Vinyl Roof - when and why?

[swisstoni]

A recent thread got me thinking - who the heck first thought, 'this car just needs it's roof covering in a contrasting layer of textured plastic to finish it off'.

At the time of max popularity it was very thing. It denoted a high spec. It was the S Line of its day

But where did it all start?

[swisstoni]

Dare I say it's starting to look good again, going by some of the Wikipedia examples.

[swisstoni]

SPT28 said:

Hmmmmmm still undecided whether to keep my 70's throwback as it is... certainly looks 'different'

I think you should keep the vinyl myself.

[swisstoni]

I think the XJ Coupe was given a vinyl roof because it was thought to look a bit disproportionate without one.
Interestingly Wikipedia says that it was because the roof flexed so much that the paint cracked. I'm not buying that.