A hardtop is a term for a rigid, rather than canvas, automobile An automobile, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor. Most definitions of the term specify that automobiles are designed to run primarily on roads, to have seating for one to eight people, to typically have four wheels, and to be constructed principally for the roof. It has been used in several contexts: detachable hardtops, retractable hardtop A convertible is a type of automobile in which the roof can retract and fold away, converting it from an enclosed to an open-air vehicle. Many different automobile body styles are manufactured and marketed in convertible form roofs, and the so-called pillarless hardtop body style.

Detachable hardtops

Before the mid-1920s 90% of automobiles had open tops, with rudimentary (if any) weather protection provided by a convertible A convertible is a type of automobile in which the roof can retract and fold away, converting it from an enclosed to an open-air vehicle. Many different automobile body styles are manufactured and marketed in convertible form-type canvas top and celluloid Celluloid is the name of a class of compounds created from nitrocellulose and camphor, plus dyes and other agents. Generally regarded to be the first thermoplastic, it was first created as Parkesine in 1862 and as Xylonite in 1869 before being registered as Celluloid in 1870. Celluloid is easily molded and shaped, and it was first widely used as or isinglass Muscovite is a phyllosilicate mineral of aluminium and potassium with formula K side curtains. Some automobile bodies had roofs that could be removed during the summer and reattached during the winter, although it was a cumbersome and laborious job. By the time of World War I World War I was a military conflict that lasted from 1914 to 1918 and involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies and the Central Powers. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilized in one of the largest wars in history. More than 15 million people were some automakers offered a lift-off roof, typically with a wood frame, canvas or leather Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry covering, and glass windows. These removable roofs, sometimes called a California top, were the forerunners of the detachable hardtop, offering security and weather protection comparable to a fixed-roof model when installed.

Following the ascendancy of steel tops for closed bodies in the 1930s, detachable hardtops with metal roofs began to appear. After World War II Albania · Australia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Belarus · Belgium · Brazil · Bulgaria · Burma · Cambodia · Canada · Ceylon (Sri Lanka) · Channel Islands · China · Czechoslovakia · Denmark · Dutch East Indies · Egypt · Estonia · Finland · France · Germany · Gibraltar · Greece · Greenland · Hong Kong · Hungary · Iceland ·, the availability of new types of plastic A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic amorphous solids[citation needed] used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce costs. Monomers of plastic are either natural or synthetic and fiberglass Fiberglass, , is material made from extremely fine fibers of glass. It is used as a reinforcing agent for many polymer products; the resulting composite material, properly known as fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) or glass-reinforced plastic (GRP), is called "fiberglass" in popular usage. Glassmakers throughout history have experimented allowed lighter, easier to handle hardtops with much of the strength of a metal top.

In the 1950s and 1960s detachable hardtops were offered for various convertible A convertible is a type of automobile in which the roof can retract and fold away, converting it from an enclosed to an open-air vehicle. Many different automobile body styles are manufactured and marketed in convertible form sports cars Sports cars can be either luxurious or spartan, but driving and mechanical performance is requisite. Many drivers[who?] regard brand name and the subsequent racing reputation and history as important indications of sporting quality , but some exotic car brands, such as Lamborghini, which do not race or build racing cars, are also highly regarded and roadsters Most modern day two-seaters have windows and feature retractable roofs . While retractable soft-tops are nevertheless marketed as roadsters/spyders, retractable hard-tops are commonly designated as coupe roadsters, including the 1955-1957 Ford Thunderbird The Thunderbird , is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company in the United States over thirteen model generations from 1955 through to 2005. When introduced, it created the market niche eventually known as the Personal Luxury Car and the Chevrolet Corvette The Chevrolet Corvette is an American sports car by the Chevrolet division of General Motors. The first model was designed by Harley Earl and introduced in 1953. Myron Scott is credited for naming the car after the corvette, a small, maneuverable warship. It has been produced in six generations in coupe, convertible, t-top coupe, and targa coupe. Because the convertible top mechanism is itself expensive, the hardtop is customarily offered as an additional, extra-cost option. On early Thunderbirds (and Corvettes through 1967), buyers could choose between a detachable hardtop and a folding canvas top at no additional cost, but paid extra for both.

