Last month, I did something mighty rare for me: I drove a convertible. The occasion was a weekend visit with my sister and her family… and I simply couldn’t turn down an offer to drive their 2012 BMW 335i. So down went the retractable hardtop, and off we went into the cool late-summer evening. Before long, I found myself wishing for a convertible of my own, but I’m much too practical to buy a purely fun car, so I soon came back to my minivan-driving senses. But any ride in a convertible gets me thinking about how strongly I longed for top-down motoring when I was growing up, and also about the first time I was able to satiate that longing.
People’s perceptions of convertibles are likely influenced by when they grew up and formed their nascent automotive impressions. Having been born in the 1970s, I grew up in the Convertible Dark Ages, when droptops were firmly on the endangered species list. From the mid-1960s to mid-’70s, convertibles’ share of the US car market plummeted. A variety of causes – from safety concerns to shifting consumer preferences – led to that decline, and when the last 1976 Eldorado convertible rolled into history, this bodystyle’s fate appeared to be sealed. Consequently, convertibles seemed like forbidden fruit to me. They seemed like so much fun, but would I ever get to experience one?
Folks who are a generation older or younger than me likely have different impressions. Convertibles were a part of everyday life in the 1950s through much of the 1960s, and many popular car models ranges featured convertibles, in addition to coupes, sedans and wagons. People of my parents’ generation would often speak fondly of the convertibles of their youth. As this 1957 newspaper ad for used convertibles implies, convertibles were fun, relatively affordable, and common.
After the late 1970s-early 1980s Convertible Dark Ages, convertibles became more common – helped largely by Chrysler’s K-car convertibles, introduced in 1982. These cars ushered in about 20 years of steady growth in convertible sales, and people who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s likely viewed convertibles as more commonplace than I did, though still as exciting cars.
But we may be entering another sunset cycle for the convertible. Sales have declined for more than a decade, and convertibles now account for under 1% of North American vehicle sales. Like previous declines, several factors are at work here, from consumers’ preferences for SUVs, to an increasing aversion to the outdoors, to a lack of interest in convertibles from the globally-crucial Chinese market. However, I strongly suspect that the idea of a convertible will come back in fashion at some point in the future.
As for myself, I yearned to drive (or even just to ride in) a convertible. At some point in the early 1990s, my wish came true. My father – as a birthday gift, if I recall – took me to the nearest Alfa Romeo dealership to test drive a used Spider. I had dreamed of Alfas for years, and now I got to drive one! It was a beautiful spring day, and I took a drive with a rather emotionless Alfa salesman for my first-ever convertible experience. Sometimes, however, meeting your automotive heroes isn’t quite what it’s cracked up to be. I’d long heard of Alfa Romeo’s reputation for poor build quality, but on my short drive, two things fell off the car. First, a sun visor fell off, and then when the drive was finally done, the interior door handle broke off in my hand. The salesman calmly told me that “These things sometimes happen,” but Alfa Romeo got knocked down a few rungs on the ladder of dreams. Still, I was smitten with convertibles, and remain so today.
Convertibles remain elusive for me, though. Therefore, while at my sister’s house last month, I jumped at the opportunity to drive her BMW. A cool, late-summer evening is perfect convertible weather, and the 335i was the perfect car with which to experience it.
My wife got in on the convertible fun, too — shown here paddle-shifting her way to happiness.
With its 300-hp twin-turbo six-cylinder engine, the 335 was a joy to drive – planting one’s foot on the accelerator was instantly rewarded by a thrush of acceleration. Adding to the euphoria was that this BMW benefited from the M Sport package, BMW Performance Power Kit, and aftermarket OZ Alleggerita wheels. Granted, my automotive expectations have been dulled by years of driving kids in minivans, but this was a seriously fun car – it was fast, had quick steering and the sport-exhaust burble meant that this is the only car I’ve driven that’s actually been fun to decelerate. It also displayed much less chassis flex than other convertibles I’ve driven. Though not the kind of car I would buy, I can absolutely see enjoying this BMW as a daily driver (especially given its retractable hardtop).
Like siblings everywhere, my sister and I are opposites. While I buy dull cars and keep them forever, my sister and her husband have Automotive ADD – buying interesting cars and then keeping them for about 6 weeks before tiring of them and then buying something else. This BMW, however was their longest-tenured vehicle in recent memory, having been in their garage for about seven years. I’m glad I drove it when I did, because just last week they traded it in for a new car. Perhaps reflecting the convertible’s latest decline, they didn’t replace it with another convertible, but rather a Subaru WRX. Oh well, maybe I’ll have to wait a few more decades to drive a convertible again….
Whenever I do drive a convertible again, it’ll be worth the wait. And I’ll probably still fondly recall the first time I drove one — the Alfa Romeo with pieces falling off. All that leads to today’s QOTD: What was the first time that you drove (or rode in) a convertible?
When I was a child in my Uncle’s Morris Minor convertible, though not in the weather in the picture!
Got chauffeured around Kansas City, Missouri in a mid-90s Sebring by a friend’s relative who was putting us up as we were traveling across the country.
Somehow, I’d never ridden in a convertible until I was deep into my 20s, taking the quintessential American road trip!
I loved every minute of it. Kansas City was gorgeous in the mid-summer when we came through, and it felt great after traveling and camping for about a week to get driven around by someone else who knew we were road weary and was excited to show us around her town.
A few years old, enough to walk on my own, friend of my dad whips up the street in a newly purchased Red MG A. I get to take a ride, it consists of going around and around right there in the street in front of the house.
Not long afterward, dad buys a Dart GT convertible. The favorite family car of all time.
After that, no more convertible rides.
I rode in the back seat of my kindergarten teacher’s YJ Jeep Wrangler in 1997. I can’t quite remember the context, but I think we were coming back from some field trip. She knew I loved Jeeps (to the point of obsession). No idea how the school allowed that!
Wow… add that to the list of things that would never be allowed these days!
I don’t think it was until I was in college, a friend had a then new late 80’s Mustang GT. Black over red interior.
