Retractable hardtops have existed on cars since at least the 1930s.
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But their hardtops fully retract for a less fenced-in feeling.
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For example, this DB11 Volante, which proves that drop-top Astons are as lovely as the hardtops.
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Gladiator hardtops have removable fiberglass panels above front occupants, as does the Wrangler, plus a convertible top option.
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The RF is a relative bargain considering that the Mercedes SLC and BMW Z4, with retractable hardtops, start their price climb at around $50,000.
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A total of 618 hardtops and 191 convertibles were produced, in part due to a recession.
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Two 1973 Sunbeam Rapiers: first with side windows lowered and raised on the second car Various European manufacturers have produced hardtops without B-pillars (usually coupes), however they are rarely marketed as pillarless hardtops. Examples include the current Bentley Continental GT, the 2008 Bentley Brooklands, the 2001-2003 Renault Avantime, the Rolls-Royce Wraith, and the 2012-current Ford B-Max. The 1958-1964 Facel Vega Excellence is one of few four-door hardtops produced in Europe. British pillarless hardtops included the Sunbeam Rapier and the Ford Consul Capri (355) which, unlike American models, sold fewer cars than their regular center pillar saloon versions.
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So prevalent were true hardtops that Popular Mechanics had to describe that the new full-sized 1967 Oldsmobile Delmont models also included a "pillar" sedan. The U.S. industry's last pillarless two-door and four-door hardtops were in the 1978 Chrysler Newport and New Yorker lines. Since then, no U.S. manufacturer has offered a true hardtop in regular production.
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This also included a coupe utility (El Camino) which was a derivative of the two-door wagon. In line with other Chevrolet series, the two-door hardtops were called Sport coupes. Four- door hardtops, dubbed Sport Sedans, were available (1966 through 1972). A two- door station wagon was available in 1964 and 1965 in the base 300 series.
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For the first time ever all Oldsmobile Ninety-Eights were now hardtops, and for the first time since 1964 not all hardtops were called Holidays. Standard equipment included armrests, front and rear, power brakes with front discs, electric clock, carpeting, inside hood release, lamp package, power seat, power steering and Turbo-Hydramatic transmission. Standard tire size was J78-15. Interiors were vinyl, cloth and leather.
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The DG Phoenix was introduced in 1971. again as the Phoenix 400 with individually numbered sedans and hardtops. 298 were built at Port Melbourne in 1971.
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Langworth, p. 110 1,189 Pacific hardtops were built before production concluded for the 1954 model year. Starting in 1955, Packard renamed its senior hardtop the Four Hundred.
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During the Executive's shortened model year of March through June, Packard built a total of 2,779Flory, p. 761. Executives—1,031 two-door hardtops and 1,748 four-door sedans.
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This creates an impression of uninterrupted glass along the side of the car. A pillarless hardtop is inherently less rigid than a pillared body, requiring extra underbody strength to prevent shake. Production hardtops commonly shared the frame or reinforced body structure of the contemporary convertible model, which was already reinforced to compensate for the lack of a fixed roof. Hardtops tend to be more expensive and collectible than sedan models of the same vehicle.
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This roofline was optimized to make the large sedan more competitive for stock car racing. Along with the "sportier" roofline, the Marauder trim package included bucket seats and central console, similar to its Ford counterpart. 1965 Mercury Montclair Marauder 4-door hardtop For 1964, the availability of Mercury Marauder expanded to four-door hardtops; along with two-doors, four-door hardtops also included a fastback roofline. The blocky "Breezeway" models continued as before.
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The Golden and Sky Hawks were hardtops; while the Power and Flight Hawks were pillared coupes. Only one of the four models in 1956 sported any fins, that being the Golden Hawk.
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Gone are the days when the design police deemed the convertible a thing of the history books and in has come a raft of folding hardtops and ragtops that take the breath away.
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For 1973, the Custom 500, Galaxie sedan, LTD, and station wagons were given an all-new body. In response to federal regulations, the front ends were fitted with large 5 mph bumpers; they would be fitted to the rear for 1974. Two-door hardtops were also redesigned with thick B-pillars and fixed rear quarter windows. Four-door and wagon models were marketed as "pillared hardtops"; while still wearing frameless door glass, they were reinforced with thin metal B-pillars.
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Nash used the Country Club moniker while pillarless Studebakers were Starliners, a name that was later used by Ford for its Galaxie hardtop. By 1956 every major U.S. automaker offered two- and four-door hardtops in a particular model lineup. General Motors restyled their new models and now offered four-door hardtops from every division and in nearly every series except the lowest priced lines. In 1956, the first four-door hardtop station wagons were introduced by Rambler and American Motors Corporation.
