Ulix,
You're right, the legislation was proposed in the early 70s (the '76 Caddy
was the last "traditional" American ragtop during the '70s) but never
enacted. Most manufacturers saw what they thought was the writing on the
wall and didn't include new convertibles in their lineups. Since it takes
the automakers several years to do anything more complicated than change
interior color schemes.... no new convertibles were added to the "new model"
lists.
MG continued selling MGBs and Midgets, Triumph continued selling Spitfires
all through the 70s. Alfa's and Fiats were sold topless.
The early 80s saw the rebirth of American built convertibles, mainly because
the worst of the fuel economy/emissions standards hurdles had been passed
and the automakers could concentrate on making cars that people would buy,
not just what they thought the government would allow.
The way that most foreign rag tops got chased out during the 70's was
emmissions/crash standards. Some people view it as unfortunate that BL
continued to sell their cars here in the states because of the compromises
made to meet the emissions/safety standards. Call it the old "let them die
a clean death" syndrome, rather than lingering on with the cancerous growths
obvious (bumpers and catalytic converters).
Jim (I remember new Citroens) Gambony
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ulix Goettsch [SMTP:ulix@u.washington.edu]
> Sent: Tuesday, November 03, 1998 6:37 PM
> To: Mike Merrick
> Cc: spridgeteers
> Subject: Re: 1979 Road Test
>
> Mike,
>
> are you sure that this was so?
> As I recall, such legislation was proposed in the US, and supposedly the
> only topless cars to pass these regulations were to be the Lamborghini
> Jalpa Targa and the Fiat X1/9 Targa. The latter being designed
> specifically for these regulations which caused the car to become a little
> overweight. The legislation was not passed.
>
> Since the X1/9 was introduced in Europe in 1972, this might be a different
> story than the one you are referring to.
>
> Would the Mustang Convertible be an example of a convertible produced from
> the late 80s until now?
>
> Ulix
>
>
> On Tue, 3 Nov 1998, Mike Merrick wrote:
>
> > Hi Ulix (and ragtop lovers everywhere):
> >
> > I believe you are mistaken, there was no love lost (literally) between
> > American car owners and the convertible, however, our government was
> > protecting us again. If you don't recall, there was about a 10 year
> > period where NOTHING with a rag top was allowed to be produced in the
> > States (or shipped in if memory serves). They finally relented to some
> > extent, manufacturers modified to meet their new test criteria and,
> > voila!, ragtops ride again.
> >
> > As for whether folks would accept an '80's version of the Spridget, I've
> > been following a (tedious) string on the Brit-Iron (bike) list where
> > they've been excorciating the new Hinkley Triumphs (too reliable, too
> > little maintenance, etc.) as not being fit inheritors of the Triumph
> > marque.
> >
> > Mike Merrick
> > <mmerrick@mail.state.mo.us>
> > "Either ride (/drive) the damn thing or sell it to someone who will!"
> >
> > Ulix Goettsch wrote:
> > >
> > > At least in the US, a fact that shouldn't be forgotten is that in the
> > > 80's, nobody wanted convertibles. Most british roadsters were not
> > > replaced by new models, and if they were, they were 80's style,
> meaning
> > > that we probably wouldn't like the 80's replacement of the Spridget
> > > anyway.
> > >
> >
>
> Ulix __/__,__
>
> .......................................................... (_o____o_)....
> '67 Sprite
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