Like you, Eric, I grew up in the 70’s when convertibles were on the wane. I always wanted one, but more because they’re cool looking, rather than that open top ride.
My first experience as a passenger was in 1987, when I was 27 years old. I was dating a girl that just bought a Cavalier Z-24 Convertible. I don’t really like the J cars, but this was a cool experience. Around this time, having the bug for open top driving, I had Automotive Concepts cut a hole in the roof of my ’83 Aero-Bird and enjoyed a sunroof, albeit a pop-up. It just wasn’t the same. My later ‘Birds would come from the factory with the power sunroof (all but my ’97). The ’88 5.0L and the ’94 4.6L both had ’em.
As for driving one, the first time was in the early nineties when a woman across the street from me sitting on the porch watching me wash my cars had a sad look on her face. She was pregnant, but always kept her white Volkswagen Rabbit?/Golf? Cabriolet very clean until she was about 6 months along or so.
I offered to wash it for her after I was done with the T-Birds. She perked up and asked me what she could do in return. I asked her to let me drive it after the detailing was done. That’s all I wanted, having never driven one before. Although it was a great drive, and lots of fun, I still felt cheated. You see, it had a roll-bar, and to me, a convertible need to be sans roof. Period. Nothing to break up that line. And I’ll agree with JPC before he even chimes in. If you’re driving with top down, ROLL DOWN ALL THE WINDOWS! That goes for hard tops too, another body style I miss.
The reason I don’t have one: No Garage. Seems to me, I’d be doing a soft top a disservice.
1966 Olds 98. Owned for a while, and a nice car, even if the 425 used a bit of oil. A floaty cruiser and dreamlike with the am radio drifting out tunes from the front and back speakers, even if you had to turn your head sideways for some faux stereo effect! 🙂
My first ride in a convertible was in the mid-sixties. We stopped by my aunt’s house on vacation and she took us out sightseeing in her 1964 Bonneville convertible. I was amazed enough by the convertible and the fact that it also had factory A/C. I remember mentioning something about the A/C in a convertible and she patiently explained that in Texas (where she lived) the summers were usually too hot for much top down driving and most open air cruising took place in the spring and fall. My wife and I have owned four convertibles through the years and have one now (2014 Mustang), and yes, here in the Ohio River valley, most summer days are just too hot to have the top down. However, when the weather and temperature cooperate, there are few things finer in life than slowly cruising on the back roads.
Indeed, a few weeks ago J P Cavanaugh posted a really good comment on a post I made about why I rarely put the top down in the summer:
“I am coming to the conclusion that summer is convertible season for most people. Spring and fall are convertible seasons for people who have actually owned convertibles. 🙂”
My first drive was in my 72 Skylark, rusty as it was. But hey the roof was basically intact and everything worked. $200 because he didn’t have a title and it was last registered in Canada. Used one of the license/title services out of Alabama I believe and $200 and several weeks later I had it titled and licensed in my name in may state. Drove it for about a year before selling it to someone that had the plans and they claimed the skills to fix the rust.
My first ride was in the late Seventies in high school. The convertible was a 1974 Olds 88, white on white on white, which was used to tow a parade float. I was part of the crew in charge of spotting the float trailer and making sure it tracked with the car. The car was already developing rust spots, burning oil, and creaking and groaning its way down the street, but, hey, it was a convertible and we were in a parade!
Driving a convertible for the first time occurred in the mid-‘80s in a rented Fox-body Mustang in Miami. Cheesy, low-rent interior, low-powered engine-transmission combo, and no luggage space to speak of, but, hey, it was a convertible and I was in Miami during the winter!
My brother’s circa 1990 Suzuki Samurai (his daily driver in the nineties) and 1977 Jeep CJ7 304 (bought in 2000, he still has it). No true convertibles, but both with a soft top. Close enough, I guess.
Frankly, I don’t like convertibles. My favorite (car) body was, is and will probably always be a 2-door coupe or fastback / liftback.
My first ride was actually a first drive. I test drove a well used 1974 Triumph Spitfire which I bought right after that test drive. I think it was October and it snowed on the way home. I still had the drop down though.
My first car ride ever was coming home from the hospital in my dad’s ’50 Ford convertible, but I don’t remember that. I do remember the 1990 Pontiac Sunbird convertible I rented on Maui that year (yes, even that car was fun).
Does my Sportliner count?
MGB first a friends Dad’s and then we cut school and “stole” my friends girlfriends MGB for a drive to the beach. A couple of years later I got a Bugeye Sprite.
The first was a 1948 Desoto owned by my Father purchased in 1949 or so. Next was a new 1951 Dodge Wayfarer, driven off the showroom floor when I was 5. These were followed by a 1958 Plymouth, a 1960 Dodge Dart, a 1962 Pontiac Catalina, a 1964 Pontiac LeMans, and a 1966 Pontiac Catalina. and finally a 1970 Olds 88.
All were purchased new and kept 4 years. WE lived in NE Ohio, 50 miles South of Cleveland. The garage had french drains and hot water, so the cars were washed very frequently, by me, 12 months of the year.
I have owned 14 or so, mostly British. I live in SW Florida, and have 2 Acura MDX’s. I am kinda looking for another Jag. Convertible season here starts right about now.
First ride and drive in a convertible was in my brother’s 1979 MG MGB. Spent more time working on it than actually driving it! Interestingly enough, when he sold it in California the guy that bought it shipped it to England!
I had to think about it. I have had a Miata for 6 years now, but never thought much about first ride or drive.
First ride – a friend had a 90s Le Baron convertible. First drive, my Miata.
My favorite ride is in the late evening/early morning hours, coming home from a night out in Tampa, driving over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge with the top down, taking in the stars and salt air.
My first ride in a convertible would have been my friend’s mother’s Triumph TR-3, which later inspired me to buy my own Triumph.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cars-of-a-lifetime/coal-1962-triumph-tr4-know-when-to-hold-em/
That didn’t work out well, but Mrs DougD had her first ride in our 2007 Mustang last week and after 5 minutes she said “I LIKE this car!”
