ABSTRACT
Ownership of a convertible-or ragtop, as they were commonly called-was long equated with possessing the right stuff. As recently as the 1960s, convertibles comprised around six percent of the car market, or 500,000 units per annum. Sales began a decline in the late 1960s which dipped as low as 50,000 convertibles in 1974, all of European construction. After the 1980-1982 recession, with convertible sales down to 25,000 per annum, US auto makers began looking at new ways to increase their share. Reasoning that car buyers-particularly baby-boomers with disposable income-were tired of "econoboxes" and wanted something that equated with fun, they began manufacturing ragtops again. Chrysler took the plunge first with the LeBaron-Dodge 400 set in the 1982 model year, and Ford and GM followed shortly thereafter with convertible options for the Mustang, Corvette, and Cadillac Allante.
