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Open air magic

JEREMY CATO

From Thursday's Globe and Mail

Latest comment posted at 12:36 PM EDT 14/05/08

Nobody needs a convertible. But what we need and what we want are two different things, and that's the point of convertibles. Clichéd as it is, there is just something amazing about driving with the roof down, wind in your hair, nothing between you and the sky above. ...Read the full article

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  1. maynard ferguson from Canada writes: Convertibles is fun!
  2. Nigel Newton from Toronto, Canada writes: Lovely feel good article, but a little sparse on useful information. Having reignited our desires to drive a convertible and teased us with VW Eos and Mustang prices, how about giving us a top 10 affordable convertibles, top 10 retractables and top 10 luxury convertibles with links to their web pages? Or at least a link to search results on driving.ca...
  3. Kristian Klima from Ottawa, Canada writes: Great article, it just misses one important fact. Today's convertibles and retractables market would very different if it hadn't been for one tiny car - Mazda MX-5, that's Miata for you guys.

    This car alone reinvented the convertible segment. It's the best selling roadster and best selling sports car in history and none of the late comers can match its handling and fun-to-drive factor. Even Jeremy Clarkson of the BBC's Top Gear said it's the best British sports car.

    And for the retractables, the first modern one was a Peugeot 206 CC. And it, being made by French Peugeto, actually had leaks... :-)
  4. Cowtown boy from Calgary, Canada writes: You can say that about the Miata, but the Miata owes it's existance to the MG's, Triumphs, and Austin Healey's of the 50's and 60's. Without the large base of those cars, the Miata would have never been created.
  5. Sissy Schuss from Canada writes: have a 69 karmann ghia cabriolet - drove it to the west coast and tothe east coast and every point in between
    but that was then and this is now

    I am curious - do these ads, I mean car reviews, have any impact on sales - yeah sure I have the 30 seconds of what if running through my mind when I read them but only the really gullible must get hooked on this sort of thing for most of us reality intervenes.....
  6. Sissy Schuss from Canada writes: Kristian Klima from Ottawa, Canada writes: Great article, it just misses one important fact. Today's convertibles and retractables market would very different if it hadn't been for one tiny car - Mazda MX-5, that's Miata for you guys. yaddah yaddah

    Nope the Miata is an exact copy of the Lotus model of the 1960s - the one Emma Peel drove in the Avengers I believe = you don't really think the Japanese are capable of original design do you?
  7. daniel saliken from Vancouver, Canada writes: In my 20s I had the opportunity to live the classic dream of taking my 1967 Camaro convertible from Vancouver to California on a two week road trip with a bikini clad gal (that became my wife). People always think of convs and the sun, but there is nothing so incredible as racing along through the hot desert night under an incredible dome of the solar system. Its breathtaking!
  8. Chris Payne from Canada writes: Actually the "rebirth" of the convertible came from much more humble sources - Chrysler.
    Yes the convertible roadster did enter through the Brits and Italians (MG, Jag, Triumph, Alfa, Fiat) but they almost died in the late 70's early 80's. I think (if memory serves) the only true convertibles that lasted through these dark ages (into the 80's) were the Alfa spider, MGB and Triumph Spitfire... I think. The rebirth came when Iaccoca (sp?) brought the affordable and reasonably reliable K-car convertible to the north American public - a convertible that was devoid of the roll bars and T-tops that were the norm if one wanted any sort of 'open air' driving experience.

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