You’ll have to do a post with some pictures, Doug. I am looking forward to seeing the new (to you) pony. ;o)
First convertible ride (which has warped me for life) 1958 Lancia Aurelia B24 at about age 12. Nothing has ever been the same
The first convertible I rode in as a passenger was in a 2010 Mustang convertible. My mom got it as a rental from Enterprise on New Year’s Eve after I slid on ice during a snowstorm and into a curbstone, blowing out a tire and cracking the rim of her car I was driving in the process. Nothing like having a scary mishap due to winter weather and the rental company giving you a rear-wheel drive soft-top in a snowstorm. Needless to say we never put the top down.
The first convertible I actually drove was when I started working at MINI. It was this 2015 Cooper Roadster 2-seater. I’ve driven numerous convertibles since, Audi, BMW, MINI, Ford, Mercedes. My favorite was the 2015 Yas Marina Blue M4 I got to take on a 4-hour road trip!
Thinking back, I’m surprised it was a ’92 LeBaron. Back seat passenger. I couldn’t hear anything above 45 mph. Was not a fan. Then I nearly bought a ’95 Celica convertible. I resisted and got a GT coupe instead (not the liftback). I understand the appeal, but Minnesota really limits you to 5 months, tops, of enjoyment, along with 3 months of hell. Not worth it…
My sisters freind had a 1963 Pontiac Bonneville. I always got stuck in the back seat but hey, who cares. It was a 63 Bonneville convertible. It was dark blue and gorgeous.
I think my first ride in a convertible was in Havana, Cuba, just a few years ago, in a 1957 Buick Special. I was 35 at the time. I don’t have any memories of riding in convertibles prior to that and I’m pretty sure I would remember if I had.
But now I own a convertible. Back in March, possibly in the early stages of a mid life crisis, I went out and bought a brand new
MiataMX-5. I love it, in spite of how completely impractical it is.First ride in a convertible was some sort of 1953 Buick (I doubt that it was a Skylark). This belonged to a family friend/neighbor down the block and he took the kids for ice cream in the car. The rides would have been in the mid-50s. Later the car hit a deer on a hunting trip to Wisconsin. The (totaled) car was in the neighbor’s driveway for a short while. I don’t remember what replaced it.
First convertible owned/driven (and first car owned): 1958 TR-3. Purchased in spring 1967 by me as a 16 year old with an after school/weekend job.
Not sure about my first ride, but it would have been before I was ten as my Dad had a VW convert for a while. My first drive would have been my wife’s ’77 MGB (at that point we were still dating).
Some years ago, my nephew came out to visit us for a week, and I suggested we take a drive around in my wife’s Miata. He wasn’t a car guy, so he sneered at the idea of riding around in “that little car.”
I just smiled and ushered him into the passenger’s seat, then dropped the top and took him on a quick tour of LA along the coast. As we cruised along, I said “Ya know, you see quite a bit more of the world in a convertible.”
On our next trip out, he asked “Hey, do you think we can take the Miata?”
I was 11 in 1974 and my sister (nine years older) and her husband had a yellow Super Beetle convertible. So that was the first I remember riding in. Now I ride top down all the time since my carpool buddy has a ’98 Mustang drop-top. It’s 74 miles round trip through lots of Maine scenery: mountains, lakes, rivers, farms, small towns.
Scenery in Bucksport, my hometown. My commute passes this view.
First convertible ride was in a red and black ’56 Mercury Custom with an aftermarket set of ‘gunsight’ taillights on the rear fenders. It belonged to a family relative who kept it for years. I was probably eight or nine at the time 1959-’60, was fun until the sunset and it became uncomfortably breezy and cool. Regardless, I pined for a Lincoln Continental four door convertible throughout the 1960’s, crestfallen when the model disappeared.
A particularly spoiled friend of mine was given a 1983 Mustang GLX Convertible when she turned 16 (back in 1983) We put some serious mileage on that car in our native Los Angeles. I always enjoyed that car and she let me drive it often. I bought my own convertible in 1999. A ’99 VW Cabrio. It didn’t offer the same experience IMO and I ony kept it a short while. For my 50th I bought my own mint 1983 Mustang GLX convertible. I love it.
Oh man, my first and only experience driving a convertible was borrowing my friend’s 89 Mustang 4-cylinder automatic, and it was hot garbage. It was slow, the transmission sucked away too much of that 88hp, it was slow, the suspension didn’t do much, it was slow, the top made a lot of noise when it was up, it was slow, and I felt like I was going to die merging onto the freeway. Did I mention it was slow?
I drove one for three years,and yes it was slow. But I never got a ticket in it, and on a cost per mile basis, it may have been the cheapest
anvilcar I ever owned.My first ride in a convertible was in maybe 1963 or 64. One of my father’s bosses needed to use his company station wagon for the weekend and Dad got to bring home a yellow 62 Buick convertible in its place. I remember getting into the back seat for a ride. It was longer than they were used to parking in the garage and the back bumper got caught as the electric garage door tried to open (yes, we had an electric garage door).
The back of the car bobbed up and back down every time the door tried to raise and then gave up. Dad had to start the car with the door closed to move it forward. My mother did not like that one little bit, she was convinced we were going to die of carbon monoxide.
My first drive was in the 1967 Ford Galaxie 500 convertible I bought in February of 1977. It was a cold, cloudy winter day but I didn’t care – the top went down as soon as I got around the corner from the seller’s house.
I tried to post a reply earlier but WordPress said I was commenting too quickly (huh?) and it disappeared, not even in the spam folder as far as I could tell. But a few hours corrected one memory, so here goes in abridged version.
– First ride: a mid-50’s fishtail Cadillac, a ride home from 2nd or 3rd grade in 1962 or 1963. It was white, and I remember being disappointed by the crude folding top hardware visible inside the C pillars which were right next to my head. The other thing I remember was the mom giving me one of those sugary drinks that came in a little wax bottle. I wasn’t quite sure what to do (we didn’t have those at our house!) so I bit off the wax top and swallowed it. It was purple, very sweet, and had even less grape flavor than a grape Fanta. Both the wax and the contents were yucky.
