http://magazine.windingroad.com/windingroad/200712web/?folio=13 

With fall upon us here in Michigan, I can’t help but sigh whenever I see enthusiast friends putting away their convertibles. Perhaps it’s the tumbling temperatures or a lack of daylight, but most droptop drivers I see on the roads appear set on keeping their roofs drum-tight.

This is a shame, as there is no finer way to celebrate the third season’s chlorophyll-purging arrival than threading along a tree-lined road with the top down.

Even here in the friendly confines of WINDING ROAD’s Ann Arbor offices, my passion for piloting convertibles year ’round as God intended is shared only by our fleet manager, Kimberly Ewing. Most everyone else from the art department to our copy editors just shake their head when they ponder the idea of open-air driving in the autumnal chill.

And yet, topless motoring is far more comfortable than it used to be. Time was when buyers viewed convertible ownership as something of an indulgence or mania, thanks largely to the near universality of leaky and draft-prone lids. Owners of finicky British roadsters were looked upon alternately as brave and barmy souls. Barge-like American convertibles were nothing if not extravagant and irrational, if only because their primitive roof mechanisms rendered them ill-suited to year-round use.

Fortunately, in the intervening decades, the world’s automakers have been hard at work making cabriolet ownership an increasingly painless endeavor. If you haven’t had occasion to ride in one recently, the modern convertible is a surprisingly refined device. Robust linings and seals mean that many offer sedan levels of insulation and refinement. And for the risk averse, a growing pool of retractable hardtops assures even fewer compromises. Barring the occasional overzealous car wash, wet seats are a thing of the past.

Ponder, for a moment, the advent of weapons-grade bun warmers and HVAC systems that have the capability to keep the elements impressively at bay. Give thanks for technological developments like wind deflectors, heated steering wheels, and innovative vent placements (here’s looking at you, Mercedes-Benz Airscarf and Honda S2000 knee outlets). And lest we forget, aerodynamicists have been hard at work managing airflow in the interest of better fuel economy and easier top-down conversations, with the literal windfall being that cockpits are far less drafty perches than they once were.

Most tops these days are the very definition of convenience, their power articulated ballets requiring little more than an outstretched finger from the driver’s chair to activate. Some, like Porsche’s Boxster and BMW’s forthcoming 1-series Convertible can even be activated at stop-and-go speeds should tumultuous skies surprise. Better still, those wretched snap-on tonneaus have been all but banished to the scrap heap of history.

Coastal dwellers may enjoy longer open-air seasons and take their ragtop living for granted, but the fact that Midwesterners have fewer sunny days to enjoy means we ought to make the most of them. The U.K. is infamous for its pervasive damp and drizzle, yet that nation has given birth to some of the world’s most gloriously skeletal roadsters. There’s a lesson here.

We live in the golden age of droptops, yet many drivers seem completely unaware. It’s time to acknowledge that technology has extended convertible season. Bundle up, put on a brave face, and keep the top down until the first flakes of snow blot your windshield.

Motor vividly,
Chris Paukert

http://magazine.windingroad.com/windingroad/200712web/?folio=13

Magazine Issue: Winding Road Issue 27