Page 62 - Experience Magazine Spring 2023

CROSSING THE BLOCK

DROP-TOP LIFESTYLE

CONVERTIBLES REMAIN ONE OF THE COOLEST PARTS OF OUR AUTOMOTIVE CULTURE

There’s nothing quite like getting behind the wheel of a 1930s only a small number of convertibles were sold,
convertible on a warm summer’s day, putting that top and they were high-priced luxury models that became
town, cranking up the tunes and cruising to the beach the domain of the rich.
with the wind in your hair and not a care in the world. The tide turned again after World War II, when young
Despite the undeniable allure of a convertible, our American soldiers returned from Europe enamored
love affair with the ragtop began in a rather mundane by the little soft-top roadsters zipping around the
way: it really was a matter of affordability. Most early French and English countryside just for fun. By 1950,
automobiles were open-air vehicles without any roof – every American car manufacturer had a convertible in
or sides, for that matter. By the end of the 19th century, its lineup – a total of 33 models – and in the early to
manufacturers began adding folding leather or textile mid-1960s, convertibles accounted for an impressive
roofs to protect occupants from the elements. percentage of car sales.

From that point on, the convertible has a somewhat – Popularity of the convertible began to wane again in
well, up-and-down history. the ensuing decade, with higher speeds on the nation’s

Steel-bodied cars began to be mass-produced in the roads and the increased availability of air conditioning
1920s, making them affordable for the average buyer, contributing factors to the decline. But in the 1980s,
so fully open cars became a thing of the past. By the sunroofs and Targa tops led to another resurgence of

62 BARRETT-JACKSON EXPERIENCE SPRING 2023