– First drive: an Alfa 1600 Spyder that belonged to a high school friend’s dad, in 1972. With 12-18 months of that, I’d also had brief forays behind the wheel in a Spitfire, an MGB, a Mustang, a 914 2.0 (nice car) and a Lotus Elan.
– Only one owned: 1974 Alf 2000 Spyder, for a short time in 1986.
– Last one driven: an NA Miata a few years ago, as a possible 2nd car.
Never been in one.
Pete, if you ever get to the States, one of us will have to help you check that off of your bucket list!
An older cousin had a new 59 Olds convertible, white on white with red interior. She gave me and another cousin, both of us nine year old car guys, a ride with the top down in late autumn Midwest; we were bundled up against the cold with the heater on. We encouraged her to go faster so we could watch the ribbon speedometer change colors. Gorgeous, sleek car, a great improvement over the chrome-slathered 58 model.
IIRC my very first ride in a convertible, top up, was in a new red 1953 Nash Healey that my Dad brought home from the dealership where he was working. I was just three or so, hence the experience is a dim memory, but one of many that turned me into a car nut like Dad. BTW he owned this 1940 De Soto convertible at the end of WWII. I have dozens of pictures of it, his favorite car. Sold before I was born but boy do I remember the stories, made real by all the pictures. I’ve never owned a convertible unless you count a 300ZX Turbo with T-tops.
I was housesitting for an older gentleman I worked with when I was about 23 in 1990. I had to take care of a strange little dog named Spike. But along with the arrangement I could drive his red 87 LeBaron Turbo convertible throughout my stay. It was a power top, could get out of its own way and it was in the middle of May so good convertible weather. I remember being a little worried that I would get into an accident with it so if I didn’t drive as much as I could have or should have that week. But I did enjoy it. I still miss my 1999 Miata I drove from 2013 to 2017 in the summer. Owning a convertible is awesome especially in a state where we don’t get but 5-6 of really good weather. Helps get you through the winter.
First ride was in my Uncle’s ’64 Wildcat, and my Aunt’s Triumph Herald. First owned convertible was my ’73 Eldorado in 1999.
Aunt and uncle bought a 1964 Mercury Park Lane in 1968. Black with a read interior. Rode around in it until they sold it in 1972.
First one I drove was as a newly licensed teenager in the early 80’s.
Dad’s summer toy, a 1967 Ford xl500. He got rid of it after it blew several motors.
He thought there was something off about the car. The only thing that was off was the teenage jackass behind the wheel.😎
I remember riding in my Uncle’s orange Super Beetle convertible when I was 13 or 14. Don’t remember too much more, other than how slow the car was.
I’ve COALed about it multiple times, but I love convertibles: My current one is a 2006 Mercedes Benz SLK. To those who have never driven a convertible, you really owe it to yourself to try it at least once in your life.
First ride, I don’t remember.
First drive, my dad’s 1961 Buick Invicta, for my driving test. Quite different than the drivers ed 1960 Chevy Biscane 4 door sedan, 6, 3 on the tree.
Dad replaced it with a 1962 Buick Electra 225 convertible, quite a styling barge, but great for homecoming for the fraternity sweetheart.
Dave
Probably 1960. A student was visiting one of the profs who lived in our neighborhood, and he was driving an Austin Healey. I jumped in the back and begged him for a ride, so he obliged with a trip around the block.
Later I owned a ’52 Morris convertible, which was fun for a little while until it totally collapsed from rust.
A ‘68 Camaro Convertible on a warm summers evening on Martha’s Vineyard when I visited the US with my family in 1981. I was 5 years old but some things you never forget.
’60 Ford Sunliner in about 1965.
In the late 1960’s my Uncle bought a six cylinder Austin Healey, and offered us a ride. My older brother rode in front and I was wedged in the tiny “backseat.” Pretty neat, but little sports cars never made much of an impression on me. My first convertible was my ’64 Cadillac, which I bought after high school. Two convertibles in my garage at the moment, a ’96 Mustang to drive, and an ’89 Jag to work on.
First convertible I ever drove was a Jensen Interceptor.
August 1953. I’ve just turned three years old the previous month. Dad brought home the first 1953 Corvette the dealership got, gave mom a ride in it, gave me a ride in it, and then traded it off to Grabiak Motors in New Alexandria, PA for two BelAir hardtops.
That’s my earliest memory as a child. The ride. The rest of the details dad told me a few years later.
Next ride was in dad’s 1960 Impala, which he ordered at my request.
First convertible I owned was my 2006 Pontiac Solstice. Which I never should have traded my ’88 Porsche 924S on. Huge, huge, huge mistake.
It was followed by my 2012 Fiat 500c Abarth, which was a much more successful proposition.
The dearth of convertibles over that period of time is because they just can’t compete with motorcycles.
My first ride was in 1977 at my cousins graduation party.
She gave me a ride in her 1968 impala convertible. I remember it was a warm summer night in old Tappan new jersey
My Uncle Don drove up from New Orleans to visit us in the mid-70s, driving a beautiful gold colored Olds Cutlass convertible of the ‘68 to ‘72 vintage. I always thought convertibles looked like they’d be fun, and 8 or 9 year old me BEGGED him to lower the top and drive me around the block, which he did. My dad admonished me for “bothering” my uncle to take me for a ride, but Uncle Don was all too pleased to oblige.
Like Eric, I also grew up in the convertible dark ages, so I was in my mid-20s before I bought my first car with a sunroof, and nearly 40 before I owned my first convertible. I’ve never looked back, and hope to always own one.
The parts that came off the test-drive Alfa! Incredible. Eric, it was a shame that your Alfa dream had to be deflated in that manner.
My first convertible ride was probably in my Aunt Joanna’s c. 1989 Chrysler LeBaron (in Claret Red, with a black top, IIRC). It was a really classy-looking car and I thought it fit her perfectly.
My first convertible *drive* was in my brother’s ’81 Rabbit convertible. That thing was a lot of fun – very responsive, and I remember the top being very easy to operate.
