A lot of people got burned on those 76 Eldorado convertibles, paying huge premiums for them because they were supposed to be the last of the convertibles and ultimately they turned out to be not worth a fraction of what they paid.

Over the years I've had a number of people try to sell me Corvette convertibles but I always preferred the coupe by a long shot. The convertibles look great with the top down, but when the top is up (most of the time) they are decidedly less attractive than the coupe. The hardtop helps, but is still a good deal less attractive than the coupe.

 

if this 75 orange been a 4 sp or L82 or both i would have bought it allready just being a base auto for $20,000 is a lot of money for this car

 

I've always been a fan of convertibles and was sick when I heard that they were gone after 76,Eldorado being the last one and people were buying new Eldorados and putting them in storage thinking they would increase in value. I heard that they were getting as high as $50,000. for them back then which was a lot of money for those times. We had a local body shop that had several of them just sitting outside for a long time with the protective material from the factory on the tops. I never heard what happened to them but they are not worth much today compared to what he had hoped. When they stopped making convertibles , cars got pretty boring for quite a few years but fortunately they came back. I still prefer the old ones though.

 

That's a matter of opinion and I bet there are a lot of convertible owners and non-owners that would disagree with that statement and that would be their opinion.

I think my car looks just as good with the top as it does with it down.

 

Baby Moons! Automatic coolness! I had a set of moons on chrome reversed wheels on my '63 SS.....(but it was a coupe).......

John

 

I'd have to strongly disagree with this also. I think the looks of a convertible top up or down is great.

With that said, I really like the lines of a coupe also.....you just can't put the top of a coupe down. In my opinion, that puts it in a close second place.


John

 

now i like the coupes i've had 2 77 and a couple of later modle coupes but as far as i think i like the 74-75 convertible are best looking vettes with the tops down smooth lines i know they are not the big musle machine like the early c3 but i've always like the rubber bumper vette. if i keep reading this thread i might haft to get one i would like to have a 74 L82 4sp convertible i know where one's at a dealer ship with 25,000 miles 1 repaint but for $38,000 he isn't going to see any of my money

 

I guess I find it amazing that anyone thinks a convertible with the top up looks as good as a hardtop but then I've often looked at cars I think are ugly and wonder "How could anyone like that" and then it occurs to me that for sure at least the designer thought it was good looking and if that one person did there are likely more that think so as well. Personally I'd never have a convertible because I really dislike their looks with the top up, that bumpy and uneven roofline just doesn't do it for me. I see now some people disagree and as much as it surprises me I can acknowledge that other reality exists for at least a few people. I really like glass roof T-tops, you can see the sky all the time and you don't have to get buffeted by wind if you don't want to.

 

If you would like to start a vote, put me down as the first to agree that a convertible is just as attractive with the top up as it is down, maybe more in my opinion.

 

I agree with Paul74 on the fact that there just wasn't the demand any longer. If you look at the sales breakdowns of coupes vs verts you'll see that the coupes just became the desired style. I lived through this time and while there was more gov't intervention ie. end of non covered bumpers, smog controls, fresh air always coming into a car, and all of Nader's Raiders demands gaining more credibility in Congress and Parliament it really came down to supply and demand. Tastes changed, many ppl. drove the vette all year round, it was quiter, safer (???) and drier than a vert.
I remember well the end of the verts. but in the mid 70's I liked the coupe, esp a white one better than the verts. I thought it was the best of both world's at the time. That being said I own a '72 vert as that is the style etc. I wanted. Some like the chrome bumpers better, some verts. some '74 - 77, and others 78 - '82. When the '78 style came out it took me awhile to warm up to that big window - but I also saw the functionality of it.
I also remember most vette owners driving their's all year round - "put some snows on it and it's not that bad in the snow and it doesn't rust" - was something I heard a lot in the mid 70's on. Doesn't rust - I bet there are more of a few of you who could prove them all wrong, hey buddy seen my birdcage???

 

There was definitely the threat of government regulations and banning convertibles, plus higher insurance rates. Another reason for the lack of demand was that air conditioning had become so popular and common in cars that there was less reason to have a convertible.

There were a lot of reasons why verts were dropped...but if people kept buying them the car makers would have continued to build them until forced to stop. Whether the government would have actually banned them became a moot point...the car makers dropped them due to low (read that unprofitable) consumer demand before any possible regulations had been enacted. Whether one brought on the other is arguable, but the effect was the same.

 

I think people make statements like that more out of an obligation to defend rather than out of sincerity kind of like when someone defends their unattractive child as beautiful and all their friends chime in about how true that is. I could be wrong, but I find it pretty hard to believe anyone sincerely thinks a convertible with the top up looks as good as a coupe.

 

This is what they call "High Jacking a thread" .. you made your point, its time to let it go and stay on topic or start your on thread about your opinion.

 

Yes, you're right, my apologies.

 

Do people drive with the top up?

 

Well, sometimes you can get caught in the rain so they do come in handy!

Nothing better than an early morning cruise along the beach with the top down.

 

I generally do not drive when severe weather is forecast. But sometimes those rain showers will sneak up on you at outdoor events. So I have a cabin cover. Just install (2 minutes) and find a covered place for a hot dog and soft drink.



In case anyone is interested I do have a pristine (Haartz canvas) top.

 

I've taken mine to the east coast and while enroute it started to pour - good thing was I was on the highway so nothing came into the cabin. BUT there was an accident that I had to slow down and stop - can you say Noah!. For me, if I have to put the top up I just feel like I'm driving an old chevy - it squeeks, rattles etc become to prominent.

 

Well, You are sooooo wrong. I honestly feel that way, why else would I own one ? If I wanted a coupe wouldn't I own a coupe ? Coupes are cheaper than convertibles. I don't tell you what to own or what to like , so why should people listen to you, it's just your opinion. As far as liking the car just as good with the top up, notice in my avatar that the top is up ( does that tell you anything ? ) If I was ashamed of the car with the top up wouldn't it be down for the photo ? It might surprise you to know that I rarely put the convertible top down because I prefer the look and feel of it up. But since you have a one track mind, you still wouldn't understand. Could it be that because you can't afford one that it is like your analogy about the ugly child only in reverse ? Cheer up man maybe someday you will be able to afford one too.

 

It always amazes me too that the base price of a 69 vert was about three hundred less than my 69 coupe. Who knew?

The government intervention certainly didn't help the situation, but the convertible concept was going out of favor with the buying public in the late 60s and early 70s. I can't comment specifically on Corvettes, but I also own a 69 Mustang convertible, and I know the Ford build numbers for the first generation of Mustang convertibles (65-73). Ford built over 250,000 Mustang convertibles in that period. Mostly 65s, 66s and 67s. By 1969 they only built 14,749 Mustang convertibles and in 70 they built less than 7,000. Folks just weren't buying them. The build numbers kept dwindling until 73 when, with Ford's announcement that Mustang convertible production would stop, people bought a little over 11,000 Mustang verts.