(first posted 11/3/2011) The second half of the 1960s was the last point in time full sized convertibles had any relevance in the American market. A short five years later they would all but have disappeared from most non-General Motors brands. Was it a warm Indian summer, or was it just time to set the clocks back and hunker down for the Malaise Era?
In American car culture, the convertible played a starring role. Nothing says open highway and freedom in the most American (Automotive) way than folding a roof and letting the world rush by you at interstate to illegal speeds. And any full sized Mercury convertible like this 1960 Park Lane would fit the bill: Lazy V8, automatic transmission, AM radio and vinyl (or even leather) seats.
But then there’s the reality. Most convertibles (up until recently) have fabric tops, which at the least will likely fall apart within a decade of constant exposure to the elements, and at worst leaves you vulnerable to theft, or well, if you flip over one of these 4,000lb beasts, death.
Between the styling revolution of the pillarless hardtop during the 1950s, a few appearances of the sunroof and dramatic increase in air conditioning, by 1966 Convertibles were starting to show signs of being an endangered species. After a record year of convertible availability and sales in the robust year of 1965 (helped by all new full sized convertibles from GM, Ford, Mercury and all Mopar brands save Imperial) sales started to taper off.
1966 was the last year for that ultimate glamor convertible, the Thunderbird, until its ill-fated reincarnation in 2002. AMC would bow out a few years later, first killing the Ambassador and American, and then the Rebel. Come 1972, if you wanted big and flamboyant hairdryers, your only option was to look at the jello-bodied B-body quartet at General Motors, or pony up for that final holdout, the Eldorado.
So before we go too far off into the the grim-and-dim disco downspiral, let’s ponder what’s great about this Monterey. And, really, without slicing off the roof it doesn’t have many virtues to recommend it over a heap of other convertible competitors. Chances are it has the 275 horsepower 390 V8 for adequate cruising through its Multi-drive Merc-o-Matic.
Coils at all four corners starting in 1965 insured the Mercury (and most all Full sized Fords) upped the ante in the boulevard ride isolation game. So it was best to point the Monterey and its siblings in a straight line at 70 and forget all of your cares, until 13 miles per gallon caught up with the 20+ gallon tank further down the interstate. Perhaps at mile 300. Or sooner.
But the biggest strike against convertibles like the Monterey was the fast growing epidemic of The Brougham Disease. Although we were still five years from couch cushion velour upholstery, the creeping of vinyl tops, layers of sound deadening and “Walnut grain appliques” were finding their way into the preferred spots in automotive brochures. It’s easier to make a profit margin with 3M tape, extra fabric and a bolt in Air Conditioning unit. Not so much with extra frame bracing and a folding top mechanism.
It reflected a desire to isolate oneself from the harshness of realities in every way possible, from the massive exodus to even further flung suburbs away from inner cities to the growing popularity of soothing Adult Contemporary Music. I’m pretty sure Dionne Warwick would have traded her Monterey Convertible for an LTD or Marquis the moment she arrived in San Jose.
And so with sales of only 3,279 convertible Montereys produced in 1966 it was one of the harbingers to come. And the results are still with us today. Practically every car one can look at for the 2012 model year feels like a rolling isolation chamber, from the lowliest of Yarii to the most expensive of Bentleys.
About 10 years ago, Mercury teased us with the possibility that it could come back. But alas, it wasn’t to be. Frankly the Marauder rehash would have worked better on a spirit level had the convertible version actually made it to market. In a way, every new non-sports car is a “Brougham”. Part of me looks at these fossils of another time, nearly fifty years ago when young hearts ran free on the interstate, and wonder where it all went wrong.
Convertible Marauder…Ragtop Panther Love!
You’re dead-on about the broughamization of just about every car–when I even so much as drive with my window down on a nice day, I get the feeling people are looking at me as if I have two heads. Insulation from the road has become the norm.
