2000s was really the golden age of the cheap convertible. There were so many different cheap convertibles especially hardtop convertibles that you could drive the whole year. The Peugeot 206CC, Opel Tigra Twintop, Renault Megane CC, Ford Focus CC and Mitsubishi Colt CC to name a few.Now hardtop convertibles are almost completely extinct. And besides the Fiat 500 Cabrio there really aren't any cheap convertibles at all for sale. How did the convertible market crash so quickly?
>>28597964Why would you want a car without a roof, which only sometimes has a hard roof?Besides, a car without a roof has nothing but disadvantages: smaller trunk, greater weight, less rigidity, higher price.
>>28597964>>28597980Convertibles are best enjoyed as second cars, and no one has the money for that anymore. Also, all nu cars are cuckovers, which naturally won’t have a convertible variant.
A Mazda mx-5 rf starts around 30k. That is pretty cheap for today's standards.
>>28598122What do you think you got with one of the shitters OP mentioned? Plus the Miata is at least RWD with a great chassis, the cars OP is talking about are all FWD econocuckshit with the roof chopped off.
>Wrong wheel driveIf I will have to deal with constant gay jokes, at least let me pretend I am driving a sports car. It's no wonder Miata is the only mainstay of that market segment.>>28597985>which naturally won’t have a convertible variantDoesn't stop them from trying bro
>>28597985>which naturally won’t have a convertible variantI honestly have no idea why, I'd like a slightly lifted possibly awd convertible. Mine sits too low and has no skid plates. There were like three attempts at it in total, not counting t-tops and targas, all seem to be retarded.
>>28598128>Wrong wheel driveMeans more trunk space, more leg space and probably a normal spare tire. And mainly >cheapwhich is the main point of the OP. Keeping it cheap and somewhat utilitarian (e.g. trunk big enough for grocery shopping and other errands) helps to keep such convertibles less specialized, in other words, people would buy and use them more often.>>28597980Because driving without it is cool.
>>28598156Driving roof-down is only cool if you can enjoy the car.Cutting the roof off an otherwise miserable economy car does not suddenly make it fun or good.
>>28597980For me personally it took me a while to finally understand that I don't enjoy roofless as much as doorless. Had suzuki samurai and no roof was ok but no doors is something completely different. Could kinda get away with it back in the day, tried that with double cab hilux and it didn't last hundred miles before I got caught by poo-lice.
>>28598191>miserable car with roof>miserable car without roofWhich one is more cool I wonder
>>28597964convertibles fucking suck.as soon as I got a hard top for my miata, it literally never came off.
>>28597964I live in the UK, wtf do I need a convertible for?
>>28598328You must be brownIndigenous Bongs love convertibles and open roadsters despite their meme shitty climate.
>>28598328UK has the highest per capita convertible sales in Europe.
>>28598328For 4 days of british summer
>>28598367>>28598380>>28598431so many autistic bong fags trying to justify their purchase of picrel ittjust admit it, you look ridiculous, and your stupid topless car is rusting away, like tears in rain
>>28598436Are you seething because in a 'vert everyone can see that you are brown?I'm not a Bong and never been to Bongland but we must've hit a nerve lol
>>28598442>I'm not a Bong and never been to Bongland but we must've hit a nerve lolno nerve hit. I'm just incredulous at my fellow bongs advocating for convertibles, when as this anon points out: >>28598431, we have 0 need for them.
>>28598446>>28598431why do people think convertibles are only usable or good in the summer?
>>28598446Post hand Ahmed
>>28597985>>28598145Volkswagen did make one but I'm not sure if it's a success.
>>28598126Those econobox convertibles offered you a hardtop convertible that you could drive around even in the winter because of the hardtop. And they cost 2/3rd of what a soft top MX5 cost.
>>28598477Oh and they did have 4 seats. (though realistically with something like a Peugeot 207CC you could only fit 3 people since there wouldn't be enough room behind the driver)
>>28598472They still do, but the car is pretty retarded as a softroader:>fwd only>all engines available are anemic>no gearbox with torque converter to compensate for the problems aboveFor me buying it would be a downgrade.There's also a Mondeo with RR badge and ridiculous price for its underpowered 2 liter engine that can't even work together with the 9spd gearbox.
NGL I always wanted a solara or something that seats 4 so I can bring 3 German shepherds with me in a drop top. No sebrings because I expect to make it to my destination.
>>28598479There was a number of verts with rather usable rear seats. And some even had trunks with pass-though.
>>28598114No, the soft top starts at $30k. RF starts at $38k.