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Standard tire size was J78-15. Upholstery was vinyl, cloth or leather. In 1976 the Luxury and Regency editions of the full-size Ninety-Eights were offered, in 2-door coupes or 4-door hardtops.
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Williams & Pritchard provided detachable glass fibre hardtops for all contemporary sports cars and replacement front-ends (bonnet and mudguards sections), particularly for Austin-Healey Sprites. They were first launched at the 1961 Racing Car Show.
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The DF Phoenix was introduced in 1970. Again it was marketed as the Phoenix 400 with sedans and hardtops carrying individually numbered dash plaques. 298 were built at Port Melbourne in 1970 and 110 in 1971.
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Unique new interiors featured reversible seat cushions with cloth on one side and leather on the other. Total model year production equaled 263 hardtops and 276 convertibles. The model was discontinued when Packard production ended in Detroit.
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There were a variety of hardtop-like body styles dating back to 1916. Chrysler Corporation built seven pillarless Town and Country hardtop coupes as concept vehicles in 1946, and even included the body style in its advertising that year. Mass- production of hardtops began with General Motors, which launched two-door, pillarless hardtops in 1949 as the Buick Roadmaster Riviera, Oldsmobile 98 Holiday, and Cadillac Coupe de Ville. They were purportedly inspired by the wife of a Buick executive who always drove convertibles, but never lowered the top.
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The Kaiser-Frazer 1949 Virginian was an early example of a four-door hardtop albeit with a removable thin, chrome- and-glass 'B' pillar held on by five screws. The car was designed to have a convertible look and padded nylon or cotton was applied over the roof to contribute to the soft-top appearance. Two-door hardtops became popular with consumers in the 1950s while the two- door sedan body design fell out of favor among buyers. In 1955, General Motors introduced the first four-door hardtops.
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The full-width bench seat was standard with 50/50 individually adjustable and reclining seats were optional on all body styles. The station wagons came with "Uganda" vinyl upholstery, while the two-door hardtops offered optional front bucket seats.
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The Fina-Sport was an American automobile manufactured from 1953 until 1954. The brainchild of Perry Fina, it used a Cadillac V-8 engine and Hydramatic transmission mounted on a Ford chassis. Styling of both convertibles and hardtops was by Vignale.
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1968 was the first year for side marker lights and front outboard shoulder belts, and the last year for vent windows on hardtops and convertibles. 4-4-2s for '68 had unique rear bumpers, with exhaust cutouts and special exhaust tips.
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In the middle of the 1955 model year, Buick and Oldsmobile introduced the world's first mass-produced four-door hardtops, with Buick offering it only on the Century and Special models, and the Riviera designation was also applied to these body styles. Four-door Riviera hardtops were added to the Roadmaster and Super lines at the beginning of the following model year. However, since it was a body style designation and not a model, the Riviera name does not usually appear on the car. In 1959, Buick became much more selective in applying the Riviera name.
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It was available in two-door coupes, four-door sedans, and two- and four-door hardtops with a convertible also offered in 1960. Ranger is one of two of Edsel's model nameplates re-used by Ford Motor Company products, Villager being the other.
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Both New Yorker and Newport trim level Town and Country wagons continued as four-door hardtops through 1964, making Chrysler the last American station wagons offered in this short-lived configuration. Powertrains and standard equipment remained familiar. A 340 hp 4-BBL 413 cu.in.
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Similar aftermarket hardtops had been introduced earlier in the year for every type of Minicar from the Mark A to the Mark C Family by the Sharples Engineering Company, who were also based in Preston. The revised engine was reported to give the Mark D notably better acceleration, better climbing ability and lower fuel consumption in direct comparison with its predecessor. Reverse via the Dynastart unit became an option from October 1956 on the Deluxe models. With the introduction of the Mark E in December 1957, the two/three seater Mark Ds were dropped from the range as were the hardtops and the Standard version of the Family Safety.
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The high cost ($700) plus public uncertainty about the yet-to-be proven safety systems that are now universal in today's automobiles saw quite handily to that. The number of Ninety-Eight body styles was reduced in 1975. Four were available consisting of coupes or 4-door hardtops in Luxury or Regency trim. Two door models were no longer hardtops. Standard equipment included: power brakes with front discs, cigarette lighter, electric clock, electronic ignition, hood release, bumper impact strips, lamp package, 455 CID engine, molding package, remote-controlled outside mirror, power seat, power windows, power steering, Deluxe steering wheel, chrome wheel discs and Turbo- Hydramatic transmission.