That was one of the most tempting concepts to come out of Mercury in so many years, because it looked so feasible. Alas, not to be, as it was a minor miracle that even the Marauder sedan made it to production. But oh, how wonderful a parting shot for Mercury that would have been.
Remarkably similar giant butt to the ’62 Pontiac the other day- even in monkey-butt red!
The 66 Mercury is one of my favorite 1960s cars. I like the lines of these quite a bit better than the Galaxie of that year. This may be my favorite Mercury out of all of the 60s.
On the engine, I have never been very well versed on Mercury variants of Ford engines, but do I correctly recall that with a Mercury you got a 410 instead of the 390? My guess would be that it was a thinly disguised FE 390, but I am open to correction on this.
Great find, Laurence. It is nice to see some of the rare stuff out and about, particularly a nice one like this.
And Paul, are we heading for a new subtitle for the website? Curbside Classics: THE Mercury Authority.
My father owned a ’66 Monterey (Breezeway, not a ragtop) and it had the 410 4bbl setup. We owned a Reliart tent trailer (“Reliart is trailer spelled backwards”) and towing the thing made no difference in mileage. We always got 12.
It was pretty much a straightline cruiser. The ’70 Catalina that replaced it was a bit better handling…
I’ve had a few 390s. Mine all had 4 bbls. Gas mileage wasn’t great.
But my dad had a 68 LTD w/390 2 bbl. On long (and flat) trips he always got 18 MPGs.
That may be why the put a 390 2 bbl in a 68 Cougar for torque AND gas mileage?
The 390 was Ford’s flagship all thru the 60’s. I believe it was the best engine they ever built. You couldn’t kill one. They had so much extra metal in the blocks, very meaty. They were almost bullet-proof. The 428 police interceptor was the same block with a different bore and stroke. I don’t think they cared too much about gas mileage back in ’68. That Cougar got the 390 strictly for performance reasons, whether it was a 2 bbl or the 4 bbl version. Ford ran that FE block for years and years before they finally let it go in 1977, by then it was a 360. It started out as a 332, then 352,390,427,428 and then back down to the 360 ionly n the mid-1970’s pickup trucks. 1971 was the last year for the FE motor in passenger cars and then it was only for half of ’71. After that Ford’s big-block was the new 385 series 429 and 460’s.
I might be wrong, but I thought that both the 360 and the 390 soldiered on in trucks until ’76, and then they were replaced by the 351M and 400 respectively. My father owned two 360s, a ’69 F100 and its replacement, a ’75 F100. He special-ordered both with C6 transmissions because he pulled a 16′ shrimp trawler on a 150-mile round trip every weekend he could get away (we liked shrimp). Both were bulletproof, and had long lives after he sold them off (when you live in a small town, you hear if anything went wrong). We also had a 390/C6 in a ’66 Galaxie 500XL 2-door fastback. It was also reliable but liked to blow off mufflers on a regular basis. Our experience with the FEs was certainly positive, and I don’t know about the best, but I think it was one of the best Ford engine families.
Engine choices for the big Mercs from 1966-67 were the 390, 410 and 428. The 410 was dropped in 1968. I have a 410 67 Park Lane hardtop and a friend has a 66 428 Monterey coupe. True the FE continued to 1976 in trucks but most of those trucks had the 360. Only when the truck is being sold does the engine become a 390 until a smart buyer checks the stroke. My 65 F100 got a replacement 1972 360 engine which just recently had water in the oil. After getting lucky finding some stout C7 rods and a nice 390 crankshaft the engine is undergoing it’s transformation from 360 to 390 as we speak.
From various sources it appears the 390 was standard and the 410 was only standard in the Park Lane, but optional across the board.
http://www.mercurystuff.com/1966-engines.html
jpc: Not until I find a nice ’49 -’51 Mercury on the street. And a Monarch too.
A 410 is indeed an FE-family engine. It’s the combo of 390 (4.050″) bore diameter and a 428 (3.980″) stroke crank.
