Cabriolet or Convertible?

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

Are cabriolets & convertibles the same thing? I thought, in my youf, that a cabriolet had rear passenger windows, but that a convertible didn't?

I see in these more modern times (when rag tops are far more plentiful) that the words are used interchangeably.

Am I talking bollix as usual?

[nervous]

a cab is designed to be roofless, a convertible is an adapted coupe/ saloon.

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

But

Mark 1 Cavalier is convertible, not cabriolet.

[nervous]

yes, thats because it was designed as a saloon, and later made into a convertible. lummox.

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

MG Midget is a convertible,

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

Gotcha

[nervous]

I'm getting the creeping suspicion that I'm missing a gag here, and i hate that. so I'm going to go to bed. its a convertible by the way.

[Plotloss]

In Audi parlance

The 80 cabriolet only had a soft top option, the 80 convertible had a hard top option as well as the soft top.

They historically mean, as Nervy pointed out something different but these days its interchangable.

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

nervous said:

I'm getting the creeping suspicion that I'm missing a gag here, and i hate that. so I'm going to go to bed. its a convertible by the way.

No gag matey.

I'm just generally curious as to whether anybody else subscribes to the rear window theory.

The Midget was an example of a "convertible" that was never a saloon/coupe.

[nervous]

i dont get it. hes up to something. if i know the difference, everyone knows the difference. so whats the gag?

[hugoagogo]

cabriolet is an older term, from horse drawn two-wheeled folding-roof carriages
it's also where the term 'cab' comes from, as in taxi cab or hansom cab, cos these became popular for private hire vehicles

convertible is a vulgar americanism

[fourwheelsteer]

Strictly speaking, in the coachbuildar's parlance, a cabriolet has fixed side windows/window frames. Think Citroen 2CV, Morris Minor or the Baur BMW Cabriolets.

Quite how you differentiate between convertible and drop-head coupe is a differnt matter.

[Muncher]

OK, so where does roadster come into the equation?

2 seater cabriolet?

[hugoagogo]

and a midget was a roadster
i'd call a roadster a two seat open car (or with a rumble seat)

>> Edited by hugoagogo on Monday 20th February 21:12

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

fourwheelsteer said:

Strictly speaking, in the coachbuildar's parlance, a cabriolet has fixed side windows/window frames.

Thats it.

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

Plotloss said:

In Audi parlance The 80 cabriolet only had a soft top option, the 80 convertible had a hard top option as well as the soft top.

That would fit in with the definition above, i.e. you can't put a hard top on a cabrio because of the existing frame.

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

hugoagogo said:

and a midget was a roadster i'd call a roadster a two seat open car (or with a rumble seat) >> Edited by hugoagogo on Monday 20th February 21:12

So, is a roadster a sub division of convertible?

[fourwheelsteer]

Muncher said:

OK, so where does roadster come into the equation? 2 seater cabriolet?

A roadster is an open two-seat car with rudimentary weather protection for emergency use only. Think Jaguar XK120, Triumph TR2/3, MGA. The XK Jaguars are a good illustration as there were roadsters and drop-head coupes. The roadsters had basic hoods (only the XK150 had a folding roof and wind-up windows while the DHC always had a plush, folding roof.

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

So

Cavalier: convertible
Golf: cabriolet
Escort: cabriolet
Jag XK8: convertible

[nervous]

fourwheelsteer said:

Muncher said: OK, so where does roadster come into the equation? 2 seater cabriolet? A roadster is an open two-seat car with rudimentary weather protection for emergency use only. Think Jaguar XK120, Triumph TR2/3, MGA. The XK Jaguars are a good illustration as there were roadsters and drop-head coupes. The roadsters had basic hoods (only the XK150 had a folding roof and wind-up windows while the DHC always had a plush, folding roof.

but my bmw z4 was a roadster