I've had this going through my mind lately and thought I'd bring it up here.

I've had convertibles since I got my first Sunbeam at 14 (I still have it!) But lately I've noticed a lot of folks driving around in convertibles who I must assume are new convertible owners, and they don't seem to know the rules! There aren't many, but one of the more important ones that I frequently see violated is this: If the top is down, the windows must also be down.

Now, I see them with all the windows up, or just the driver's window down, or even just the back windows up (sort of like a dual reverse shark fin). I just don't understand this, it looks...well, silly! This was a topic of discussion at a sports car club I used to belong to. Basically, it boils down to this:

Most folks buy a convertible because it's cool. It looks cool, if the weather's just right it feels cool (top-down motoring on a warm summer night is the best!) but if the side windows are up, you lose a good deal of the coolness factor, and total geekdom can't be far behind!

Now, there are allowances made. Let's say you've been driving in the afternoon and it was fairly nice out, but after dark it turns cold...very cold! You can stop and put the top up, but it's allowable to put the side windows up (after all it's dark, no one can see!) and crank the heater. In some circumstances it may even be allowable to put the side windows up in the daytime in very cold weather, after all you are showing how cool you are just by having the top down in cold weather!

But to all these folks who just don't seem to get it...




So there! My random thought for the day! What's yours?

 

lol, I've always wondered about the "bonnet head" folks, driving with the top down and windows up.

I think Freud has something to say about those folks

But I'm with you, unsure about protocol though, just that it does look extremly stupid to be tooling down the highway with the top down and the windows up.

 

I hear ya Dan. I used to drive the Falcon with the top down in the rain and I would stay dry until I got below about 50. I see TONS of people in the bay area on perfect evenings to have the top down and they don't. And yeah, the leaving of the back windows up is totally retarded.

 

Here's a pic of the "Pelican."

 

Geez, I thought people would jump all over this thread (and all over me) telling me how insensitive I am, and how people should drive their convertibles any durn way they choose. You guys are no fun at all!