Something for us ragtop types...
Article - USA Today - Final Word - Craig Wilson
-----------------------------------------------------------------
How to love a ragtop? Answer is blowing in the wind:
I read somewhere the other day that sales of convertibles are up 28% over last
year at this time. The report couldn't conclude why this upswing is happening,
especially with the economy being so shaky, but it hinted that Sept. 11 might
have something to do with it.
Car buyers are taking a devil-may-care attitude, deciding it's time to put a
little wind in their hair. It's now or never. It's later than they thought.
That kind of thing.
So they go and buy themselves a convertible.
Good for them.
I'm a firm believer that everyone, at some point in his or her life, should
own a convertible. I did and was lucky enough to have it when I had a full
head of hair.
Not that a full head of hair is a prerequisite for convertible ownership, but
it definitely adds to the experience.
I remember driving five hours to Boston once with the top down, only to arrive
at dinner with friends with my hair a greasy tangle and my ears ringing from
the wind. Couldn't hear a thing. It was bliss.
I was the first to put my top down in the spring, the last to put it up in the
fall. More often than not, I turned on the heater rather than have a roof over
my head. I even drove topless in the snow a time or two. You should try it
sometime.
And now, I'm happy to report, the world is finally catching on. Even Cadillac,
not the most madcap of car companies, previewed its XLR Roadster over the
weekend at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Yes, a two-seater
convertible. It starts at $70,000, a tad more than my Triumph TR6 cost me, but
even the buttoned-down crowd knows it's time to put the roof down, too.
I doubt their $70,000 wind will be any better than mine was, but again, good
for them. The one thing I don't understand are the people who drive
convertibles but never put the tops down. Instead, they cruise around town
with the AC on, windows closed.
Am I missing something here? They certainly are.
It's like keeping the plastic on the lampshade so it'll be nice for the next
guy. It's like never opening that fine bottle of wine, saving it for some
special day. It's like having a sailboat and never hoisting its sails. Let's
just motor around. Not get too messy.
If 2002 isn't a year to get messy, I don't know when is. Now, more than ever,
life should be a convertible - the road stretched out before us, the stars
overhead, nothing to rein us in but the state police, lying in wait behind the
billboard down the road.
Turn that radio up! Can't hear it! Is that Willie luring us back on the road
again? Wind in our hair.
So what if the safety nerds say convertibles are dangerous. Life is dangerous
these days. A little old car without a top isn't going to make things much
worse.
If anything, it'll make things better.
I know old guys cruising around in beautiful and expensive convertibles have
gotten a bad rap over the years. I was as guilty as anyone. Why is that old
fool driving that car, I'd always wonder. Why not me?
It's time to leave them alone. Old bald men just want to have fun, too. For
them - and maybe all of us - it really is later than we think.
Craig wilson - USA Today
|