Convertibles through the ages

Popular cars of the past

May 25, 2008

Special to the Star

Convertibles are certainly enjoying a resurgence. Every major car company save Hyundai, Kia, Subaru and Suzuki has at least one in its stable, and there are more power-retractable hardtops, even on lower-priced models, than ever.

Will it last? That's a tough one to call: throughout their history, just like their roofs, convertibles' popularity has been up and down, and for a while, among North American companies, they disappeared completely.

True convertibles, meaning a car that could convert from open to fully closed, trickled in slowly: Ford claimed its first "Coupelet" for 1915, while tops dropped on models such as Dodge, Willys and Buick in 1927.

Although American Graffiti would have us believe that everyone drove a ragtop or two-door in the good old days, the far more family friendly four-door sedan was invariably the best-seller with volume automakers.

No one lusted after those, though; always an attractive design, the convertible soared to new heights in the so-called "golden age of styling" in the late 1920s and 1930s. Some of the loveliest came from high-end, low-volume manufacturers such as Cord, Marmon, Duesenberg and Stutz.

Cadillac was also on board, turning out what was arguably the best-looking post-war convertible of all, the inaugural Eldorado of 1953. That model would make ragtop headlines again some 23 years later for its demise.

Plymouth also played a major role in 1939, when it introduced the first power-operated top, which used hydraulic cylinders to raise and lower it.

Unlike today, when four-door ragtops are strictly concept vehicles, many companies produced "convertible sedans," including Packard, Ford and Dodge. They tended to be pricey and most were gone by the late 1940s. Notable exceptions included the stunning but movie-star-costly Mercedes-Benz 300 cabriolets, built in limited numbers between 1951 and 1962, and the Lincoln Continental, which became the last North American production four-door ragtop when it bowed out for 1967.

Most companies were still producing two-door convertibles, but they could see the writing on the wall. Rumours of impending rollover legislation swirled through the industry (although it never came), but in the end, it was economics that killed the convertible.

Most North American ones were big-engine land yachts, and they were hit hard by rising gas prices. Throw in the increasing availability of air conditioning, and new highways for more high-speed driving, and people just weren't buying.

Chrysler built its last convertible in 1970, while Ford's last, the Mustang, finished in 1973. Chevrolet's final one came in 1975, and then Cadillac announced that the 1976 Eldorado would be the last American convertible.

The company produced exactly 14,000, which was 5,050 more than in 1975. Speculators snapped them up as investments, often paying two or three times the sticker, and with some buying as many as 10 cars.

There were so many requests for the very last one that while the company kept it for posterity, it set aside 200 as "last run" cars, all identical with white paint, white top, red and blue pin striping and special badge.

The final car rolled off the line on April 21, 1976 and was photographed in Windsor – so that Detroit would be in the background across the river – before being stashed.

In the years following, those who didn't mind spending the cash went to the emerging aftermarket industry to have tops lopped off American cars, or bought imported convertibles like Alpha Romeo, Fiat, MG or VW Beetle.

In 1982, amidst a return from bankruptcy, Chrysler reintroduced the soft top on its Dodge 400 and Chrysler LeBaron models. The company hoped to sell 3,000, but U.S. sales hit 18,366 units.

It was as if everyone was all tooled up and just waiting for someone to make the first move: Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Cavalier had drop-tops for 1983, and in 1984, Cadillac reintroduced the Eldorado convertible in Biarritz trim, leading many angry owners of 1976 models to launch lawsuits against General Motors, ultimately unsuccessful, claiming the company devalued their investments. The convertible was back to stay.

So why did the new cars succeed where the old ones failed?

My theory is that buyers always liked the tops, but not the huge cars they were attached to: the new, smaller size made them more like the sporty European models, and they were easier to drive and cost less to run.

They were still the most expensive version of that particular model, but they were no longer confined to the upper echelon.

Today, the proliferation of retractable hardtops also addresses many of the disadvantages of soft tops: hardtops work well in all seasons, are not so prone to vandalism, are easier to maintain, and won't shrink or rip with age.

But regardless of which it is, the touch of a button opens it all up, and that's what matters. Perhaps, once again, the golden age of convertibles has returned.

Toronto Star