This makes perfect sense now. I could never understand how or why Ford did a Mercury-only V8. But now I see that it was just parts-bin engineering. Thanks for the info that fills in a missing point in my mental data bank.
I love that big Marauder convertible. Mercury would surely have stood out in the market with that. What a pity it never made it to production.
That would have really done something for Mercury’s image, especially as a Mercury exclusive. (As in, maybe it would have given Mercury an image.)
These were wonderful cars. This one’s a descendant of the ’61 Ford Sunliner we got at our house. It replaced a ’55 Stude Champion, what a difference! An early memory I cherish is when Mom and Dad would put the top down on a summer Sunday, and we’d all go out for ice cream cones (peach for me) and just cruising.
It was black with a white top, which was a big mistake. Frequent scrubbings with Comet failed to get all the smog-era grime off, so after a year it looked pretty bad. He replaced it with a black top. Black on black made it a super sharp ride. Then someone cut the top. That was it for the romance of the convertible at our house. After a few years with a ’66 Mustang, it was an air-conditioned ’68 XL land yacht, which lasted over a decade.
Air conditioning killed the convertible. Once most cars had affordable AC, the hassles of dealing with a fabric top were quickly discarded.
Mercury teased us with a convertible 20 years ago too. This concept Sable was built for the 1988 Detroit show. I wanted it badly at the time, being the happy owner of an ’87 Sable and about the age Dad was when we got the Sunliner. Too bad.
More on this car here: http://www.ford-taurus.org/taurusinfo/Concepts/88convert.php
As a car-crazy kid in the 80’s, who was a big fan of the Taurus/Sable at the time, how did I miss that one?
That works much better than I thought it would have…
The last great full-size convertible (besides my avatar) was a 1970 Chevy Impala SS 427 convertible. My room mate and I drove all the way down to San Jose when we were in the service to Spartan Dodge one fine Saturday in 1972 and they had one on the used car lot. It was red, of course, with black top and interior.
I’m sure that car drank gas like a drunken sailor compared to mine, but it was sweet! Amazingly, it wasn’t as fast as you might have thought and we did “get on it” as often as we could get away with, but the traffic on the 101 was almost as bad then as it is now, and Alameda has too many stoplights.
I suppose increasing commutes and freeway travel killed the large convertibles because after a day on the road, you were pretty beat-up. Even as a young man of 21, I was tired-out after that drive.
Still, after seeing that two-door panther, you have to wonder about the possibilities and, perhaps, missed opportunities. Dreaming……………..
There wasn’t an Impala SS 427 in 1970. No SS, no 427, no bucket seats.
Laurence, you’re so right about the isolation of cars today. It’s a bigger deal than people realize. Everyone’s in their own little bubble now, not a good thing.
I just experienced this getting an old Miata. Convertibles are exhilarating! Driving through the city you hear things and see things, you feel a part of the street. It’s not just about seeing the sky again, which is wonderful in its own way. It’s getting back in touch with the immediate world around you. You feel more alive.
Yes, the isolation factor is…a problem. Many times, when the weather makes survival a consideration, it’s appreciated. But many more times…it’s like a sterile isolation chamber. A penalty box.
I’ve found my cures for that, over the years; it was the basis for my fascination with Jeeps. And, as a young buck, I took up with motorcycles; and four years ago, I got back into it.
Not just for the thrill of triple-digit speeds, although there’s some of that, too. Even the most mundane errand, done on city streets at legal speeds, on a tame commuter bike or scooter…is so much more invigorating when done in the open air, on two wheels.
“Even the most mundane errand, done on city streets at legal speeds, on a tame commuter bike or scooter…is so much more invigorating when done in the open air, on two wheels”.
Or bicycle!
For precisely the same reasons i’ve kept my ‘ 90 Mustang 5.0 LX for going on 22 years and 248k miles. You do feel more alive–granted it’s not as a tight a ride as it was from 90-95 and my behind the wheel time is a fraction now with child & disapproving wife—-
but that car is still my youth…. and looking at it so forlorn and in need of maintainance that my current economy prohibits — it literally breaks my heart.
