The Rise and Fall of Retractable Hardtops 

can you make a video on tata?????

And no blooper on that 😂

Tata Motors next please

Sorry but on advantages you forgot to mention SNOW. A hardtop is basically a normal car in winter, a softop is definitely not. Also I think the del sol is the only design you showed that addresses the trunk space issue.

In the convertible video, when you did the statistics of hardtop convertibles, you count how many hardtop convertibles were on sale (coming on and coming off sale) in the year (e.g. 2010), not by the end of every year (e.g. 12/2010)?

Ye but softtops are lighter

soft tops always look like aftermarket thought done in private garage and it is insane they put it in cars which are expensive....this is alright for cheeky inexpensive cars which are not taken too seriously and should look cute and mostly drive around a city....

@@discozula4469 Hard tops provide better aerodynamics.

Best of both worlds in my opinion. Looks nice when up (unlike most soft-tops) and can still be lowered - being a convertible!

@@discozula4469 and waaayy colder if it’s on your daily!

When either top is down rollover is the same surely? If worried buy a coupe.

I agree with your other reasons but it doesn't really add much rollover protection since it's usually very light and not structural. I used to drive a VW Eos and it had spring loaded roll bars in the rear headrests that would be deployed in a rollover that along with the reinforced windshield frame could hold the car. The roof was considered expendable in a rollover. I believe many newer convertibles have similar systems.

@@banjopete yes when the top is down there is no difference but when you’re in weather they requires the top to be up, a hardtop provides better insulation

@@PaulN504 that may be the case with a VW but I’m talking from the perspective of a SL. The hardtop in my car is pretty stiff. I’m not saying it will protect you in all situations but is better than a soft top

Just have a car that ass a solid roof, its a loot more practical

I've got a secret for you, crossovers are station wagons. They just changed the name because nobody wants station wagons.

@@thecianinator Crossovers are just tall hatchbacks. People buy them either because they are boring and just want something that's easier to get in and out of, or because they are dumb and think a tall Nissan Qashqai has the same off-road ability of a Land Rover.

AS LONG AS YOU LIKE A STAINLESS STEEL FRIDGE. GOOD LUCK FINDING A WHITE ONE.

Guys there’s a reason….. I have a GLA45… For the last 22 years I had wagons, or estate cars as we call them in the UK. Wagons allowed you to carry the detritus of life, boat shit, bike shit, house shit and for some (but not me) kids’ shit. Wagons have gotten bigger and bigger and in UK if you have a Range Rover or Discovery that puts you into a world of using two car parking spaces and being hated by everybody. Somewhere in the world there is a single journalist who is responsible for the torrent of hate poured onto SUVs and to be honest some can be termed stylish, some are blocky and boxy. But not every one just wants two or four seats and no carrying ability. Mine isn’t even a “high/command” driving position but it’s wonderful to drive and (don’t snigger too much now) it’s better than a Golf R and it’s a million times less nickable as it isn’t desirous to the n’er do well with needs but no money… So before a raft of hate ours onto me, you tell me what your actual ideal car would that you would buy with your own money?

@@jonbrown6352 yeah a tall hatchback with much higher ground clearence which is very essential in a third world country like mine where the road has a humongous speed bump and will definitely destroy your hatchback undercarriage 🤣🤣🤣 i don't like suv that much but since i need that high ground clearence leaving me no choice

Amen!

@@BigCar2 I'm quite certain you could do that now, no need to wait.

As a former owner of a 60's convertible Triumph as well, and also several German and Italian modern convertibles I can tell you that your information on convertible tops is obsolete and for today's convertibles it is incorrect. Back in the days of Spitfire convertible soft tops were absolutely horrible: thin, horrible mechanism, dismal sealing, horrible aerodynamics, plastic windows, etc. etc. etc. A bolt-on hard top is also very different to a convertible hard top. Nowadays soft tops have multi-layer construction and many have composite panels inside too, they have excellent mechanisms, glass windows, and their aerodynamics and sealing is great. It's impossible to make precise blanket statements as anyone with nefarious motives could pick a bad pairing as an example (eg. Lexus hard top vs. Fiat soft top, or the other way: Rolls-Royce soft top vs. Renault hard top), but overall nowadays hard tops are not "way quieter" as both solutions are adequately quiet (depending only on the manufacturer's desire to increase the cost and put in weight). What can in fact be said very certainly is that soft tops make a more refined and rigid drive. Soft tops allow the car's structure to be strengthened more without having the added huge weight and compromises in structural design (hard tops need the body shape to be designed to minimise roof size and be compromised massively to enable a space big enough to store it). Soft tops are lighter so they create less inertial movement within the roof structure compared to the rest of the body and they also have less inertia to create movement in the whole car. In short: soft tops allow the cars to be better.

