Convertibles - do you own one or have you previously?

Uptosnuff

Uptosnuff

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Location
Great Plains, USA
For quite awhile now, I've been wanting a convertible. I want to know what the pros and cons are. I can guess at the pros - wind in your hair, feeling of freedom, etc. But I want to know what some of the cons are to be prepared.

I have been looking online. Lots of them to choose from.
 

This is a question I was just thinking about. I love the look & idea. Know that I would have no tolerance for the sun beating down on me.
 
2010 Miata, 6-speed manual. Still have it. Zero problems. Best sports car bang for the buck there is, IMHO, if you like driving..

miatainyard.jpg


Notes: If you're much over 6 ft, this car's probably not for you. At 6ft, I just barely fit. Also, the manual top is as easy to put up and down as it is to open and close the door. The heater can burn you out in the winter and the AC will keep you cool when the top's down. Good fresh air machine.

Edit Note: Stupid me, I should have pointed out an important feature: (1) getting natural Vitamin D, which seems to be more important in these times and (2) the positive effect open-air, sensory stimulation can sometimes have on people coping with memory loss and related issues.
 
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Back in the 70s I had a '64 Ford Falcon rag-top. Normally I don't care for Ford's street cars, but it was a great car. The mechanics of the top worked really smoothly, and there was a sturdy vinyl cover that snapped over the cubby it folded into. Looked nice when the top was down and that cover snapped on. Rag-tops require some care, though. Well, on the old cars, they do.

One caveat is the sun. If you're fair-skinned, convertibles aren't a great idea. My wife was very fair. She wasn't fond of having the top down. And forget about wearing a hat unless you have a free hand to hold it on your head. That's why women used to wear scarfs, I suppose.
 
Yes, I had a convertible and definitely miss it! Unfortunately, there weren't enough days in Texas that weren't scorching hot. But if the sun was not too hot or low enough on the horizon, it definitely made my drive home so much more enjoyable after a long day at work. Spring and fall for sure I had it down a lot!
 
Uptosnuff said:
For quite awhile now, I've been wanting a convertible. I want to know what the pros and cons are. I can guess at the pros - wind in your hair, feeling of freedom, etc. But I want to know what some of the cons are to be prepared.
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There are cons but they don't effect everyone. As a young man my one desire was to have one of those MG sports cars that you see a Spitfire pilot driving in a war movie, something like this MG TD.
MG TD.jpg

But as that same young man I was far too impoverished to be able to afford such a car. Then life, marriage and mortgage got in the way. But come my autumnal years, with the mortgage long since paid off, money in the bank and that MG itch just asking to be scratched................. That MG TD sort of resurrected. Cons, remember the cons? My wife wasn't against the idea of a sports car per se, but she pointed out that her being asthmatic, an open top car isn't exactly, a pollen intolerance friendly kind of car. Good point, so we compromised.
Poole Goes Vintage 02.jpg
This is the MG that I have been the custodian of for the last seven years, not quite the open top of the TD but it still has all the fun.
 
JonDouglas said:
2010 Miata, 6-speed manual. Still have it. Zero problems. Best sports car bang for the buck there is, IMHO, if you like driving..

miatainyard.jpg


Notes: If you're much over 6 ft, this car's probably not for you. At 6ft, I just barely fit. Also, the manual top is as easy to put up and down as it is to open and close the door. The heater will burn you out and the AC will keep you cool when the top's down. Good fresh air machine.
Click to expand...

Beautiful !!
 
In the mid-'70s, I had a 1968 Camaro convertible. I think I paid $600 for it. Cars were cheap back then. This is the same model. Mine was a bit rusty since I lived in NY state and pretty much all cars were rusty after a few winters up there.

1968-chevrolet-camaro-convertible.jpg

Looking at that Camaro is bringing back memories of cruising up and down Main St. for hours and hours. There wasn't much else to do in the small town where we lived.
 

Convertibles - do you own one or have you previously?​


I had a '66 Datsun Roadster when young

Like this one, but mine had a roll bar;

datsun roadster.jpg



Country roads were never boring




Bought a '99 Wrangler ragtop, new, for gettin' back and forth to town when living at the cabin

Roads, paths, or no roads, never boring

me in jeep.jpg

However

Sometimes we went to town

T5SZHck.jpg



Sometimes we didn't

GMuFBdm.jpg
 
Lewkat said:
I had a '57 Chevy Bel Aire convertible and loved it.

Of course there was some work involved in putting the top up and down, but not too bad. Today's are a cinch.
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YOU HAD A 57 CHEVY BEL AIRE CONVERTIBLE???????
I WOULD HAVE DONE ANYTHING FOR A 57 CHEVY BEL AIRE CONVERTIBLE!!!!!
Lewkat, I used to love you (before you posted this,) but now I'm just JEALOUS!
hahaha!
 
JonDouglas said:
2010 Miata, 6-speed manual. Still have it. Zero problems. Best sports car bang for the buck there is, IMHO, if you like driving..

miatainyard.jpg


Notes: If you're much over 6 ft, this car's probably not for you. At 6ft, I just barely fit. Also, the manual top is as easy to put up and down as it is to open and close the door. The heater can burn you out in the winter and the AC will keep you cool when the top's down. Good fresh air machine.

Edit Note: Stupid me, I should have pointed out an important feature: (1) getting natural Vitamin D, which seems to be more important in these times and (2) the positive effect open-air, sensory stimulation can sometimes have on people coping with memory loss and related issues.
Click to expand...
Cute, cute little car. And you (if that is you) look good in it. The operative word here is "little". I don't know if I want that small of a car.

I have been pining for a 60's or 70's convertible. Something ala Bewitched or I Dream of Jeanie. Hubby says that would be one expensive car.
 
Irwin said:
In the mid-'70s, I had a 1968 Camaro convertible. I think I paid $600 for it. Cars were cheap back then. This is the same model. Mine was a bit rusty since I lived in NY state and pretty much all cars were rusty after a few winters up there.

View attachment 177605

Looking at that Camaro is bringing back memories of cruising up and down Main St. for hours and hours. There wasn't much else to do in the small town where we lived.
Click to expand...

This is the kind of convertible I really have in the back of my mind. But I think these cars go for premium now. Don't they make a statement, though?
 
debodun said:
I remember my maternal grandmother having a Ford Galaxie. It was purple and not a convertible. She had that car like 20 years and I was riding in it with her once, looked down at the floorboard and saw the road underneath. I wouldn't ride in that car again.
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That hole in the floorboard is not wear & tear. Ford designed it that way so if the brakes fail (which they often do in Fords), you can put your foot in the hole & stop the car.
 


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