Kudos for keeping it going! Is that one of the 7UP cedition cars?
It most certainly is a 7 up edition. in it’s 5 spd. glory.
I remember the day I purchased it… May 10, 1990 — new job, 5 months post grad out of syracuse univ, finally some coin jingling in my pocket. My high school buddy Keith, a Ford nut that drove a 70 Boss 429 thru HS and a Buick GS in college, talked me into going to the Ford dealership a few towns over to show me this new edition mustang rag top.
The minute I walked into the fish bowl like dealership it was love at first sight. Now, i’m a 45 year old man and i confess that this has never happened to me w/ a woman…just my forest green mustang w/ white top.
Anyway…. 2 hours later and I’m a college grad, first time owner, signed, sealed and delivered.
I have been everywhere w/ that car, countless trips to the Outer Banks before the big storms in the late 90’s made that gorgeous place disappear, roadtrip to Florida? check. 3 times. maine for lobster bisque ? sure, 4 times. Shenandoah Valley and Skyline Dr? sure, did it twice. New Orleans for gumbo ? check This car has been everywhere it seems and the one time I have been pissed at it was for a dead battery on the Massachusets pike 1 hour out of Boston.
That car has seen nearly all of my past girlfriends too. I guess that’s not a big deal when you consider it’s been a daily driver for 22 years.
Anyway, it’s gone through 4 or 5 sets of Goodyears –first the Gatorbacks, then Eagles… now Kumhos because those other two are imposslble to find. … those 15 inch vr60s are getting tough to locate. the next roof would be it’s 4th. , the buckets are 6 years old and it’s next paint job w/ be the third. So you see… there’s a lot on my plate.
Anyway, thanks for your kind words…. it’s really the affirmation I needed because I have no idea how I would approach life w/o my convertible…. a bit dramtic but true.
@fastback, you should contribute a “My CC”! Sounds like a great story.
+1 I’d like to hear that story.
@fastback…Dude, whatever you do don’t sell it. Trust me on this. There will come a day,when you will have the resources to bring it back to life.
I sold my 2000 Firebird rag top to pay off the Canadian Revenue Agency. At the time I was really broken hearted,and peed off . I got over it cause the Firebird,”could” be a real pain in the a$$. [the dollar signs are intentional.] Today theres a 08 Mustang rag sleeping the Canadian winter of in my garage.
I will never sell it. Hopefully one of my grandchildren will get it.
In my 41 plus years of driving I have parted with many cars, that I have later come to regret. A couple of Parisienne drop tops,from the sixties come to mind.
Take some advice from an old dude. If there is anyway to swing it, keep the Stang.
I agree with mikey, DONT SELL The Mustang. I still miss my 89 GT… and soon what I traded it for may die, where as The GT is easily worth 2 or 3x what it was 4 years ago…
ill get another convertible… its like a transformer.
2 cars in one or 3 if you count windows up vs down- And THey ALL Go down, the windows…all the way
The 66 Mercury looks 2 me much like the Aussie DeVille shown here earlier this last month.
Like others have mentioned: do whatever you must to hang on to your car. Someday it will all come together, and you will happy you did.
For a mere $13K you “could” replace it with this clean one spotted on BAT! http://bringatrailer.com/2011/10/26/bat-exclusive-24k-mile-1990-ford-mustang-7-up-lx-5-0/
@MikePDX…….You’ve nailed it. As long as I’m able to drive I will own a convertible.
Isolation, I knew there was another reason why I don’t like today’s cars and why I won’t buy another new car ever again. I only look for clean older cars to add as daily drivers. Now of the eight cars I have all have a unique sound to themselves when driven from the 67 Park Lane as the smoothest, to the 98 Sable wagon being the most quiet, if you will for a 98 car. The other six have their engine noises, standard suspension noises and wind noises to go along with trying to hear an AM radio.
where, oh where, did it all go so wrong…
And on another note of Convertible Freedom: Happy 100th Birthday Chevrolet!