Lol. SUV are here to stay boomer.

That’s utter rubbish have you ever been in a Mercedes convertible with a metal roof

Thanks for sharing ! Must’ve been a cool moment. What was your color combo!?

@@prabeeshsidhu Black with oyster interior.

I hope the horrible rest of the ownership experience was worth that moment of attention.

@@pistonburner6448 It was a great car. Never gave me any trouble and a lot of fun to drive. I put almost 100k on it from new and outside of regular maintenance the only issues it ever had was a motor mount needed replacing at like 60k and a parking brake interlock at like 45k.

@@Dr.TJ_Eckleburg Same can be said about a Dacia Sandero. Sorry to be blunt, but the SLK was a particularly abysmal example of a car compared to any relevant benchmarks.

It's easy to identify a coupe cabriolet with top up as well. Can't hide the seams between the retractable roof elements!

@@LRM12o8 yeah but there are people that have no clue. if they see the fabric its a 100% give a way. Many people couldnt believe my BMW e93 was a convertible either until I dropped the top

@@xantor_ When I was looking to buy a Peugeot 207 CC from my neighbour, it was only when I got home to do some research on it that I found out it was a convertible. I was sold on the car before knowing it was a convertible, but discovering that was a very pleasant surprise. I still have it and love it very much.

@@HarmonicaMustang I had a 1:16 model of a 206cc back when I was a kid. Fell in love with hardtops ever since

You may have explained the popularity of the "tonneau" vinyl top most American sedans and coupes had in the late 70s and early 80s.

It's just an SLK. You want stiffer chassis, buy an AMG variant

Well said!

TOO BAD THE NEXT SLK WILL BE A SOFT TOP... AND LOOK LIKE TOO MANY OTHER MERCEDES. THE END OF AN ERA.

@@MICHGO1 the soft top turned out really well imo

Heh, SLKs are famously pretty horrible things.

Agreed, but it won't. Perhaps in 50 years.

Why would they? So much better than a sedan. If I want a good handling car I'll get a coupe. A sedan and all cars just cant compete for what I want and many others cause they are just too impractical and too low to the ground. Just walk around a parking lot and see all the cars with curb rash on the rims and scraps and dents on the bumpers. No thank you.

Amen to that! No more mums on the school run in Nissan Quashimodo's who can't drive anything larger than a Toyota Yaris!

SUVs are for people with little driving ability and a big ego, unaware of how silly they look. The empereror's new clothes on wheels.

@@petersimpson5859 I totally agree with you. ive lost count of the number of times I have seen a mum on the school run in an SUV covered in scraps and with scuffed wheels, usually driving with the door mirrors still folded inwards!

Indeed! So complex yet so unreliable! In my case that is 😃

@@Elmantukas Brian Cooley rebadged it, by replacing E with a P

I think the Eos is the only production car that had a operational sunroof as well as a PRHT. I absolutely love mine! With the top up you would never know you were even in a convertible.

@@markb3756 I think it was done so the owner doesn't feel too bad when the top gets stuck in the closed position.

@@Elmantukas the “yet” made the resulting sentence give me the giggles :)

That happened with a work colleague's car. He had a Volvo C70 and, while picking his kids up from school, someone ran into the back of his car. The impact was sufficient to put the roof mechanism out of true. Uneconomical repair, according to the insurance company, so was classed as a write-off.

@@davidrobinson4400 still love the c70 though

Not related to the roof, but I had rear-ended another car in my 2001 SLK320. :( After repairing the front end (they had to take the engine out), they discovered the crankshaft had been hit, so the engine was also needed to be replaced. The insurance company had paid for the bodywork, so it covered the engine rather than total the vehicle. Ended up being a $28K repair. I loved that car, and it was hard to give it up.

unfortunately most manufacturers, especially EV ones, these days offer closed glass roofs, like Tesla, Nio.... Probably for weight saving/range increase

I rented one via car sharing and it got stuck midway. While waiting for the truck to come and pick it up I realized trying to fix this must be like working on a huge limb cutting machine. btw they never returned the car to their pool of cars after that, probably a write-off

Must be fiddly to rig all the microswitches on a folding roof. I imagine everything has to be set up to close tolerances.

Had a guy shatter the rear windshield on a Camaro top because he didn't install the replacement support brackets correctly 🙃 That's a $1200 mistake

Not going to name models that you have seen like this? Enquiring minds want to know...

The value is only going up from here, especially if you have a 5cyl engine. Might aswell hang on to it.

came here to mention my own 2011 C70 💜

I'm so sorry it's irreplaceable, that's a really unfortunate situation. Have courage, maybe some day you'll be able to save up enough money to buy a new car to replace it even if you can't get any money from selling that old C70.