Great post, pictures and QOTD topic.
Summer of ’82, my Uncle Bob and Aunt Sue’s 1974 Pontiac Grand Ville. I was 8. We went to the beach, I got sunburned.
First ride in a convertible would be sometime in the late ’70s. A friend in Elementary School had an older brother with a ’69 or ’70 Olds 88. I don’t remember where we were going, but it was winter so the top stayed up.
First top down ride would be a friend’s ’68 Cutlass in High School, so 1986 or so.
First drive in a convertible was July 13 2002. A not at all serious, spur of the moment test-drive of a ’65 Chrysler which I bought 2 days later and still have.
My first ragtop ride was a ’63 Monza Spyder that a guy let me take home for the weekend..it was 1974 I believe.
I liked it so much I acquired an abandoned 1965 Monza to restore. I Installed new carpets, heated Volvo bucket seats, a new top and a fresh gunmetal grey paint job…and drive the wheels off it for the next 5 years…I still miss that car.
Does riding in the rumble seat of a Model A count? Dad had a friend with one and he’d take us on a short trip when we’d visit, me and my younger brother in the rumble, Dad and friend up front. The Ford was maybe 35-38 years old at the time.
The first one I drove was an old MG on the farm owned by the pastor at our church. I was about 13 or 14. He rode shotgun with every boy on the camping trip, teaching us how to clutch, and once he was comfortable we weren’t going to get in trouble, we were turned loose on our own.
First ride in a convertible was a VW dune buggy / Manx clone in the mid 1960’s. Helped my best friend build it on a shortened 1956 VW Bug chassis. Actually it wasn’t really a convertible since it was completely topless. It had a real tired 36hp motor and very large diameter rear tires, meaning the top speed was only around 50 mph on level roads. Next ride was in a 1966 Sunbeam Tiger convertible. What a hoot that car was. It had so much power the owner always started out in 2nd gear from a dead stop. Next up was a 1972 Triumph TR6 that a friend owned. Lots of fun and such a sweet sounding, throaty exhaust. That resulted in me buying my own first convertible— a tired old 1967 Triumph TR4A IRS. Fun car to drive at speeds below 55 mph with the top down. Above that speed the wind buffeting got to be too much after 20 or 30 minutes. After a period of driving more sensible cars, I then bought a new 1981 Triumph TR8 from the British car dealer in Rapid City, South Dakota of all places. I was living in Reno, Nevada at the time and working for the Homestake Mining Company at the time. It had a new gold mining project in the Black Hills which required me to fly between Reno and Rapid City every few weeks. Anyway, I bought the car and drove from Rapid City to Reno with the top down for most of the way. I learned what it is like to sunburn the tops of my ears. About 10 years sfter selling the TR8, I bought a 1986 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce. Great car to drive with the top down, but not with the top up! If you had the top up and rolled down a side window any amount at all, it would suck the exhaust back into the cockpit and you would soon be very sleepy. Next convertible was an Audi TT Quattro that was a great car until my son lost control of it on a rainy freeway one afternoon and hit the center guardrail. That was followed by a 2002 Mercedes 320 SLK “Sport” Edition with a 5 speed trans. It drove like a truck and was nowhere near as nimble and fun to drive as the Audi TT roadster. My current convertible is a 1970 Porsche 914. It was a true barnfind, having been parked in a barn in 1987 and removed in 2014 when we bought it. We have been restoring it ever since. It’s great fun to drive, even though it only has 85hp. Everything is analog, except for the very old school and crude Bosch fuel injection system.
I was about 7, this was the early ‘90’s. My uncle bought a ‘75 Triumph TR6 from a buy here pay here car lot. My grandmother and I took him to pick it up and I rode back with him, top down. I thought it was soooo cool.
Because of that, a have a thing for TR6s and hope to own one at some point in my life.
I sadly admit that I’ve only ever ridden in one convertible and, even more dismally, have never driven one! The first (and last) time I rode in one was in the mid-2000s in a friend’s 2002ish Holden Astra convertible (aka Opel/Vauxhall). The trip was across town, not on the open road, and doesn’t even count as the roof was up, so I’ve never driven in a roof-down convertible ever… 🙁 Hubby did once own a MG Midget, but that was gone (too cramped) before we met. He wants a Triumph Stag in the 5-year plan though so I may get to ride in or drive a convertible before I’m 50…!
My brother’s 1955 Packard Caribbean when I was 8 or 9. 58 years later he still has it.
That’s just awesome! I’ve seen only one of these in person in my life (at the Packard Museum in Dayton, OH), and these Caribbeans are simply gorgeous.
I can list all the times I was in a convertible. Or at least a roofless vehicle.
When I was five, I was in the back of a Jeep CJ5 with the top off, blasting through the mud next to the trailer park. I remember I was a short ride and I wanted to do it more.
When I was eight, I rode in the back of an actual dune buggy/beach buggy, whatever they were called. Just some neighborhood dude giving the kids a ride. It was scary as I recall, because he was racing around the corners and I thought I might fall out.
In the early 90s I drove an 80s-something Mustang convertible, picking up the car for a friend of my boss. It was a red 4-banger with a white top. I like fox-Mustangs and I was surprised that this car felt all floppy and rattle-y. I could feel the chassis flex, and the convertible top quality was poo. When raised, there were weird gaps and a real crappy fit.
Then in the 2000s, I drove around with my friend in his ’97 Sebring convertible. It was a boring car to drive, but the top worked and fit great and it didn’t drive all floppy like the Mustang did. Kind of improved my opinion on Chrysler quality a little with that one.
I think that’s all of them.
Convertibles have never been common in Australia, so I was lucky to drive a 1968 Fury lll about 40 kilometres across town on a freeway it was a 318 car and needed a lot of work but I was impressed by the solid feel of the car on the road, but boy you had to plan ahead with its non power drum brakes !!!
There was a short section of tunnel where I made sure to give the 318 a workout, what a delightful noise it made through its dual exhausts.
So it was all to brief, but it was enough to understand the joy of top down motoring, especially with a Chrysler V8 soundtrack.