You know what that kid’s thinking, “If I only had a water balloon…”
He does, but…….
Great ad – they look like slot cars.
And thanks for the piece, Laurence. I’ve thought before that ’66 could be the peak year for postwar styling. Equidistant between the excesses of two eras, Tailfin and Brougham. Not familiar with this Merc but it seems to fit my theory.
As for isolation, or lack thereof, that’s actually one of my favorite aspects of my little Mazda3. The engine is a bit loud (but not rough) and I feel aware of the tires, in a good way. The wife’s Fusion feels like a vault, which is good on the highway but kind of clumsy and unresponsive in town.
I think for me the Air Conditioned Isolation was never within reach. My family didn’t have an Air Conditioned car until my Dad got his current Eighty Eight when I was 16. When I was born the Camaro, Cougar and Cutlass Salon didn’t have functioning A/C.
And actually my current car “Lorraine” is the first car I’ve ever owned with functioning A/C. All the more remarkable being a 30 year old Mercedes. But between regional climate and wanting to be aware of things I never turn it on though. I like the sensation of windows down, radio up. And listening for any pending mechanical failures…..
Windows down, radio up and listening for any pending mechanical failures —–funny image, LJ. Except it’s really not is it? More like Russian roulet considering the cost of 30 yr. old Merc parts. good luck w/ that car!
BTW: what type of hipster photography contraption are you utilizing to get that vintage or retro effect? I ‘d love to replicate it. thanx
That’s great advertising art…all those pristine convertibles, happy, unbelted people riding in them (a girl driving the Corvair, even), not a car seat in sight…almost certainly no sunscreen, either. What a difference 50 years makes–are any four carloads of people on the same road at the same time even ever that happy?
Thanks to the 1970 strike, GM’s 1972 mid-size A-body had to soldier with the basic ’68 body one more year(the Colonnade design was originally planned for ’72) and having one and final year of having a A-body convertible.
1972 was also the end of the full-size Ford convertible (sold as a LTD instead of the Galaxie in 1971 and 1972 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3LDZyYfUM0 ), the Mustang and Cougar convertibles ended in ’73. (But the convertible returned to the ‘Stang in ’83).
Stephane you and your YouTube links have had me up until 12 AM every night you post.
Thanks, it’s great fun!
I currently own two vintage American convertibles- a 1972 Olds Delta 88 with the rocket 455 underhood, and a 1965 Buick Skylark that I purchased dirt cheap sans drivetrain.
I enjoyed driving the OIds all last summer until the timing gear let go. The Buick is a future frame-off resto.
I like the big 69-72 Ford / Mercury convertibles also, but I noticed something. Whereas the fabric tops on the GM convertibles from that time period blend somewhat smoothly with the body lines, the tops on the Fords look somewhat awkward, almost as if they were a last-minute afterthought.
Yes, a/c, hardtops, and vinyl roofs (probably in that order) had a lot to do with the demise of the convertible, but there were a couple of other factors — expressways and higher speeds. Before the 60s, freeways were uncommon in most of the US, and you motored along 2-lane roads at speeds not much above 50 mph or so. The wind noise wouldn’t have been too bad. But once the interstates were built and you could cruise legally all day long at 65-75, the noise and buffeting became unbearable with the top and windows down.
Real good point. Look at that Chevy ad above, two of the women are holding onto their hair, and the kid’s got his hand up in the hurricane-force winds. Wind at 70 mph has five times the energy of wind at 40.
Besides the groovy Marauder convertible concept, around the same time, Bob Lutz had a similiar large convertible concept loosely based on the ’57 Chevy called the Bel Air. It’s a shame neither made it to market. As pointed out, there’s really nothing quite as American as riding down the road in an accessable, full-size convertible.
My personal favorite is any ’69-’70 fuselage-styled, loop-bumper, big Chrysler, be it Newport, 300, or Imperial.