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1960 Chrysler New Yorker Town & Country For 1960, New Yorker had unibody construction, the carry-over RB engine had an output of . 1961 Chrysler New Yorker convertible The New Yorker entered 1961 with a new grille, slanted headlights, a continental kit on the trunk lid. The 413 CID "RB" Golden Lion V-8 continued. This is the last of the "Forward Look" models. Chrysler built 2,541 New Yorker two-door hardtops this year, the last until 1964 in Canada and 1965 in the U.S. 1962 Chrysler New Yorker The classic Chrysler fins no longer existed for 1962 and now only four-door models were offered as wagons sedans, and hardtops.
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1970 was the last year that DeVille offered a convertible body style, 1970 was also the last model year for pillared sedans until hardtops were permanently dropped in 1977. A total of 181,719 DeVilles were sold for that model year, accounting for 76% of all Cadillacs.
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A further order was placed with Austin. Available exterior colors were P903 "Spruce Green", P904 "Canyon Red", P905 "Caribbean Blue", or P906 "Croton Green", with P907 "Mist Grey" as a contrast color for the hardtops. P906 "Croton Green" was dropped as a color option in April 1954.
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Catalinas and other 1959 Pontiacs were completely restyled on a new General Motors B-body that was shared by all GM divisions from Chevrolet to Cadillac, replacing the previous A-body utilized for Pontiacs and Chevrolets that was used only for 1958. Twin tailfins, two on each side, were new and only in 1959. Styling highlights include thin-pillar rooflines and greater use of glass for increased visibility. Pillared four-door sedans feature six-window styling, while two- door hardtops were dubbed "bubbletops" due to the large wraparound bubble windshield and thin c-pillar and large rear window; four-door hardtops featured flat-blade rooflines with an overhang past the rear window.
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Available models for 1969 included a two-door hardtop coupe, four-door hardtop sedan, four-door pillared sedan, and four-door station wagons with six- or nine-passenger capacity. A new Brougham option package included a vinyl roof on sedans and hardtops and a split-bench front seat with a reclining mechanism on the passenger side (except on the two-door hardtops). Monaco wagons received woodgrained vinyl trim along their sides and across the dual-action (side- and bottom-hinged) tailgate. Sales of the Polara and Monaco were down by nearly 20,000 cars compared with 1968, with the Monaco line accounting for 38,566 of the 127,252 full-size cars made by Dodge for the year.
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Hank Biggs and The Hardtops released a version on the 2013 album Lucky Streak. Eddie Rivers of Asleep at the Wheel recorded a version in 2013 on the Plain Talkin' Man album. The Lake Travis Fiddlers featuring Ray Benson recorded a version on the 2016 I Hear You Talkin' album.
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The Flight Hawk was a two-door pillared coupe (model 56G-C3), which carried a list price of $1,986. There were 560 Flight Hawk Hardtops, model 56G-K7, built for export (499 sold), Canadian use (52 sold), and special order (9 sold in the US). This brought the total 1956 Flight Hawk production to 4,949.
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The 1958 Daytona and the smaller Sebring were similar to the Conquest/Quest but with a single grill opening and front end styling. All the LaDawri roadster models had optional removal hardtops. A hardtop mold for the Conquest and Daytona models was being constructed with production scheduled for Fall 2008 available through LaDawri.com, but this did not proceed.
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Torsion-bar suspension on the front combined with multi-leaf springs on the rear provided a smoother ride and improved handling. Pillarless hardtops, in both two and four-door configurations, received the Southampton designation. The Hongqi CA770, a Chinese state limousine, was based on the second-gen Imperial, however used a 340 which was not available in the Imperial.
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Both bumpers, especially the rear, protruded further from the body. Coupes were no longer hardtops, instead sporting large wide "coach" windows giving a thick center pillar look. A new, two-tiered, "space- aged" curved instrument panel housed a new standard quartz controlled digital clock. Other standard features included a removable litter receptacle and bias belted blackwall tires.
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The four-door Oldsmobile 88 Holiday, along with the four-door 98 Holiday, Buick Century Riviera, and Special Riviera, were the first four-door hardtops ever produced. Air conditioning became an option. The 88 had full instrumentation. For 1956, styling highlights included a new split grille in front and revised taillights and deck along with revised side chroming.
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Automatic transmission or 5-speed manual gearbox can be specified (except on the ZX, which is manual-only). Hardtops are available on some models Cars are sold either in kitcar form or fully built. Although road-legal, the ZX variant was intended for trackdays and sprints, being powered by a range of V8 engines delivering up to 500 bhp.
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Until 2016, the Falcon line-up was offered in sedan and utility body styles, however in the past panel vans, station wagons, and hardtops were offered. Falcons had dominated the ranks of taxis in Australia and New Zealand, along with sister car, the Ford Fairlane. Performance variants of the Falcon have been used extensively for pursuit work for many years.