>>28598490I mean most cuckovers people are buying are never going to be driven offroad and have 4 cylinder engines that lack power.
>>28598499Yeah but something like a Peugeot 307CC which had usable backseats also had basically the same price tag as an MX5. So your options were an econobox with usable backseats or an MX5 without backseats.
>>28598510Nah. Other Land Rovers are still cuckovers very rarely driven offroad yet they have more powerful engines. So are BMWs starting with the X3.
>>28598514So basically these two options:>somewhat practical funny econoboxor>meme car for tryhards
>>28598502Are you calling me a liar, boy?
>>28597964It was the golden age of cheap cars period. We didn’t get a lot of these cheap Euro convertibles outside of the VW Eos and Golf Cabriolet in the US, but I always liked them. I think Buick rebadged an Opel convertible for us one time too. I’m also very partial to the StreetKa.
>>28598868Wasn't StreetKa basically the cheapest convertible? It was 12500 pounds new. Was there anything cheaper at the time? Even something like Peugeot 206 CC started at 13k+
>>28598868The Cascada, which was basically an Astra (or Verano) with the roof chopped off. That was near the end of the econovert hype train though, Opel was building steel-top convertibles out of the Corsa (with the Tigra Twintop) and Astra long before that.
>>28597964I have a friend with a candy red one of those.BL product with rear engine in the room.
>>28598114Euros love trannyverse FWD cuckboxes
>>28598872An another Opel that did get to the US
>>28598931Was Saab Opel now. Its death throws were in GMs hands.
>>28598624>euro4k is still a significant amount to be off by
Mini Convertible, starting from 31k Eur or so
What year Miata should I be looking for if I want a cheap toy that will last for awhile? Is the liability only insurance cost going to be insane if I’m in my late 20s? No accidents, incidents, claims or anything on my record and it would be in addition to my daily beater.
>>28597964I always hated those handlebars on the trunk.
>>28598624Taxes are different in every shithole.
>>28599262Just go to the insurance website and find out faggot.
>>28598871I believe it was. I guess it was essentially Ford Europe’s answer to the Kei car in a way
>>28599262I'm pretty sure insurance websites have calculators. So find a Miata you want to buy and use those websites to calculate your insurance.If you want it to last for a while and not rust too much. Honestly it might make sense to get an NC Miata even though they are hated.
>>28598204>Doesn't have sports car pedigree>Yet makes sacrifices of practicalityWe go back to >>28597985 being right, convertibles are second cars or you end up in a cope mobileMaybe that is what one of the Cs in CC stands for
>>28599688>sports car pedigreeAHAHAHAHAHASeriously though, the entire thread is about the cheapest part of the market, anon.>Yet makes sacrifices of practicalityCan say that about anything lesser than the Suburban (and still get replies that it lacks the bed, or the roof is too low so trucks or vans are more practical)>convertibles are second cars or you end up in a cope mobileI agree, but because of the different reason: precipitation. Not every part of the world is suitable for driving in a 'vert every day all year round without significant maintenance efforts (i.e. waterproofing).I think you're also missing the part that there always has been a distinction between the GT cars and the roadsters. None are "better", their applications are slightly different, both can be convertibles.
>>28597964Car manufacturers came to a realization at some point, which flipped the scope of the new car market on it's head. This realization was that people need cars, so no matter what the car market looks like, people will still buy them because they need them. This realization told manufacturers that they could phase out anything that didn't sell in high quantities, and that they should just make a narrower selection of vehicles that satisfy the largest swath of consumers as possible, and not only will people continue to buy their vehicles, but they would make more ,money because the expense of making fewer different models of vehicles costs them less so they make more profit.Manufacturers basically realized that it was they who controlled the market, not the consumer. This became the death of creativity and the death of variety. And now we're left with a market that's like 80% crossover suv clones and pickup trucks.
>>28597964Convertibles are cars for men, and as you know most cars nowadays are developed with women's sensibilities in mind
>>28598472I recently learned that these things can come with a manual, doesn't make it a good car but it could be a fun 2nd car
>>28599896>Convertibles are cars for white menFixed.
A reminder you have to actually drive your car to enjoy driving it.The more it is suitable as a daily the more you're going to drive it and to enjoy it.
one way to enjoy convertibles is if you grew up driving go-karts as a kid.