Luv my 2009 C70 can’t imagine life without it, and it’s Summertime!

Indeed. Its a great shame Volvo killed off the C70 and traditional estate cars in pursuit of the trend for SUV's

Ditto, and still have my 2011 C70. Nothing to replace it. The other benefit of Hard Top is Canadian winters. They deal better with snow although I did, once, to shut off an alarm have to retract and raise the roof when is was -30 C.

I agree with you. I had soft tops that were destroyed by idiots who want to steal my car.That's why I am driving a hard top convertible now.

What improved refinement on the motorway? Another commenter with totally outdated misconceptions.

@@pistonburner6448looks better and feels more ridged

@@juliet4093 For her pleasure?

At the moment I release new videos every other Friday, so here it is!

@@BigCar2 sorry, bmw 4 soft top is only 10 kg lighter than older hard top, I compared 420i models....

How do they notify and find it that quick?

They watch my videos.

@@BigCar2 Sorry to hear this happened. Still a great video without that clip. :-)

And they actually think you're depriving them of income? Whatever.

All of the images are copyrighted. It’s called fair use

Just put some concrete in the boot and be done with it, manual roof folds down in about 2 seconds and is far lighter, live in a better area of town if you don’t want your roof slashed.

Mazda's PRHT is fucken bullet proof, been daily driving my 2010 in Snowy Manitoba for 10 years, it has 260,000 the top has been up and down at least 300 times per year. One Time, I had to red locktite some adjument nubs.

If someone is willing to cut through a soft top, what's stopping them from throwing a rock through the window?

Have an 07 prht, great car. I love the heard top version as opposed to the soft top as the car feel more solid when the roof is up when compared to the soft top. Have driven both but the prht was much nicer.

@@kisong1960 Um... most cars have sound sensors for the alarm and immobilizer. Rocks and glass smashing make noise. Glass gets everywhere and leaves evidence behind. A knife through a soft top is almost inaudible, doesn't trigger the alarm, and leaves behind no evidence.

The Micra CC is a lovely little first car.

Micra, Colt and Tigra are total affronts to aesthetics.

Fun fact, the Colt CZC was based on a rejected Mk2 Fiat Punto hard-top concept (known as the Fiat Wish)

Check out the mazda 131 convertible

Same for the Ford Focus Coupe Cabrio from Bertone. The dimensions weren't right.

Car people tend to forget not everyone has a garage, I always get hit with that ;S

I didn’t buy an eos because the reliability of the retractable roof was poor and required specialist repairers. The Nissan convertible with the glass roof was fine but the engine was not reliable. The BMW 420i convertible is great so far touch wood but it is 8 years old now so I am a little worried about all those plastic parts under the bonnet. Hard tops much easier to clean with bird problems.

I have owned an EOS from new for 17 years and it looks as good as new. The boot space is fairly generous even with the roof down but if you need to use all of it, not to worry, you have a glass sunroof at your disposal too. It was my daily runner for over a decade and has proven to be quite reliable. I am slightly disappointed it was not mentioned in the video.

I agree if you want a reasonably priced, secondhand or new, classy, fast, well made sports car, get an SLK

The Mk2 (pointy nose) was the best. Had two. Drive reasonably well above 30mph (feel a bit vague and disinterested below that) and sounded great with the V6 engines. Not too much buffeting with the hood down.

One of the few cars ever made that always look good, from every angle, through any time.

Germanic midget car, fitting only for 2 people who are definitely on the small stature size. I am 6 foot 4 inches, years ago the MB salesman was laughing himself silly how I could not even sit into one of their SLKs, let alone test drive one. He even states that the car was for Europeans who are smaller.

@@frankfarago2825 ha ha ha Get a F150. Oh, you have already one?

I love how the older ones look with the clip on hard top. Reminds me of vintage lotus design.

I have the ND RF and it doesn't take up any boot space either. It sits in a space just behind the passenger compartment. That said, as noted, the ND RF is more of a "Targa Top" than a full convertible. So there's less "roof" to hide away.

@@petermerchant4439 I do love the looks of the ND RF too. I know hard tops are bit heavier than the soft tops, but for those of us who daily their roadsters, the added security is necessary IMO. I did get light wheels, flywheel, suspension and exhaust to compensate for the added weight. It's been a slow process, but it's totally worth it IMO.

Yeah ive got a mx5 nc2 PRHT, takes only 11 seconds to go up or down

Big thumbs down for the NC mx5, terrible car. Especially with that silly heavy roof.

@@printedprops8730 so about 4 times as long as the manual roof on the NB then.

