Topless Craze

Return of the rag roofs

As love affairs go, America's passion for the convertible has been low key but enduring. From the dawn of the auto age, the sleek stargazing ragtops have symbolized youth, fun and sun. Generations of couples romanced at drive-ins in their back seats, while film starlets and Presidents were photographed proudly sitting behind their steering wheels. But convertibles never accounted for a large slice of Detroit's market; and they finally were killed by air conditioning, increasing vandalism and high-speed driving on interstate freeways. One by one, the big automakers stopped building them. The last U.S.-made convertible, a special Bicentennial Cadillac Eldorado, rolled off the assembly line in 1976.

Now, however, the convertible is making a comeback. In Florida several enterprising entrepreneurs are beheading standard model Toyotas, Datsuns, Cadillacs, Pontiacs and Ford Mustangs to recreate the mystery of a car without a roof. The Florida firms, such as American Clout Inc. and the Griffith Co., work only with new cars. In a 25-hour operation, the standard top is chopped off with a diamond-toothed saw and a polyvinyl one is installed. Unlike the convenient convertibles that Detroit once offered, Florida's new tops do not pop up at the first drop of rain. They must be mounted into place. Once back in the auto dealers' salesrooms, the new convertibles go for roof-raising prices. Griffith's open-top Toyota Celica sells for about $3,500 more than with its roof still on.

The glamour of a convertible is both eternal and profitable. Griffith originally expected to turn out about 300 ragtops annually but is now producing 150 a month, and has established conversion plants in Jacksonville, Detroit and Los Angeles. The typical buyer is a James Dean in pinstripe. He is a single, 25-year-old junior executive male, making $25,000 a year. He is also someone willing to pay a lot to vroom into the sunset with his blown-dry hair tossed gently in the soft wind.

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