Improvements in canvas tops have rendered the detachable hardtop less common in recent years, in part because the top cannot be stored in the vehicle when not in use, requiring a garage or other storage facility. Nonetheless, some open cars continue to offer it as an option. Around 10% of Mazda MX-5s The Mazda MX-5, also known as Miata in North America and Roadster in Japan, is a two-seater roadster sports car built by Mazda in Hiroshima, Japan. The model was introduced in 1989 and is now in its third generation are believed to have been delivered with an accessory hardtop, which is compulsory for some auto racing series.

Retractable hardtops

See main article: under convertibles: retractable hardtop A convertible is a type of automobile in which the roof can retract and fold away, converting it from an enclosed to an open-air vehicle. Many different automobile body styles are manufactured and marketed in convertible form

A retractable hardtop (also known as coupé convertible or coupé cabriolet) is a type of convertible that forgoes a folding textile roof in favor of an automatically operated, multi-part, self-storing roof where the rigid roof sections are opaque, translucent, or independently operable.

Pillarless hardtops

The other automotive The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells the world's motor vehicles. The automotive industry is one of the most important economic sectors by revenue usage of the term "hardtop" is a body style known as the hardtop convertible. A hardtop convertible is a fixed-roof model designed to look like a convertible with the top raised. While some early models retained side window frames and B-pillars An A-pillar is a name applied by car stylists and enthusiasts to the shaft of material that supports the windshield on either of the windshield frame sides. By denoting this structural member as the A-pillar, and each successive vertical support in the greenhouse after a successive letter in the alphabet (B-pillar, C-pillar etc.), this naming, by the 1950s most were pillarless hardtops, omitting the B-pillar (the roof support behind the front doors) and configuring the window frames, if any, to retract with the glass when lowered. Some hardtops took the convertible look even further, including such details as simulating a convertible-top framework in the interior headliner and shaping the roof to resemble a raised canvas top. By the late 1960s such modifications were often replaced by a simple vinyl roof Vinyl roof refers to a vinyl covering for an automobile's top. This covering was originally designed to give the appearance of a convertible to models with a fixed roof, but eventually it evolved into a styling statement in its own right. Vinyl roofs were most popular in the American market, and they are considered one of the period hallmarks of 19.

A pillarless hardtop is inherently less rigid than a pillared body, requiring extra underbody strength to prevent shake. Production hardtops commonly shared the frame A chassis (pronounced /ˈʃæsi, ˈtʃæsi/) consists of an internal framework that supports a man-made object. It is analogous to an animal's skeleton. An example of a chassis is the under part of a motor vehicle, consisting of the frame (on which the body is mounted) with the wheels and machinery or reinforced body structure of the contemporary convertible model, which was already reinforced to compensate for the lack of a fixed roof. With such a reinforced frame, a hardtop was stronger and stiffer than a convertible, but both weaker and (because of the reinforcements) heavier than a pillared body.

