In a couple of ways, cars that offer open air motoring are like ice cream. Most everyone likes them and they come in a lot of different flavors. Whether you're cruising along an ocean boulevard in a classic drop top, chasing apexes in a modern sports car, or exploring rugged trails in an opened-up Jeep, these vehicles offer plenty of enjoyment no matter what your tastes are. And like a visit to Baskin Robbins, there's bound to be a flavor you can't resist.
Where to Start
Within the realm of the classics, you'll find a wide array of choices. It might be a 1965 GTO ragtop with a 389 V8, a 4-speed stick and rumbling side-splitter exhausts that does it for you. Or, from the same era, maybe a Jaguar XKE roadster or Lincoln Continental convertible, with the former offering snazzy styling wrapped around two seats and a sonorous straight six, and the latter boasting four "suicide" style doors, a magic carpet ride and room for five of your biggest friends.
But as you'll soon realize, your options further range from taking just sips of air and sunshine overhead to fully gorging oneself via environmental exposure that's second only to a motorcycle's.
A breath of fresh air, please
Sunroof | Getty
A sliding sunroof provides a taste of the outdoors via a panel in the roof that slides back, either manually (as in some older cars) or via power control. If the panel is made of glass, it is usually called a "moonroof" as it ostensibly allows one to view the moon and the stars at night even while closed. Back in the '70s and '80s, pop-up/removable sunroofs were a popular after-market installation.
Traditional (and not) convertible tops
And then there's the traditional soft top convertible, which when down leaves the whole upper portion of the car's interior exposed, allowing its passengers to more fully enjoy the sun's rays. These are usually power operated as well. Soft convertible tops (typically made of canvas or vinyl) have been around since the early days of the automobile.
Ford Mustang convertible
More recently, retractable hardtops have become popular. Just as the name implies, this design offers the added comfort and security of a hardtop when the top is up. Lowered, it provides the same full, top-down experience that a traditional folding soft top does. For those al fresco fans residing in the more inclement areas of the country, a retractable hardtop is great to have. The BMW Z4 roadster and newer 3 Series (which later became the 4 Series) convertibles both offer retracting hardtops, as do the Mercedes-Benz SLK and SL, and outgoing (2015) Mazda Miata.
And yet, this "best of both worlds" idea is not as new as one may think. Back in 1957 Ford brought out its Fairlane 500 Skyliner power retractable hardtop, while Peugeot beat it by some 20 years with its aerodynamic but somewhat grimly named 402BL Eclipse Decapotable in the 1930s. Unlike the Ford's more complex, folding power top, that Peugeot model featured a simple one-piece top that manually dropped down into the trunk.
The full experience
Jeep Wrangler
Nobody does it better than Jeep with its Wrangler model. Like its CJ-series precursors, the Wrangler is usually the model one thinks of when the word Jeep is mentioned. Sure you can fold the soft top down (a rather involved and potentially nail-busting affair), or unbolt the unwieldy hard top (if that's what your Wrangler is wearing) and leave it in the garage or back yard. But that only gives you standard top-down experience. Detach the doors and flip down the windshield and you'll enjoy the thrill of maximum exposure that's second only to that of a motorcycle.
The 'tweeners
Existing somewhere in the middle of all these are the T-roof and Targa-topped vehicles. The T-top (which consists of a pair of removable roof panels) debuted in the U.S. with the 1968 Corvette coupe. In the late 1970s and through the early 2000s, various Camaros, Firebirds and Mustangs offered a T-roof option, while the Japanese car makers joined the party in the '80s and '90s with the Toyota MR2 and Datsun/Nissan 280ZX/300ZX, among others.
Similar to the T-top in that it could quickly be manually removed and stowed within the car, the Targa top instead provided a one-piece removable roof panel (no center "T" bar) which ran the full width of the car, providing even more of a true convertible feel than the T-roof. Past and present cars that offer a Targa top include the Porsche 911 and 914, the Honda Civic del Sol, the Toyota Supra, Acura NSX, the current Corvette and various Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren models.
So what's your favorite flavor of convertible vehicles? Leave us a comment.
Share
About the Author(s)
Obsessed with cars since age two, John ultimately pursued his passion and became an automotive journalist and editor. Now twenty years along, hitting new and classic car shows and properly exercising his old 911 still gets his motor running.