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The GT's rear suspension featured radius rods to help locate the elliptical-spring solid rear axle. Other performance parts from the aborted Phase IV found their way onto GTs, including larger fuel tanks and winged sumps. From the rear, XA hardtops can be distinguished from later models by the tail lights, which have lenses which slope inwards (towards the front of the vehicle).
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The John Goss Special was a limited edition of the Ford Falcon released by Ford Australia in August 1975 to commemorate John Goss' win in the prestigious Bathurst 1000 endurance race the previous year. The car was based on the XB Falcon 500 Hardtop and featured a 302 in³ (4.9 L) Cleveland V8, and some specific options including the GS Rally Pack which featured full dash instrumentation, a 3-spoke steering wheel, vented bonnet (hood) with locking pins, and 12-slot steel road wheels. A separate item featured on all John Goss Special hardtops were the cosmetic side body vents that were also a feature of contemporary Falcon GT hardtops. The John Goss Special cars were available in a choice of two accent colours, Apollo Blue metallic or Emerald Fire (green) metallic, offset against the predominant body colour of Polar White.
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Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow I with dark blue everflex Everflex is a British fabric used as a roof covering on cars, and is a type of vinyl roof. Everflex is used on both hardtops and convertibles. Its usage was popular from the 1960s to the 1980s on luxury cars. Though its popularity has greatly decreased for new vehicles, it is still manufactured for restorers.
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1953 Hudson Hornet Hollywood Hardtop The 1953 model year brought minor changes to the Hudson Hornet. The front end was modified with a new grille and a non- functional air scoop hood ornament. four different body designs: two-door club coupe, Hollywood hardtop, Convertible Brougham, and a four-door sedan. Hudson Hornet 1953 model year production totaled 27,208 units of which around 910 were the Hollywood hardtops.
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1969 Valiant Signet The Valiant was completely redesigned for 1967 model year and the station wagons, hardtops, and convertibles were dropped. Buyers who wanted a Valiant-type hardtop coupe or convertible could choose a similarly-styled Barracuda, which was still based on the Valiant with a slightly sportier style. The new Valiant model range included 2- and 4-door sedans on a newly lengthened wheelbase. The design was straightforward and rectilinear.
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An example of this is the 1963 Ford Galaxie 500/XL "boxtop" square-roof hardtop. Some versions were only available in some forms as hardtops, others as convertibles. Also, some models were made with built-in radios, like the 1964–1968 Ford Thunderbirds, 1964 and 1966 Riviera, 1965 Dynamic 88 and 1966 Impala SS. These generally do not hold as much value as promos or frictions (Doty 1999c, p. 88).
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In 1973, the Cutlass Supreme, like other GM mid-size cars, was redesigned. Hardtop models were replaced by new "Colonnade" styling with fixed center pillars. Concerns over proposed rollover standards caused many automakers to phase out their pillarless hardtops and convertibles throughout the 1970s, and the Cutlass was no exception. Despite some initial controversy over the disappearance of hardtop models, the new 1973 GM mid-sized line proved highly successful.
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In Europe, these models claimed respectively. Minor change was given in 1978. This version of the Crown saw the introduction of disc brakes at both the front and rear axles with anti-lock brakes, speed sensitive power steering, and a 4-speed automatic transmission with overdrive. Originally, sedans and wagons had S80-series chassis numbers, while the two- and four-door hardtops received the S90-series chassis numbers.
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1956 Clipper taillight units continued to be used. Packards also adopted a low, wide "fishmouth" grille to further distinguish them from their Studebaker cousins. Other notable changes included the hardtops' astonishingly attractive rooflines, very similar to concurrent Chrysler/Desoto designs. Also, the switch to a one-piece drive shaft allowed Studebaker engineers to flatten the floor, which also allowed flattening of the roof panels on sedan and hardtop models.
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A 1960 Ashley 1172 Ashley were manufacturer of body shells and chassis for specials from 1955 to 1962. They also offered a range of products for special builders: radiators, header tanks, lighting sets, steel tubing, sheet aluminium, various suspension parts, water pumps, tires, tubes and wheels. The company also made bonnets and hardtops for other mass-produced sports cars, including the Austin-Healey Sprite and Jaguar E-Type.
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Ashley 750 Hard top Ashley Based on the short- wheelbase (6-foot 3 inch) Austin Seven chassis, with its 747 cc engine (hence the model name). Later a long-wheelbase (6-foot 9 inch) version was offered. The price of both was the same: £78 for the shell and £25 for the hard top. The early hardtops had gull wing doors but it is believed that none have survived.