There were a variety of hardtop-like body styles dating back to at least the 1920s. Chrysler Corporation showed a pillarless Town and Country hardtop coupe as a concept vehicle in 1946, but the car never went into production. The trend-setter for mass-production hardtops was General Motors General Motors Company, also known as GM, is a United States-based automaker with headquarters in Detroit, Michigan. GM manufactures cars and trucks in 34 countries, recently employed 244,500 people around the world, and sells and services vehicles in some 140 countries. By sales, GM ranked as the largest US automaker and the world's second, which launched two-door, pillarless hardtops in 1949 as the Buick Roadmaster The Roadmaster was an automobile built by the Buick division of General Motors. Buick first used the Roadmaster name between 1936 and 1958. In 1991, Buick again applied the Roadmaster name to its full-size rear-wheel drive sedan and station wagon models as a replacement for the Buick Estate Riviera, Oldsmobile 98 The Oldsmobile 98 was a full-size automobile and the flagship of the Oldsmobile division of General Motors. The name first appeared in 1941 and was used again after American consumer automobile production resumed post-World War II. It was, as it would remain, the top-of-the-line model, with lesser Oldsmobiles having lower numbers such as 66 and 76 Holiday, and Cadillac Coupe de Ville The Coupe deVille was introduced by Cadillac late in the 1949 model year. Part of the Cadillac Series 62 line, it was a closed, two-door coupé, Cadillac's first pillarless hardtop. Intended as a prestige model, at $3,497 it was one of the most expensive models of the Series 62 line. It was luxuriously trimmed, with leather upholstery and chrome '. They were purportedly inspired by the wife of a Buick executive who always drove convertibles, but never lowered the top. The hardtop became extremely popular in the 1950s, and by 1956 every major U.S. automaker offered hardtop coupés A coupé or coupe is a closed car body style, the precise definition of which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and over time. Coupés are often hardtopped sports cars or sporty variants of sedan (saloon) body styles, with doors commonly reduced from 4 to 2, and a close-coupled interior (i.e., the rear seat placed further forward than in a and four-door sedans A sedan car or saloon car (British English) is a passenger car with two rows of seats and adequate passenger space in the rear compartment for adult passengers. The vehicle usually has a separate rear trunk (boot in British English) for luggage, although some manufacturers such as Chevrolet, Tatra, and Volkswagen have made rear-engined models. It in a particular model lineup. In 1955, Buick and Oldsmobile introduced the first four-door hardtop sedans, and in 1956 the first four-door hardtop station wagon A station wagon is a passenger car body style similar in terms of passengers to the sedan/saloon style but incorporating a full-size back cargo compartment accessible via a fifth door instead of the standard sedan trunk slot. Station wagons are not to be confused with hatchbacks, whose difference lies in the size of the said compartment, with was introduced by Rambler The Rambler Six is an intermediate sized automobile that was built and marketed by American Motors Corporation from 1956 to 1960. In 1957, Mercury offered both two- and four-door hardtop wagons, the only brand to ever to do so. The type didn't catch on, though, as most buyers considered wagons too boxy to benefit from the sporty look (or expensive enough to begin with). All disappeared from the market after 1964. The Facel Vega Excellence The Facel Vega Excellence was a luxury sedan produced by Facel Vega of Paris, France, from 1958 until the company ceased production in 1964, by when 152 had been built is a notable French example of a four-door hardtop from this period, noted for the huge opening with both doors on one side open and for sagging if all the doors were left open. The doors were designed for locking to the floor and not each other.

Throughout the 1960s the two-door pillarless hardtop was by far the most popular body style in most lines where such a model was offered. Even on family-type vehicles like the Chevrolet Impala The Chevrolet Impala is a full-size automobile built by the Chevrolet division of General Motors. The Impala became the best-selling automobile in the United States when full-sized cars dominated sales. From 1958 until 1965,it was Chevrolet's most expensive full-size car. In 1965, reaching its sales peak, Chevrolet introduced the Caprice. The, the two-door hardtop regularly outsold four-door sedans.

The hardtop began to disappear along with convertibles in the mid-1970s, partly out of a concern that U.S. federal safety regulations would be difficult for pillarless models to pass. The ascendancy of monocoque Monocoque is a construction technique that supports structural load by using an object's exterior, as opposed to using an internal frame or truss that is then covered with a non-load-bearing skin or coachwork. The word monocoque comes from the Greek for single and French for shell (coque). The technique may also be called structural skin, stressed construction also made the pillarless design less practical. Some models adopted modified roof styling, placing the B pillars behind tinted side window glass and painting or molding the outer side of each pillar in black to make them less visible, creating a hardtop look without actually omitting the pillar. Some mid to late 1970s models continued their previous two-door hardtop bodies, but with fixed rear windows or a variety of vinyl roof and opera window treatments. The U.S. industry's last true two-door and four-door hardtops were in the 1978 Chrysler Newport The Newport was a name used by the Chrysler division of the Chrysler Corporation used as both a hardtop body designation and also for its entry level model between 1961 and 1981. Chrysler first used the Newport name on a 1940 showcar of which five vehicles were produced and New Yorker The Chrysler New Yorker was a premium automobile built by the Chrysler Corporation from 1939 to 1996, serving for several years as the brand's flagship model. A model named the "New York Special" first appeared in the 1930s. Until its discontinuation in 1996, the New Yorker had made its mark as the longest running American car nameplate lines.

Since then, no U.S. manufacturer has offered a true hardtop in regular production, although some German manufacturers, including BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW), (literally English: Bavarian Motor Works) is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the MINI brand, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands. BMW is known for its and Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of luxury automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. It is currently a division of the parent company, Daimler AG (formerly DaimlerChrysler AG), after previously being owned by Daimler-Benz. Mercedes-Benz has its origins in Karl Benz's creation of the first petrol-powered car, the Benz Patent Motorwagen, have offered upscale pillarless hardtops. Renault produced a three-door hardtop between 2001 and 2003 in the form of the Avantime The Renault Avantime was a coupé automobile marketed by the French manufacturer Renault, designed and manufactured by Matra, between 2001 and 2003. The car, which had a radical and unique design, suffered from very poor sales and was discontinued after only two years of production.

