convertibles and I believe it clearly shows a serious deficit in decision making  abilities. 

That is why I am not going to put a top on my Spitfire at all. Cause I have good decision making abilities.

David S. Wallens said:

Top up or top down? 

The only correct answer for a convertible is top down. Otherwise, just buy the coupe.

I think the tops themselves make convertibles ugly. Especially with more modern cars where your options are black or tan, vinyl or cloth. Usually doesn't go with the vehicle at all, and unless it disappears when you put it down, you have a mass of crumpled ugliness right behind the driver. 

For a custom build or an old hot rod where price is less important, color match tops or custom colors/fabrics add alot to looks, for me, but that can cost more than all 3 vehicles in my driveway to make, and wouldn't make sense for the likes of Ford, Mazda, or many (what word do I want to use?) "Appliance" manufacturers that happen to have convertibles in their lineup. 

In reply to 93EXCivic :

Nick Comstock said:

Of all the people that I personally know that have owned convertibles, 100% of them have had the top cut open with a knife. So not only are you giving up structural rigidity, increasing weight and adding senseless complexity. You are also significantly increasing the chance of vandalism or burglary happening to you. You've already chosen the ugliest version of you car. Add in all the other negative aspects of convertibles and I believe it clearly shows a serious deficit in decision making  abilities. 

Sit right seat while we wail the Manic Miata through the wooded foothills on a nice spring day.  It's well worth the inconvenience.

On the subject of vandalism, it takes about a week to learn that you always leave it unlocked with nothing important in it, at all times.  Hell, when I drove the Poncho every day, I used to park it with the glove box open just to demonstrate that it wasn't worth the time.

Nick Comstock said:

Of all the people that I personally know that have owned convertibles, 100% of them have had the top cut open with a knife. So not only are you giving up structural rigidity, increasing weight and adding senseless complexity. You are also significantly increasing the chance of vandalism or burglary happening to you. You've already chosen the ugliest version of you car. Add in all the other negative aspects of convertibles and I believe it clearly shows a serious deficit in decision making  abilities. 

OK, I've owned 5 drop tops and never had a single issue with people interfering with the car, not one.  I have literally dozens of friends who's owned hundreds of drop tops over the last 50 years and I have personally met zero people who have had an issue with someone knifing or breaking into the car.  Hell, I park my Boxster on the streets of Detroit with zero concern for safety.

The only time you'll catch my TR6 with the top up is when it's raining.   Otherwise it will have a tonneau cover when parked, 1/2 on while I'm driving.   I also don't lock it.  Anything of value goes in the trunk.

In reply to Joe Gearin :

That's a very handsome car.

In reply to Nick Comstock :

Thanks---- A Miata does everything better---- except look good, and sound good!   The exhaust note is wonderful!  

Vigo said:

 And despite what everyone says the solstice is much better looking than the ugly Saturn copy.

I'm gonna be civil.  The Solstice is one of the ugliest cars i can think of! It is, for example, WAY worse than both the Aztek and the Sunfire.  

I agree, I think the Saturn/opel version is much better looking. The Pontiac is kind of bland

Jumper K Balls said:

Makers like Fiat avoided the convertible problems by radically changing the range for each version of a given car

 

 

 

yes and no. the Fiat 124 AC1 coupe looked a LOT like the spider.

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