This is the story of how convertibles nearly disappeared in the 1970s.
In the early days of the automobile, opentops were the norm. Cars generally had a crude folding roof or no roof at all.
But in the 20s, advances in steel fabrication allowed practical closed roofs. By the turn of the decade, they were the dominant body style.
But still, convertibles managed to retain their niche, especially in warmer areas. There was nothing better than driving down the highway on hot day with the wind blowing through your hair.
But in 1953, a new innovation arrived that spelled doom for droptop motoring. That year, Chrysler offered air conditioning as an option on their flagship Imperial. Contrary to popular belief, Chrysler was not the first with A/C in a car, Cadillac and Packard offered it in the early 40s, but those systems were unreliable, expensive, and took up too much trunk space. Chrysler’s system was the first that worked well, and quickly it became a popular option.
1965 was the peak for US convertible production, at 500,000 or about 6 percent of all cars built that year. And they were offered on pretty much everything. You could have a droptop Ford Falcon, or Cadillac DeVille.
At this point, we should discuss what a nightmare convertibles are. First off, your car’s roof serves as an important structural member that keeps the chassis stiff and rigid. If you get rid of it, you get flexing and shaking. The way this is normally solved is by greatly reinforcing the underside of the car. That adds weight, a lot of it. It’s also difficult to keep convertible roofs sealed, so they can develop water leaks. And of course, in a rollover accident, they offer no protection. Given all this, you can see why air conditioning was a preferable alternative for buyers. Between 1965 and 1970, convertible production fell by 80%, and so automakers began culling their droptop offerings one-by-one.
The first notable convertible discontinuation was, appropriately, the car that introduced automotive air conditioning to the mainstream. The 1969 Imperial offered no droptop versions.
In 1971, convertible versions of GM’s C-bodies were dropped in that year’s redesign. This meant an end to ragtop versions of the Oldsmobile 98, the Buick Electra, and all Cadillacs besides the Eldorado. Ironically, a convertible version of the Eldorado was added that year for the first time since 1966.
GM’s F-body twins, the Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird, also saw a redesign with no convertibles offered.
Over at Chrysler, all other full sized convertibles were dropped.
And a redesign of their intermediate Plymouth Satellite and Dodge Coronet offered no convertibles.
In 1972, Ford followed suit, not carrying over convertible versions of the midsized Torino or Mercury Montego with that year’s redesign.
And as Ford killed their first convertibles, Chrysler killed its last. Droptop versions of the Dodge Challenger and Plymouth Barracuda were dumped. Appropriately, the automaker that did more than any other to make convertibles obsolete was the first to have a lineup of only closed cars.
In 1973, Ford dropped their full sized convertibles. This left GM as the only automaker offering droptops in full size.
In 1973, GM brought out their redesigned intermediates, known collectively as “Colonnades”, the Chevrolet Chevelle, the Oldsmobile Cutlass, the Pontiac LeMans, and the Buick Century/Regal. And no convertible versions were offered. This meant and end to all intermediate sized convertibles. At this point, rumors were flying that rollover standards would make convertibles illegal.
For 1974, Ford moved the Mustang to a subcompact platform and became known as Mustang II. No convertible versions were offered and as such, Ford now offered no convertibles and this marked the end for convertible pony cars.
1976 marked the end of GM’s convertible B-bodies. With the end of the convertible Chevrolet Caprice, Pontiac Grand Ville, Olds 88, and Buick LeSabre, it was the end for the traditional full sized, rear drive, body-on-frame American convertible, never to return.
In 1976, the Corvette also lost its convertible version, although a removable targa top roof panel was offered. This left just one convertible out of Detroit: the Cadillac Eldorado.
And GM announced that 1976 would be last year for the droptop Eldo. To commemorate this, and America’s 200th birthday, 200 Bicentennial editions with white paint and matching white leather interiors were sold. They were to be the last convertibles Detroit would ever build. Sales of the Eldo rose by 64% over the year before as buyers anticipated this car would be a collectible. One New York dealer asked $138,000 for a pair (over $400,000 in today’s money). The last Bicentennial rolled off the line on April 21, 1976 and was put into storage so it could one day be a museum piece.
It should be noted that convertibles were granted an exemption to NHTSA’s rollover regulations when they were finally issued. But still, for the next 6 years, the Big 3 stuck to stamping out dull steel roofed cars. The only way to get a convertible was to buy an import.
But then, in 1982, the convertible returned in the form of the Chrysler LeBaron. That’s right, the automaker that killed the convertible brought it back to life.
In 1983, it was joined by convertible versions of the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Cavalier.
In 1984, the Cadillac Eldorado was once again offered as a convertible. This angered the people who had bought Bicenntennials and were told it would be the last convertible and they sued. A judge threw the lawsuit out. Convertibles were back in fashion.