I seriously think that 2002 Marauder convertible would have saved mercury from extinction or atleast given them a longer run. Ford could have offered the Crown Vic LX Sport( Marauder counterpart) in a convertible also. I would have bought one in a heartbreak since the C.V. was quite cheaper in price than the Marauder. Or howabout a Lincoln Towncar convertible? Maybe with suicide doors like the 1960’s Lincoln Continental versions. All 3 of these were exceptional cars and built on the same “Panther” platform until their ultimate demise this last September.No more fullsize cars, let alone a fullsize convertible. Mustang is your only Ford convertible until they fade that out someday.
+1 I still think they should have made it,it might have bought a stay of execution for Mercury.I liked the Marauder sedan and was disappointed it only had a short life,after the Marauder was dropped Mercury was a dead man walking
I wouldn’t mind having one of these Canadian Mercury Meteors, Ford of Canada’s version of the Fullsize Merc. Badboy convertible. Talk about RARE !!!. How would you like to pull up at a carshow with one of these BadBoys ? I’ve NEVER EVER even seen one in person, probably never will either, since I live in Chicago, not Canada, It’s quite unique. It has Mercury Marquis sheetmetal with a Ford Galaxie interior and dash and sporting Meteor badges and emblems. I was thinking about building one with a Marquis conv and a Galaxie partscar.
Or how-about this loaded with options red Canadian ’66 Ford Meteor( yes I said Ford not Mercury) S-33 Convertible for sale in a museum down in St.Louis, Mo.
Here’s another pic of the Meteor sporting a factory Galaxie interior. Another RARE BIRD.
here’s a pic of the unique rear.
That 66 Monterey is a beauty. I remember around 1980, I saw a guy driving a maroon Imperial convertible, maybe a 67 or 68. At that point, I wanted a drop top. Months later, I bought a 66 Deville, baby blue with a black top. I drove around all day watching the gas gauge drop as I drove topless. Wound up with a hell of a sunburn on my face and arms. That August night around 8 o’clock, I had to put the top up because I was freezing.
I rarely put the top down in the five years I owned the car. I only put the top down to ride around town. Other than that I found the topless ride very uncomfortable. And dangerous, at highway speeds, I remember being pelted with stones and road debris from passing cars. Good way to lose an eye.
Convertibles remind me of High School beauties we all dreamed about. Fantasy aside, she probably would have made life miserable. Cheers!
My best friend’s granddad was a partner in an LM dealership, so his family had a long series of loaded Mercurys. During our college years his mom had a loaded ’64 Marauder almost like this…Red/White/White. I always thought it had the FE 390, but could it have been a 410? During the summer we used to double-date in that thing. Nothing like a convertible to get a bad sunburn without being aware of it.
My friend used to run the AC full-blast on hot summer days with the top down, and me calling him a moron. Condensation from the air outlet grilles would drip on the floor. He wanted the cold air blowing on his face. As another reader pointed out, nobody worried about gas prices.
I had forgotten all about this car until I saw this posting. Thanks for the memories.
Interesting that now the mid-price level offerings of the Big Three are generally a bit
LESS in price than the low-price ones; i.e., a comparable mid-60s Mercury convert
will pull a bit less money than a similar Galaxie, for example. The most desirable,
however, are the ones with relatively-small V-8s, rather than the big ones: for the
obvious reason. There’s a couple of oddities, though: all Chevys are too expensive
(though good cars), and certain full-size Plymouths are also over-priced. But it’s
hard to go wrong with most any of them . . . as long as you stay away from the exotic
(being translated, very expensive to maintain) models: T-Bird and Lincoln.
Nice,I’m not usually a full size car fan but I like this a lot.I’ve always had a soft spot for Mercuries,my first American car was a 64 Comet and my all time favourite American car a 67/68 Cougar
.
Laurence ;
Once again your wonderful photography makes my day ! .