My first was my own convertible…my 1963 Corvette Sting Ray roadster, shortly after restoring it to running condition. I rode in a ripped-up bucket seat and my feet rested on threadbare carpets. But I had to drive it once before laying it up for interior restoration.
Now, ironically, it’s a NON-convertible. I removed the worn, torn canvas top…and haven’t replaced it. It’s a fair-weather car and driving it with its top up felt claustrophobic!
First drive would have been when a family friend visited us in his brand new TR7 convertible and took me out for a drive, I did not have a drivers license then.
Two years later I had a Citroën 2CV as a first car. Lots of fun but not really a convertible. A Triumph Herald saloon came 2 years later. From this car, the roof could be unbolted which was great. I made some attachment points to the roof of my garage and could bolt / unbolt the roof to the car in “just” 15 minutes…. Used that car a lot open topped – just had an issue when there was unexpected rain.
Another couple of years later I had some money to invest in a fun car. I wanted an old British sports car and thought hard about all of them. The best car for me was, I decided then and still think the same now 25 years on, a Triumph TR4. I found one with the same birth year as myself. Needed only a little work and this is a car which I still have and will never sell. It always brings a smile to me. When the sun is up I always take it out for a spin. Just completed a run around the Alps with some friends, 2000 miles in 5 days, excellent!
Pic of three weeks ago, somewhere on a mountain
As a very young boy, one of the neighbor kids who was friends with my oldest brother, had a Triumph Spitfire that he had swapped a small block Chevy into. I seem to remember a quick, smoky, and noisy trip around the block that scared the crap out of me. But I was hooked on the power of the motor, way more than the convertible itself.
When I was about 13, my next door neighbor got a Jeep CJ-7, with the 258 and a three speed manual. I was helping him move some downed trees on his property after a storm with the Jeep. It was hot so we had the top down on the Jeep while driving out the the damaged areas. It was a fun ride and having the top down helped a lot with the tasks we had to perform that day.
In the early 90’s while working as a saleslizard, I showed several people a late 80’s VW Cabriolet. At least the top worked well, but the car itself had several issues. I think we may have sent that one back to the auctions, I don’t remember it ever selling.
I’d almost forgotten about this: In the mid 90’s, I worked next door to Kudzu Racing, the company that made the Monster Miatas. I wandered over there one day to see what they were up to and scored a ride in one. Again, I was way more impressed with the power the car had rather than the convertible top; shades of my childhood experiences.
Oddly, I don’t have a burning desire to drive a convertible. I’d still rather have a closed car in almost any situation. I don’t even care for cars with sunroofs, although my wife does…
I will never forget my first ride in a convertible. It would have been either 1967 or 68. I would have been 15 or 16 then. A girl in our neighborhood had a boyfriend with a Jaguar XKE. He took me for a ride down a nearby curvy road. What I remember most about it was how impressed I was with how well it handled the curves at a high rate of speed.
Don’t reckon I remember my first ride in a convertible. It was probably my father’s Suzuki Samurai, if that counts. Would have been about 4 or 5 then. If not, next I remember is a friend’s MGB, when I was 16. It was a lot of fun and the night air seemed somehow crisper in that car, but in hindsight, I think that’s because I never really went out at night in high school. I finally got to drive a convertible when I turned 18 and bought my Z3. Now I drive one nearly every day. The novelty wears off after a few years.
Unfortunately it was in a 2002 Sebring. It was also my mom’s daily driver for a short time, so I got to experience a lot of convertible in the span of a few months. It was fun on backroads and lazy summer days, but most of the time I (and I think everyone else) got annoyed by the constant wind noise. I was really starting to get into cars at the time and what I took away most from that car was the awful drone the 2.7 made whenever it was asked to accelerate. It honestly sounded like a suicidal vacuum cleaner. Awful, awful exhaust note for a kid that just wanted some excitement in the family fleet.
In grade school, my friend Tony’s dad had an old MGB convertible. We were always promised a ride in it, once he got it running. I don’t remember what was wrong with the MGB, but I never got that ride.
My first ride in a convertible was the summer before jr. high. My friend Greg’s dad gave me a ride home from a little league game in his Cadillac Allante. My friend and I both squeezed into the passenger seat. I remember the wind blowing around us and how tightly we were wedged in the seat, but it was also my first ride in a “luxury” car. This was rural southern Illinois and this car cost over half what my parents paid for our house at the time (my parents were both teachers and my friend’s dad own several local businesses). I think that just a few weeks later my friend’s dad traded the Allante in on a Jaguar XJE with a V12. He seemed to get a new car very few months on a whim.
In high school I rode in an assortment of Chrysler LeBaron convertibles and Jeep CJ’s that belonged to friends or their parents.
I’ve never owned a convertible, but in college I had a used ’89 MR2 (not supercharged), with T-tops. That was the most fun car I’ve ever owned. It was fun on twisty roads and the T-tops allowed enough wind to blow through my hair to make me happy.
The “last” American convertible (until Lido resurrected them) – 1976 Caddilac Eldorado. Dad negotiated a screaming deal for it in 1980, and sold it 2 years later for the same price.
In the early 1970s, my mother, brother and I rode with the president of my father’s Jaycee Chapter to a picnic. He had a 1966 or 1967 Plymouth Satellite convertible.
We drove on I-81 from Shippensburg to Carlisle (about 20 miles), and I remember feeling as though we were going to be blown out of the back seat. My mother still says that ride killed the allure of a convertible for her.
In 2000, I rented a Mustang convertible to travel from Pennsylvania to Minnesota for my brother’s wedding. This was in July. I loved driving with the top down. Perhaps being in the driver’s seat for the entire trip colored my view.
I’d still love to buy a Mustang convertible, but the back seat on the current model is simply too small for our children.
Mom bought a Pontiac Catalina convertible when I was four, 1968. I had a Miata from 1993 to 1997. No convertibles since then.
But I just inherited the Catalina a few months ago. That’s made me remember how much fun they are, so now I just traded in the Tacoma on a Buick Cascada for a new ride and got rid of the motorcycle.