@@Jabber-ig3iw yeah but you get a hard top and not a piece of cloth over your head. The prht is great because it lets you drive around with your hard top without the need of going home and putting your hard top on as you would need to do with the NA, NB and the normal NC model.

I think they were both designed by Webasto. They designed a lot of these, actually, including the Eos, 3 Series & Z4, Ford Focus, Ferrari California, Daihatsu Copen, and the MX5 RF.

I want a convertible wagon!

I totally respect your liking for open tops of whatever form. I just wish I understood it. For me, I find there seem to be almost zero times I can even enjoy a sunroof open (or even the shade covering the glass) let alone having a convertible top down. Either the sun is angling down into my eyes (behind my sunglasses), or it's either too hot or too cold out. Any of the above 3 scenarios makes me want everything above my head shut / closed.

​@@be5952the droptop mafia is going to chime in here... if you're too hot, you're not going fast enough!

​@@glurak888Dodge made a convertible pickup truck

The deeper you love the longer you grieve. Sorry for your loss.

Yeah, I love my C70! :D

The second generation retractable hard top C70 is a gem. A joint venture with Pininfarina.

Volvos are great

Pity the plastics on them suck.

My C70 D5 is 15 years old and has 150k miles. It looks a feels like a car half its age. I love it but I am, also, disappointed about the lack of choice nowadays.

It's interesting that they never did it with the t bird or the lincolns or mercurys of that era.

911 Targa lol

Targa is a hardtop. :D

Corvette is a hardtop.

Aventador is a hardtop.

@@brien1254 A Targa is not a converible to begin with, it's a TARGA.

I write a script, so it's only a little extra effort. Glad it helped!

@@BigCar2 It's very helpfull when it's the name of a very obscure car designer like Ben P. Ellerbeck.

@@BigCar2 Thank you anyways. Not many RU-vidrs do this you see. Makes watching at night much easier.

@@lakrids-pibe True.

@@bragadeeshbalakrishnan It helps not only those who are deaf, but also people who don't speak English, as the auto translated subtitles are more accurate.

I’ve had 2 SLKs and currently have a 2017 SLC. All three have been great cars. I’m planning on keeping my SLC until I’m too old to climb in and out of it!

SL it is then

My favorite manual soft-top story comes from a friend of mine... She bought an old Chrysler Lebaron convertible. One day there was a sudden rainstorm and she pulled over to the side to put up her top. A BMW Z-3 pulled over as well. The guy reached back, grabbed the soft-top to pull it forward and...it got stuck. He pushed it back, pulled it forward, it got stuck. He started swearing as he frantically tried to get his top up. Meanwhile, my friend pressed the button and the top smoothly went up. She thought, "...and you paid how much for that car?" Yeah yeah, I know. All manual convertible tops are easy to put up. Until the rain starts pouring down and you want to get out of the rain and you don't necessarily provide an "even pull" because water is pouring down on you and something jams which makes you even more frantic. Granted, I have a shoulder issue that makes it hard/painful for me to reach back and pull the top up. But even when I didn't, I still went with electric tops.

Great vehicle! Keep it forever!

The chevy ssr looks like a ball of puke with headlights it's ugly

@@scottdawson6851 nobody asked your opinion

The SSR is one of my favorite cars ever, I hope to own one eventually

I gotta admit, the only truck I've ever considered was a Chevy SSR. I've pretty much always had convertibles my whole life and the idea of a convertible truck was just an awesome idea.

And getting drips on your arm every time you go round a corner after it has rained!!!

Love my little Copen. The closed top squeaks & rattles; open it takes almost all the boot. Basically a 1 person road trip car. Kinda wish it had a soft top so I could bring a 2nd person on road trips / more than 13L boot space. The top is always down when I drive it. On rainy days I drive my estate with a big glass roof. Plan to keep my Copen for many more years, decades.

That is a significant difference. If you look at the roof-up over-the-shoulder and rear visibility in the SLK vs. soft-top contemporaries such as the TT or the Boxster, the Merc is far superior.

BMW HAS LOST IT'S WAY.

BMW is dead to me! When I see one of their new models on the road, I get an instant reflex to close my eyes. They're so hideous that it's actually dangerous!

😀 I'd like to do that, but I didn't think there would be much interest. My background is in In Car Entertainment software design (I hit up my Microsoft friends to do the Ford SYNC video). That would be a very fun one to do!

@@BigCar2 I'd be interested to see it too.

​@@BigCar2if you do do this, be sure and call out google for abandoning phone only mode for android auto... it's like they want us classic car drivers, bicyclists, and motorbike enthusiasts to just get a brand new car...

What about new bmws 3-4 series. Superb ugly hardtop.

@@NoName-md5zb exception than the rule

Thanks Frank!

You're welcome