Sadly , I am not a Rag Top kinda guy , I used to buy them every few years then wonder why because I never flopped the top after the first 6 months or so =8-^ .
FWIW , my Son taught me that yes , IT IS O.K. to run the AC full on with the top down , you’ll feel great and no , it doesn’t affect the fuel mileage that much .
If you have working AC _USE_IT_OR_LOOSE_IT_ as the circulation of the freon , also circulates the oil and keep the seals good ~ if you run it at least 5 minutes every week , it’ll go years without needing any service .
I have three 30 + year old Mercedes’ and no , they don’t use many parts and yes , the parts prices are the same as any brandy new car’s parts are *if* you’re careful when shopping .
-Nate
I can easily divide my life as a driver into two phases: the time I wanted a convertible and the time after I bought my first. It was March 2001 when I took the plunge. We needed another car. My bride, knowing me in the way only a spouse can, suggested I buy a convertible. I was raised by Depression Era parents to be practical, and every car I had purchased to that time had emphasized that trait in some way (often multiple ways). Now, at age 43, I had the ultimate indulgence to feed my lifelong hunger to own a ragtop. I’m on my third now; I bought each used but with low miles, babied them and they returned full, rich lives. The new one is parked in a garage at home and at work.
There’s nothing special about any of them; they’re all standard stock-equipped cruisers that returned good mileage and cruising pleasure without fail. I, too, am struck by the isolation that envelops the modern motorist — kind of a sad commentary on the world in its way. There’s just nothing to set one’s soul free than cruising along a two-lane country road on a glorious sunny afternoon — and, yep, we get plenty of them here in Iowa. It’s an indescribable feeling of unbridled joy. In that situation, I feel like I’m 30 years younger. And, yes, I, too, will be driving convertibles as long as I drive.
Iowa…
I’ve been driving since 1968 and have had (in succession) 25 cars…none of them convertibles. Your post is prose extraordinaire -words blended like warm honeybutter flowing into thoughts and memories of ethereal bliss…
-you’ve convinced me that number 26 will be a convertible.
I’ve never owned a convertible either, but my wife has expressed an interest in one, and I’ve convinced myself that our next car purchase will be a convertible. Kind of a “do it while we can” mentality–while we’re still somewhat recently married, and before children are in the picture. If not now then we’ll be waiting 20 years. It will be primarily her car, but considering it will also be what we use for travel (given that my two cars are 17 and 26 years old) I’ll get some seat time too. Probably sometime next year…
I want to go retractable/folding hardtop though, given that we live in a neighborhood that is nearly 100% street parking with no driveways, and due to that, break-ins are not unheard of. If it comes to that I’d rather replace a broken window than a slashed top. Plus they tend to seal better in cold/wet weather. Volvo C70 T5 (lightly used) is looking like the lead candidate right now…
I’ve owned my Full-Size convertible since I was just out of high school in 1982. It’s a 1968 Dodge Polara 500 convertible.
Found it in a salvage stripped of its engine, transmission and most of its interior. Why would anyone save it? It’s a keeper. Told my wife I’ve had it longer than her. Good thing she puts up with that kind of stuff!
One of my favorites. Glad to hear you saved one!
Green Day used a Monterey Convertible in one of their music videos. I feel like buying a Solara or a Thunderbird Convertible one of these days because I have never been in a moving Convertible.
Agreed ;
The Panther Drop Top looks like it would have been a winner .
IMO , _everyone_ needs to have a Rag Top at least once , just to find out .
When they’re good , they’re great .
Even the beat so crap Vintage Drop Tops I had were fun those few times I wanted 100 % open air motoring .
Also , the isolation is a non starter for me ~ I’m one of those who fiddles & tweaks the exhaust system on whatever I’m building , not too noisy but never dead quiet either .
-Nate
“1972 was also the end of the full-size Ford convertible ” S. Dumas
So, by ’72, there was still an LTD, at least.
Before the 1st Gas Crisis, old 60’s big ragtops were popular used cars for teens. Lots of room for friends, and sunshine.