First convertible I remember riding in was my father’s then new 61 Bonneville. He only had it until 63, when he traded it on a 63 Bonneville hardtop. I did however, learn to drive, at age 15, in my Brother-in-law’s 66 Mustang Convertible. Dad had a 53 Belair Convertible way back in the early 50s, but I was tooyoung to remember if I ever rode in it. He traded that off for a 56 Vord Victoria (no crown) Hardtop. here is a pic of my parents, in 66, with the Mustang, and in back is my Moms 63 grand Prix.
Some considerable time in the period after the Benz Patentwagen, God also invented The Roof, and saw that it was Good, for it covered the nakedness or baldness or nosepickery of the occupants from view, and better Yet, it gave them shelter from His weathers.
I don’t think of convertibles as much other than a reversion to cruder times, and limited exposure to their exposure has only ever reinforced my prejudice. I live in a hot country, near a tilt of the earth’s path that makes the sun want to turn your skin cells squamous more easily than anywhere else, and I don’t much like the heat anyway. (God’s second Miracle after the Roof and its shadiness was, ofcourse, the AirConditioner, but I am digressing).
I think that my first go behind the wheel of one was further unhelpful. In ’89, Ford Australia designed and partially built a device called the Capri, in the US sold as a Mercury, but under any name, still only partially built. It did not impress. I seriously asked my mate if the steering had a fault: it was chassis flex. And as in the few chop-tops driven since, the forward view is in reality of the windscreen, and looks no different to the view from under a roof of a hardtop, albeit with winds. I mean, you can’t drive looking upwards.
My best experience of a convertible is a stinking hot night driving along near the beach, in the best position, the back (of a SAAB, in my case), where I got the full effect of being exposed at speed. With gusts of a cooling breeze off the water, a sweet air-conditioning that some would say really was provided by god. Delightful.
First convertible drive was my cool uncle’s ’59 Chevy. I’d often hitchhike on weekends, turning down rides until a convertible stopped, then turning around and doing it again. My first car was a ’59 Lincoln convertible, my first new car was a ’76 Eldorado convertible and I currently own a ’60 Lincoln convertible…great article, Eric!
First ride in a convertible – 1964 Dodge Dart, with the 4 on the floor about the time I was about 5-6 years old. White exterior with black interior. Dad borrowed it from a family friend. He liked to borrow cars from friends and relatives and that’s how I was exposed to a lot of different cars as a child.
Pretty interesting to see all the exposed hardware with the soft top in the absence of the headliner. It was also pretty noisy as I recall, but it was really cool to ride in it with the top down.
First time I drove a ragtop myself was in Honolulu, Oahu, in 1992. Rented a GM J-car convertible, either a Chevy Cav or Pontiac Sunbird. Nice to drive with the top down in that weather, but man, I felt the “flex” of the body while driving it, and not all that hard.
First convertible ride was my older cousin’s 1957 MGA, it was a light green color. I was ten years old. She would whip my brother and me around with the two of us squashed into the passenger seat while she ground through the gears. It was always a thrill, as she was somewhat wild and crazy and we would have the best time ripping around the desert roads with her. That’s me perched in the driver’s seat.
Picture wouldn’t load, second try.
In 1997 when I was 17 my great uncle took me for a ride in his 1973 oldsmobile 88 convertible.
Easy. My dad had a 1959 MGA (with 1962 taillights he would add) in British racing green and white interior. Mom acquiesced to him having in 1966 in part because Pop was a Navy aviator, and those pilots gotta look cool. I wasn’t yet in grade school yet but remember it more for being on the battery charger in the garage most of the time, and it had all the usual mechanical electrical hiccups that MG was known for (pop was lucky that an enlisted man in the motor pool was really interested in MG engines to keep it running right). After he left the Navy for Delta Air Lines in late 1967 he sold it and got a 1961 Ford Falcon two door in a not so appealing pea puke green as his airport beater. Mom occasionally drove the car when dad would take the 1963 Ford ranch wagon instead to the base, and I remember more with her at the wheel than with dad. I remember the sliding plastic (plexiglas?) windows and the chain inside the door to push down to open the doors (what, lock the car? wasn’t possible). Later when he married my step mom, she had a 1974 MGB that was a little better on maintenance. I remember driving that car with the top up and down, and I learned and acquired dad’s bad habit of riding the clutch at stop lights. Much later in the marriage she got a creme colored Infiniti (Q35?) convertible for the summer house during the 2000s; that car I was only in once. When we moved to atlanta in 1968, my aunt Katherine was still driving the 1959 Buick convertible (she dubbed it “the rattle-trap”) that she got after finishing college; I thought that was a cool car, but I never saw it with the top down, though I remember how drafty the car was during winter. Mom had a convertible after she left college to marry dad (her father bought it for her; dad said it was a Buick), but dad sold it after he got the Peugeot as a wedding present from his dad (mom detested that car because it ran about as well as the MGA did later), and I wasn’t around to be in that ride. After my step mom died last year, pop got himself yet another two-seat convertible: a red 1994 Mercury Capri. I’ve driven only once. Pop didn’t even know it was FWD. Personally, I wouldn’t want one, but it would make a good rental in places where there is plenty of sky and trees, and little for traffic and tall buildings.
Around 1990 a cousin of mine was into old cars. He got a ’48 Morgan +4 as a project car and I rode with him once. Let’s say I wasn’t impressed at all, but the reason was the shabby state of the car.
Same cousin, about the same time, different car…’36 Ford Convertible Sedan.
Now, that was a great car. It was also a project, its condition was far from nice, but it ran. It didn’t steer or brake adequately, but it ran, and I loved it.
For those of you who have had the chance of riding as a passenger in a RHD car in a LHD country (I guess the reverse holds true), it was my first time and a scary experience. Uruguay changed from RHD to LHD after WWII, so all pre war cars around here were RHD.
The V8 burble with no roof or windows to speak of was something to remember.
First convertible I can remember is a 1959-60 Corvette. White with red interior driven by a mid-20s fellow and his girlfriend who stopped to buy lemonaid from my stand in 1961 while living on Chestnut St. Bogota, NJ.
