Non-convertible convertibles.
Discussion
Sometimes...
stuff in the boot
it's too hot (I'm not going to run the air-conditioning with the top down, am I? and I may not want the sun blazing down on my bonce)
kids are in (they don't like the wind)
I'm heading off down the motorway and want to "make progress" rather than keep to "comfortable topless cruising mode"
I'm not in the mood
and more...
spoken as someone often very keen to get the top off
is there a similar thread about people who don't always use their heated seats? ;o)
stuff in the boot
it's too hot (I'm not going to run the air-conditioning with the top down, am I? and I may not want the sun blazing down on my bonce)
kids are in (they don't like the wind)
I'm heading off down the motorway and want to "make progress" rather than keep to "comfortable topless cruising mode"
I'm not in the mood
and more...
spoken as someone often very keen to get the top off
is there a similar thread about people who don't always use their heated seats? ;o)
6potdave said:
It's odd that people seem to get annoyed about this. There could be a million reasons why you would keep your roof up, the missus for a start complaining about her hair being wafted around. You might be on a 1 mile journey or suffering from a cold. WTF, who cares really?
If I had my missus in the car on a 1 mile journey complaining about her hair being wafted around and whilst I'm suffering with a cold, I'd still have the roof down.
Another option (although not so relevant in the UK) is tunnels. A lot of the tunnels around here are 1-2km and longer. I have around 10km of tunnels on a 35km drive to work, including a 4km one. Some of them are ok, but all the ones on the way to work trap dust, so much so it's often "foggy". I'd prefer not to be breathing that in for 20km every day!
MX5guy said:
Another option (although not so relevant in the UK) is tunnels. A lot of the tunnels around here are 1-2km and longer. I have around 10km of tunnels on a 35km drive to work, including a 4km one. Some of them are ok, but all the ones on the way to work trap dust, so much so it's often "foggy". I'd prefer not to be breathing that in for 20km every day!
Or turning up to work looking like this:
Driving an SLK at the moment (not literally!) Half my daily commute is on the motorway and half on a nice country road.
On the motorway I normally keep the roof up. As it's fairly congested I tend to find I can concentrate more without the excess wind noise and squinting from driving into the sun. Whatever paperwork that I've dumped on the passenger seat isn't going to blow about. I can hear the phone ring. I'm not checking to make sure I've cancelled the indicator every time I lane change (as I can't hear the indicator 'click' because of the noise.) Once I reach the traffic lights coming off the slip road I've got about 35 seconds to flip the roof down for the more enjoyable rural saunter!
I also think it rather depends on the type of car you're driving. I used to have a Daihatsu Copen. That was as noisy and rattly as hell but the sheer fun factor gave you such a smile on your face... that you wanted to drive it down the motorway without being able to hear yourself think! The TVR Chimaera had the engine noise (and the sheer heat build-up / crap air con) that in warm weather you needed to have the roof down! We've had SLKs for 10 years now. Perhaps the novelty of having the roof down at EVERY opportunity has subconsciously worn off a bit?!
I'm thinking of starting a similarly ludicrous thread.... people who have cars with 5 seats but only one person in it! Why.... because it's their choice!
On the motorway I normally keep the roof up. As it's fairly congested I tend to find I can concentrate more without the excess wind noise and squinting from driving into the sun. Whatever paperwork that I've dumped on the passenger seat isn't going to blow about. I can hear the phone ring. I'm not checking to make sure I've cancelled the indicator every time I lane change (as I can't hear the indicator 'click' because of the noise.) Once I reach the traffic lights coming off the slip road I've got about 35 seconds to flip the roof down for the more enjoyable rural saunter!
I also think it rather depends on the type of car you're driving. I used to have a Daihatsu Copen. That was as noisy and rattly as hell but the sheer fun factor gave you such a smile on your face... that you wanted to drive it down the motorway without being able to hear yourself think! The TVR Chimaera had the engine noise (and the sheer heat build-up / crap air con) that in warm weather you needed to have the roof down! We've had SLKs for 10 years now. Perhaps the novelty of having the roof down at EVERY opportunity has subconsciously worn off a bit?!
I'm thinking of starting a similarly ludicrous thread.... people who have cars with 5 seats but only one person in it! Why.... because it's their choice!
Deerfoot said:
I see a Renault Wind most days on my commute. Even last week it never had the roof open. In fact, I`ve never seen it with the roof open.
Bizarre why somebody would get one and never use it as intended by the designer.......
Because they're commuting, obviously!! Bizarre why somebody would get one and never use it as intended by the designer.......
So they're driving to work, hair done, nice suit on, in traffic. Do they really want to turn up for work all messed up and smelling of traffic fumes?
Now tonight they're off for a drive to a country pub maybe so perhaps they'll drop the roof and enjoy the open roads and fresh air.
You know, someone should come up with a name for these sorts of cars that helps explain to people with limited imagination how this works.
I propose "convertible", neatly encapsulating the fact that it converts from one thing (closed) to the other (open) depending on use and mood.
Oh, and here's the other reason for having the top up on a blisteringly hot day.
We'd had the roof down most of the day the day before this picture was taken. By mid afternoon we'd put it up to avoid cooking, but not soon enough obviously.
I'm sure plenty of people tutted at seeing an Audi Convertible on a hot summers day with the roof firmly closed but this poor lady wished we'd done it sooner with hindsight...
We'd had the roof down most of the day the day before this picture was taken. By mid afternoon we'd put it up to avoid cooking, but not soon enough obviously.
I'm sure plenty of people tutted at seeing an Audi Convertible on a hot summers day with the roof firmly closed but this poor lady wished we'd done it sooner with hindsight...
Ari said:
So they're driving to work, hair done, nice suit on, in traffic. Do they really want to turn up for work all messed up and smelling of traffic fumes?
Well possibly. However, I see it in rural Wiltshire where the traffic is light and the fumes are mainly provided by agriculture.Perhaps she gets bad heyfever?
My point was that even in the fantastic sunshine of last week I`ve never seen this particular car with the roof open.
although I admit I might be in a minority of MR-2 Mk3 owners, and Scotland for that matter...Deerfoot said:
Well possibly. However, I see it in rural Wiltshire where the traffic is light and the fumes are mainly provided by agriculture.
Perhaps she gets bad heyfever?
My point was that even in the fantastic sunshine of last week I`ve never seen this particular car with the roof open.
Perhaps she's just going to work and is in "commuting" mode, listening to the radio, wants to use the phone, whatever.Perhaps she gets bad heyfever?
My point was that even in the fantastic sunshine of last week I`ve never seen this particular car with the roof open.
Perhaps it's her partners car and she's not into open top motoring, or her car but he chose it so they've got a nice weekend runabout to complement a bigger car.
Perhaps she's too hot and wants the air conditioning.
Lots of possible reasons.
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