It is rainy and gloomy today, but boy the weekend was beautiful! Charles Schultz wrote that the secret to happiness is owning a convertible and a lake: when the sun is shining you can drive around in your convertible and when it rains, you can say, “Oh well, the rain will fill up my lake.” I don’t know if he’s right about the lake part as I don’t own one (not YET, anyway) but he is spot-on about the convertible. It is utterly impossible to be in a bad mood riding around in your convertible on a perfect sunny day in Atlanta with Led Zeppelin on the stereo. IMPOSSIBLE.
It occurs to me that, including the two I have now, the last six cars I’ve owned have been convertibles of one sort or another. As a convertible expert, therefore, allow me to address some of the most common questions and misunderstandings about these automobiles.
Regarding putting the top down, which model is the easiest?
The Chrysler Sebring. The push of one button raises or lowers the top, with simultaneous window adjustments.
Which one is the biggest pain in the butt?
The Mercedes 380SL. This car has a ragtop underneath a hardtop but removing the hardtop is impossible for one person to manage and fairly difficult for two. Looks cooler, though.
Don’t they mess your hair up?
That sorta depends on what your hair was like in the first place. If you have a stylish, meticulously arranged coif, yes they do. If, however, you are like me and the normal state of your ‘do is an unruly, windblown mass of locks, which incidentally earned me the nickname “SaladHead” (‘cause it’s tossed - thanks, Scott!), then driving sixty miles an hour in a car with no roof doesn’t make much difference. Simply think of the convertible as a styling accessory, though larger and rather more expensive than hair gel.
I’ve heard they’re awfully loud, so what about road noise? How can you hear your passenger?
You can’t - hence the allure of the vehicle.
Aren’t they dangerous? What if you are thrown from the car?
Hmmm...personally if I’m going to be thrown from a car I’d rather just be thrown out of it and not pass through a reinforced steel roof or a hunk of glass first - but that’s just me.
You currently own two convertibles. Isn’t that a bit contrary to your practical, not to say miserly, nature?
Well, yes. I needed a no-mileage, no-problems vehicle for commuting - thus, the Sebring, but I could not bring myself to part with the ‘Vette as she is the only vehicle I have ever wanted my entire life: black-on-black, six speed manual tranny, removable hardtop with a fast, loud, high-taching engine wrapped in a gorgeous fiberglass package. I plan to justify the financial expenditure of keeping her by being buried in the Corvette. In fact, given the state of Atlanta traffic, I shall probably be cremated in the Corvette, rather sooner than I had expected.
So you like convertibles. Can your opinion be substantiated, say with a celebrity endorsement?
Yes, of course. Consider these words of wisdom from Jimmy Buffett:
"The five o'clock Friday blows, I got to let it go.
Put on my weekend clothes, turn on the rock 'n' roll
Throw all my cares away -
I live for a ragtop day!
It's a ragtop day!
It’s a ragtop day!" (Ragtop Day by Jimmy Buffett, Michael Utley, Will Jennings)
It occurs to me that, including the two I have now, the last six cars I’ve owned have been convertibles of one sort or another. As a convertible expert, therefore, allow me to address some of the most common questions and misunderstandings about these automobiles.
Regarding putting the top down, which model is the easiest?
The Chrysler Sebring. The push of one button raises or lowers the top, with simultaneous window adjustments.
Which one is the biggest pain in the butt?
The Mercedes 380SL. This car has a ragtop underneath a hardtop but removing the hardtop is impossible for one person to manage and fairly difficult for two. Looks cooler, though.
Don’t they mess your hair up?
That sorta depends on what your hair was like in the first place. If you have a stylish, meticulously arranged coif, yes they do. If, however, you are like me and the normal state of your ‘do is an unruly, windblown mass of locks, which incidentally earned me the nickname “SaladHead” (‘cause it’s tossed - thanks, Scott!), then driving sixty miles an hour in a car with no roof doesn’t make much difference. Simply think of the convertible as a styling accessory, though larger and rather more expensive than hair gel.
I’ve heard they’re awfully loud, so what about road noise? How can you hear your passenger?
You can’t - hence the allure of the vehicle.
Aren’t they dangerous? What if you are thrown from the car?
Hmmm...personally if I’m going to be thrown from a car I’d rather just be thrown out of it and not pass through a reinforced steel roof or a hunk of glass first - but that’s just me.
You currently own two convertibles. Isn’t that a bit contrary to your practical, not to say miserly, nature?
Well, yes. I needed a no-mileage, no-problems vehicle for commuting - thus, the Sebring, but I could not bring myself to part with the ‘Vette as she is the only vehicle I have ever wanted my entire life: black-on-black, six speed manual tranny, removable hardtop with a fast, loud, high-taching engine wrapped in a gorgeous fiberglass package. I plan to justify the financial expenditure of keeping her by being buried in the Corvette. In fact, given the state of Atlanta traffic, I shall probably be cremated in the Corvette, rather sooner than I had expected.
So you like convertibles. Can your opinion be substantiated, say with a celebrity endorsement?
Yes, of course. Consider these words of wisdom from Jimmy Buffett:
"The five o'clock Friday blows, I got to let it go.
Put on my weekend clothes, turn on the rock 'n' roll
Throw all my cares away -
I live for a ragtop day!
It's a ragtop day!
It’s a ragtop day!" (Ragtop Day by Jimmy Buffett, Michael Utley, Will Jennings)
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