>>28599810What is this about GTs?Did you mean roadsters and convertibles?Yea, roadsters are a subset but not all sporty droptops are automatically roadsters, for example 3 series convertibles.>Can say that about anything lesser than the SuburbanCompletely out of scope of argument.>Should I get a 4-seater hatchback with FWD, a 2-seater roadster with RWD or 2-seater convertible based on the FWD hatchback?In this comparison the third option is a compromise, some would say "cope", without a clear benefit.If I have to sacrifice practicality, it is reasonable to expect something valuable worth the sacrifice, and the Miata is the only one that provides that value(RWD), and so it endures while all those CCs died out.I don't know what to tell you bro, I already said in the original post that if one has to deal with constant gay jokes being thrown at them because of their choice of car, at the very least it should be a gay "sports" car and not a gay econobox
>we will never have cheap fwd little 2 seat convertibles like the del sol>cars are too big to even make something small on the same chassis as the regular car anymore
>>28600148That's only possible for richfags.
>>28600554You're seriously going to try to say go karts are for rich people? Are you retarded?
>>28600542I do a lot of stuff in my four-seater. I just brought a week of groceries (including water) for two people with ragtop down and rear seat empty, I do other shopping and run errands in it, I don't even need another car to get to the airport (enough space not only for two people but for more luggage than these people have bags for), I can give my friends a ride, I can throw bags, clothes and gear in the back which is useful both on longer journeys and for making short trips quicker, and I can tilt my seat back far enough to lie and watch the night sky. All these are the reasons I drive it daily and can enjoy top down experience at every possible occasion, and I won't be able to replace it with a roadster convertible.Is this clear enough for you to comprehend? If yes, let's move to other topics you touched like wheel drive arrangements and compromises.
>>28600614Depends on the country, but usually yes, getting children into karting school is not cheap. Other sports are way less expensive.
These are cheap now.
>>28597964>How did the convertible market crash so quickly?Rollover safety regulations in the US now require a car to support 3x its weight on top without danger to occupants. Making that work is more expensive than previous standardsStill, you can buy a jeep or bronco or Miata
>>28597964Convertibles are total ass as an only car, so cheap ones don't exist anymore. The roof often leaks, doesn't last as long, requires maintenance, is noisier, is more expensive, eats into cargo space, etc. Convertible is cool if you want a second car to cruise in on nice days, but nobody is spending more for a worse car when it's the only one it can afford just so that they can put the top down on a nice day. That's why cheap convertibles are gone.
>>28601537>govt regs kill fun cars>every fucking timeTook 60+ replies to get to the real answer
convertibles are fuckin gay which cuts your market in half and they leak and fall apart. that's why. its pretty simple.
>>28601531Yeah the 2000s convertibles are cheap now. But in 20 years there isn't a single cheap convertible that isn't 40 years old.
>>28601580But enough of your father's car, tell me about yours.
>>28597964Don't forget the smart roadster.Probably the best smart ever built.
>>28600704>getting children into karting school is not cheapyou know you can just buy and use a go kart, right?the poorest, white trashiest family in my hometown were the ones whos spawn would constantly fly around on dirt bikes, atvs and karts
>>28602096>driving aroundvs>getting into sports
>>28602242nobody said anything about getting into competitive motorsports
>>28599907I was going to contest that but after looking into it, yeah you're right
>>28603337So we can confidently say that people seething at convertibles are not white or not men enough.
Gonna get one of these for a family convertible (with the 5 speed and M113 V8 obviously) and I already have an R129 with the same drivetrain. Stay mad convertible haters
>>28597964It's fucking heartbreaking.I bought a 206cc as a daily driver in 2020 and I enjoy every drive with it. Driving around in Switzerland with the roof down makes it a real comfort car.Unfortunately, the rear axle is fucked and it's a hassle to get a replacement part in non-EU countries. Asked several workshops and they don't want to go through hoops to get parts and do the labour > and the ones that do quoted me above 4kThe car is in ok condition and probably would need a new front steering within the next year or two as well.So Either I'm doing all the administrative effort myself to fix my soul car, or bite the bullet to get a Cupra Born.What's your take on my dilemma? Fix ir or not.2025, 190k km btw
>cupra bornI didn't know certified retards could post in internet without supervision. The magic of llms I guess.
>>28603607Why don't you give it to me straight my negro?I'd take my time if I wouldn't be so busy until my MOT comes around. God gifted me with IT-, not car DIY skills.
>>28603503They aren’t engineered to last longer than 170-200 kkm before issues like that happens, it’s the same with Tigra and small cars in general. So, scrapyard it is.
>>28603363Seems to be the case, yeah
>>28603503Drive to any neighboring country of your choice and get it fixed there. You guys even do grocery shopping at your neighbors, at least those living close to the border.