In the mid-1970s, Toyota introduced the Toyota Crown The Crown has evolved into a line of full-size luxury sedans by Toyota. The range was primarily available in Japan and some other Asian countries, originally designed to serve as a taxi. It was in later years sold in the United States during the late 1950s and up until 1971. The Crown is Toyota's oldest sedan still in production. It is outranked as a 2- and 4-door hardtop, and Nissan followed suit with the Nissan Cedric The Nissan Cedric is a large automobile produced by Nissan since 1960. It was developed to provide upscale transportation, competing with the Prince Skyline and Gloria which were later merged into the Nissan family. In later years, the Nissan Skyline was positioned as a sports sedan/coupe, whereas the Nissan Gloria was turned into a sporty version and Nissan Gloria The Gloria is a large luxury car made from 1959 by the Prince Motor Company, and later by Nissan Motors since its merger with the former - hence being originally marketed as Prince Gloria and later as Nissan Gloria. Initially based on the smaller Prince Skyline, the Gloria line was merged with Nissan Cedric starting with 1971 models and both. Subaru introduced a new compact coupe as a genuine two-door hardtop with the Subaru Leone The Subaru Leone was a compact car produced by the Japanese car manufacturer Subaru from 1971 to 1994. The word "leone" is Italian for lion in 1971. The hardtop models were more expensive and luxurious than the sedan versions. In the 1980s, Toyota continued the trend with the Toyota Mark II and the Toyota Chaser The Toyota Chaser is a mid-size 4 door sedan produced by the Toyota Motor Company, Japan. It's a derivative of Toyota Mark II, and only officially sold in Japan. The Toyota Chaser has been known as one of the 'triplets' or 'quartets' of Toyota, because it shares the same chassis with the Toyota Cressida/Mark II, and Cresta. Most of the models use, with Nissan introducing its Nissan Laurel The Nissan Laurel was introduced by Nissan in 1968 as the new luxury model to slot above the 1968 Bluebird 510 & with the same sense of luxury found in the Nissan Cedric but with slightly reduced dimensions, and Mazda introducing the Mazda Luce, all as four-door hardtops. During the early 1990s, almost all Japanese car makers had at least one four-door hardtop in multiple classes, including compact sedans, starting with the Toyota Carina ED The Toyota Carina ED was a Japanese compact car created in 1985 as a companion to the 1984 Toyota Carina sedan. It was positioned as the 4-door Celica, with a similar focus on luxury found on the Corona EXiV. Its design sought to emulate the hardtop styling of large American sedans, resulting in a small, low cabin with longer front and rear ends, Toyota Corona EXiV, Toyota Sprinter Marino, Nissan Presea, Honda Inspire, Honda Integra, Mitsubishi Emeraude, and Mazda Persona. Even Subaru got into the game with the Subaru Legacy. By the end of the 90s, however, almost all four-door hardtops disappeared, as structural integrity standards continued to increase. The Subaru Legacy remained a "B" pillar hardtop until the introduction of the 2010 model.

British luxury carmaker Bentley (owned by Volkswagen Group) sells two true hardtop coupes, the Continental GT fastback, and the new Brooklands coupe (2008). Other British pillarless hardtops included the attractive Sunbeam Rapier and the glitzy Ford Consul Capri (355) which, unlike America, sold fewer cars than their saloon cousins. The body style was thought to be making a comeback, as concept versions of the Dodge Challenger and Chevrolet Camaro shown in 2006 were both two-door hardtops, however, the production versions of both included a blacked out B Pillar and fixed rear side glass. Another pillar-less design was featured in the 2007 model concept for the Chrysler 300C.

See also

• Car body style

References

• Howley, Tim (April 1, 2006). "A History of Hardtops". Hemmings Classic Car (Hemmings Motor News). http://www.hemmings.com/hcc/stories/2006/04/01/hmn_feature14.html. Retrieved January 18, 2009.
• Vance, Bill (July 18, 2007). Motoring Memories: Hardtop convertibles. Canadian Driver. http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/bv/hardtop-convertibles.htm. Retrieved January 18, 2009.

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