Convertibles

It’s hard to believe, considering their prevalence today, but convertibles were once a dying breed. Increased traffic congestion, safety concerns and style trends nearly drove them into extinction a couple of decades ago — even Cadillac’s long-standing Eldorado convertible, one of the last remaining droptops on the market in the ’70s, was discontinued in 1976.

Several years after that, few convertibles survived for sale in the U.S. Then, Chrysler released its affordable LeBaron Convertible to eager buyers in 1982.

But what really kick-started the thriving convertible market as we know it today is the Mazda Miata. Introduced in 1989 as a 1990 model, the original Miata revived and captivated the public’s passion for roadsters — generally defined as small, basic, two-seat convertible sports cars. Over the next decade, the roadster market would explode and ignite interest in other varieties of convertibles, including larger ones with four seats and more luxury features.

While the number of convertibles sold in the U.S. has climbed in recent years, they comprise only about 2 percent of the total non-commercial vehicle market, according to R.L. Polk and Associates.

One trend that may generate more interest in convertibles is the growing number of models with folding retractable roofs, which consumers perceive to be safer and more weather-tight than traditional fabric tops, even though this isn’t necessarily the case. The 1998 Mercedes-Benz SLK pioneered this ingenious type of mechanism that has been incorporated on an increasing number of models in recent years, including the Cadillac XLR, Lexus SC 430, Mercedes-Benz SL and Volvo C70.

At least a few more models with retractable hardtops will hit the market in 2007 — the upcoming BMW 3 Series convertible and Volkswagen Eos, for instance. But some, such as Bentley with its new Continental GTC, prefer that their convertibles announce droptop status even with the roof up and retain fabric tops rather than metal ones that emulate the look of a fixed-roof coupe.