I always like the 65 Galaxie crossed with 66 Conti looks of the 66 Mercury cars. We had a 67 Monterey 4 door that was a lot like a 67 Conti without the suicide rear doors. Too bad it was in that awful puke green. At least it had no vinyl top. Dad bought it used around 1973, must have reminded him of his 67 Conti. Grandfather’s 65 Bonneville only had it’s top down once, so he could take a photograph of it. It was a light beige top with glass rear window, also had light beige leather interior and the super cold GM AC had no trouble keeping the interior comfortable even on the hottest days in Southern California, and the car seemed to be very quiet, even though the top had no insulation in it like most German cars of the day. When he passed in 1973, the car was like new, it was always parked in a carport. I drove it to school a couple of times with the top down, felt like I was king of the road. Sadly, Mom sold it to a used car dealer for I’m sure not nearly what it was worth. I tried to convince her to let me buy it and sell my VW, but she said she did not want to be reminded of his death by seeing the car all the time. Beautiful car in this article.
I would love to have a Sunday joyride in one of those. I imagine it as the ultimate American driving experience. Maybe I can rent one in a vacation spot. I cannot see myself driving it to work. It says “leisure” to me.
That Monterey is gorgeous!
Yeah, I hate seeing older classic cars being driven back and forth to work or on a daily basis. I think they were made to be driven not just parked but on a leisurely basis now as a Sunday driver or on cruise nights or carshows, parades, etc. Back and forth to work in year-round use is not good for a classic or antique in my opinion. They made it so long with low miles, why ruin it now after all that time being cared for and pampered. Just my opinion. Anyway, I love the old Mercs. I’ve had a bunch of them. 1963, 65 , 66, 67 and ’69’s and a few from the 70’s and ’80’s too. Ride engineered, floated down the road. Like driving my couch. LOL !!!
Depends on the car, I think. A car that is still in excellent condition and has amassed 45K miles over 40 years? Yep. Weekend cruiser at most, don’t ruin that originality. But a car with some patina, a little bit faded or rough around the edges, a car that comes to you with 145K rather than 45K…that car wants to be driven. If it’s spent its whole life at work, a full reitrement may do more harm than good. Try for 200K!
I think what killed these ultimately was that these wonderful showboats are fantastic Sunday drives, but a bit of a pain as a daily driver. Fuel cost, impractical size and security issues helped kill them, plus the cult of Eurosports cars.Always wished there had been a soft top version of the last Roadmaster or Cadillac Brougham.
A question- was it a generational thing too? Were these old man cars to the Baby Boomers?
I haven’t looked for numbers, but two thoughts come to mind.
Did total convertible sales drop in the ’60s or were the new compact and midsize versions just more popular? This would be similar to the pony & muscle cars killing off the big performance cars like the Wildcat & 300.
Did convertible sales as a whole just drop? If so, I suspect the growth of the interstate system may take some of the blame as well. I find that top down at 50 mph is usually a lot more fun than top down at 70mph.
Living the dream with my ’72 Olds, which I wrote a full CC on:
Mid 1960s Mercs bring back childhood memories of summer afternoon bike rides. Around 1965 a Lincoln-Mercury dealer was built at the corner of West Florissant and Chambers road in our neighboring township of Dellwood (I grew up in Ferguson which would have meant nothing until a little over two weeks ago). On the other side of the street was a Schnuck’s grocery store and behind that an unpaved vacant lot hidden from street view where the Al Weiss dealership parked their new inventory. At any given time there were over 20 examples of brand new shiny Mercs. The showroom now houses Zisser Tire, which was looted and damaged during the recent unrest.
Also, air conditioning and other options cost bucks that couldn’t be spent on a folding top. Since 1950, auto trans, power steering, etc, had become common; by 1970, A/C had become common except on basic economy cars, but many people were still buying their first car with A/C. A/C usually was more expensive than a convertible top.
Australia ?? 66 Mercury Monterey