First ride was in a brand new 1965 Mustang. White with red interior again. Driven by an 18 year old girl who received it from her father whom my father knew as a business associate. We visited them in Pennsylvania, up from Catonsville, MD, during the summer of 1965.
My first RIDE in a convertible–
A classmate’s 1965 GTO drop-top, light metallic blue with white top, Cragar SS mags, and a 389 Tri-Power. Gorgeous car, sexy as hell, and STINKIN’ FAST!!
First DRIVE in a convertible–
Best friend in Colorado was close with a guy named Terry who owned a dealership. One Saturday, he needed help moving inventory to his new location on the other side of town. Terry came up to me and said, “I got just the car for you, Bill, I know you like big cars and I think you’ll dig this one…”
He tosses me the keys to a bright red 1969 Plymouth Fury convertible. It looked a mile long and half a mile wide. It was only a 360 2bbl but it moved out pretty good. I had a stupid grin on my face the whole drive to the other end of town. The car was freshly painted and no top was installed yet, and it was only like 48 degrees that day, so very chilly for top-down driving. No worries–I zipped up my coat and blasted the heater on high the whole trip, and it wasn’t that bad. Fun as all get out, though.
1978, it was on my 8th birthday and my father had just got a used 72 Mustang convertible. I remembered my friend Jimmy Sardian’s dad had a Bel Air convertible and thought it would be a legendary experience, but really it didn’t make much difference.
On a side note, RIP Jimmy.
08/02/1971 – 08/03/1987
Cancer sucks.
The first convertible I can remember riding in was a family friend’s ’67 Camaro when I was 11. Light blue with white interior and top. It was a pretty spartan car with only A/C and an AM radio. It did have the hidden headlights though. It was one of the first Camaros sold in the area. She kept it until it was totally unsafe to drive and her oldest kid, who wasn’t even born until it was 5 years old, was in college. It looked so bizarre sitting in her driveway, a rusted hulk with a new top on it a couple of years before it went to the boneyard.
My first ride in a convertible was my dad’s, now my, 1979 MGB. I remember being about 3 years old and throwing a petulant fit that I wanted the top down NOW. We were on the Howard Franklin Bridge, a 7 mile long part of I-275 connecting St Petersburg, FL to Tampa. He gave in to my tantrum and (dangerously) put the manual top down while driving on the highway.
My first time driving a convertible was when I was in high school. One of my friends took his dad’s Pontiac Sunfire convertible to school one day and he let me drive it around the block.
The first convertible that I owned was a 1996 Saab 900S. I loved that car. Bought it with 83,000 miles and kept it 10 years and to well over 250,000 when it spun a bearing on a road trip.
Most recently, I had a rental 2019 Mustang Convertible while my car was in the body shop. The agent told me that I could either get the Ford Fiesta that my insurance will pay for, or I could pay an extra $6 per day for the Mustang.
My aunt and uncle had a 1947 Cadillac convertible with hydraulic windows and seat.I drove it many times.Felt like it was built with left over tank parts.Later they had a ’56 Caddy convertible which I drove as well.Man those were some cars.My aunt had a ’39 Olds convertible with Hydra-Matic, which I did not drive and a ’53 Olds I did drive over the open road Phila to LI , the darn seat would not work, had to drive with a pillow behind me.Memories!!
I guess I’m a late bloomer, while my first ride in a convertible with the top up was a neighbor’s Corvair Monza in 73-74, my first drive in a convertible with the top down was in 1990 when my mother got a 1982 Rabbit convertible. It was a fun little car and felt very familiar and comfortable since I had an 84 Jetta at the time. It was handed down to my sister in 91 and she drove it until 95-96 or so. So far this is the first and last convertible I’ve driven but I still want a sports car, or a soft top Landrover.
I’ve a sad story about convertibles, my youngest sister died of ovarian cancer 11 years ago at age 37; though she lived less than 2 years past her diagnosis, her husband and she got a Mercedes convertible (though obviously it can’t compensate for such a situation it maybe made her feel she had something off her bucket list, which of course she didn’t have much time to fulfill.
Other than that, I have no history with this body style; never having even driven one, I was only briefly even a passenger in one; being follically challenged myself it isn’t the best choice if you want to look presentable upon arrival. Even having lived in the South some 36 years after being raised in the North, the ideas I had about having a convertible (or a motorcycle) have been swayed by actually living here, yes, warm weather is nice for a convertible, but a lot of the time I actually try to hide from the sun, having to be out in it more than I care to be just doing chores around the house, so driving isn’t a time I feel need for more exposure. Being an introvert also sways me to a non-open vehicle. We get hail storms not infrequently that of course can also damage metal roofed cars but would also do in fabric topped convertibles, but you’d likely need to take the convertible to 2 places to be repaired (metal and fabric repair). Plus, as a big hatchback fan, they haven’t yet come up with a viable convertible hatchback yet. I guess I really value storage space in cars, and convertibles are lacking in that regard, primarily needing a place to stow the folded top..adding less body rigidity and usually higher weight, to me the convertible seems like too much of a compromise to balance the small gain in enjoyment of being in the open air.
My brother in law rented a Mitsubishi Eclipse convertible some 14 years ago when he came for a visit (he and his family soon moved here, also from up north of course)…that’s maybe the only time I remember being in a convertible. Though I do remember in 1979 reading this book, lamenting the disappearance of the 1976 Cadillac convertible (and the subject in the jacket cover, a 1940 Packard convertible). Maybe if they still made 4 door convertibles? Well, probably not, it was still a pretty good story.
Believe it or not an Amphicar about 1971–my brother and I spent our summers with our mother on Georgian Bay and a neighbor had one. He took a bunch of us kids on a water cruise one Saturday. I only remember thinking lots of people must own them. Next was a 72 Impala convertible my Mom’s brother owned. After that it wouldn’t be till about 1998 when I got a ride in a 1971 Cuda.
Today I can hop in our 2005 Mustang convertible any time from May 1st to Oct 31.