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Hardtops were also added to both models. Kübelwagen replica by Intermeccanica During 1995–1996, A new project, a replica of a "Kübelwagen", a Porsche designed VW jeep used in World War II, was undertaken and production was initiated. In October 2001 Reisner died of complications due to sarcoidosis. Frank's son Henry Reisner, who had worked at Intermeccanica part-time during high school and university, and full-time since took over as president.
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BMW 3-series (E93) Retractable hardtops are commonly made from between two and five sections of metal or plastic and often rely on complex dual-hinged trunk/boot lids that enable the trunk lid to both receive the retracting top from the front and also receive parcels or luggage from the rear. The trunk also often includes a divider mechanism to prevent loading of luggage that would conflict with the operation of the hardtop.
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The new 1971 hardtop featured a prominent "tunnelback" rear window design with flowing rear pillars, a completion of the styling exercise of the outgoing model. Hardtops with 'Grande' trim gained a vinyl roof and Grande badges on the C-pillars. An additional edition, the Spring Special, was available between March and May 1971, which added Mach 1 styling cues (side stripes, tu-tone paint, urethane bumper, honeycomb grill with sportlamps) to the hardtop.
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Every car was shipped with a colour- matching metal hardtop with a rear defroster. Unlike many contemporary hardtops, which are provided for practical rather than stylistic considerations, the hardtop of the Z8 was designed from the outset to complement the lines of the car's styling. Interior In order to keep the interior uncluttered, a number of functions were integrated into multifunction controls. For example, the power windows and mirrors were controlled by a single instrument.
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Series 62 bodystyles were identified by non louvered rear fenders, the use of thin bright metal underscores on the bottom rear of the cars only and the decoration of both hood and deck lid with Cadillac crests and V- shaped ornaments. The Club Coupe model disappeared. Two door Series 62 were now all hardtops (including the better equipped Coupe de Ville) or convertibles. Another familiar name appeared on 1953's Series 62.
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The URO VAMTAC comes with four-wheel drive capability, and is available in three primary configurations – command and control, chassis-cab, and pick-up. The first comes with a four- door cab. The latter two versions are available with three cab types: two- door, four-door, or a four-door version with smaller rear doors and less cab space. Shelter type or cargo bodies such as hardtops can be added to the rear compartment, as well as weapons.
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The NX1600 was based on the standard 1.6-litre Sentra (engine code GA16DE), and the NX2000 was based on the 2.0 L SE-R model (engine code SR20DE). Most models were fitted with T-Tops, whilst the remainder were hardtops. Constructed in Japan, it was sold from 1991–1993 in the US (mainly competing with the Mazda MX-3, Isuzu Piazza, Toyota MR2, and Honda Civic Del Sol). It was produced for a few more years for other countries.
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1953 Packard Mayfair 2-door hardtop The name MayfairAuto Editors of Consumer Guide: 50 Years of American Automobiles, p. 313 (New York: Beekman House, 1989. ) was applied to the early mid-level hardtop coupes built by the Packard Motor Corporation on the 1951-53 Junior body in an attempt to compete in this body style with Cadillac, Buick, and Imperial from Chrysler, whose hardtop sales were booming. Mayfair hardtops were built in the 1951 through 1953 model years.
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The convertibles started on the outside row and were approximately ten miles an hour slower than the hardtops and sedans because of their aerodynamics. No one figured that a convertible would win the race and they didn't but wonder who was driving the top finishing convertible. The 283 engine placed from the factory behind the centerline of the front wheels made the '57 a superior handling car on the short tracks and the dirt tracks as well.
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New grilles, rear decks with taillights moved into the bumper and revised Sport Coupe roofline highlighted this year's changes. The standard six-cylinder engine was punched up from to and , while the same assortment of V8s carried over with the addition of a , V8 on non-SS Chevelles. At mid-year, the Malibu was rejoined by lower-line Chevelle models that were simply called the base Chevelle in both four-door sedans and two-door hardtops.
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If they were lost, the keys could be dropped in a mailbox, and Tiffany's would return them to the owner. A total of 2,650 75th anniversary Ninety-Eight Regency cars were built, all of them four-door hardtops. In 1973 the non-anniversary Regency stayed in the line up slotted just above the LS. The Regency package would remain available on the Ninety Eight through the 1996 model year when it would become a separate model nameplate.
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Barényi's patent count documented at the European Patent Office is 1,244 worldwideWorldwide Patents of Béla Barényi with 595 of those filed in Germany,German Patents of Béla Barényi the primary filing country of his primary employer. Barényi developed the concept of the crumple zone that he first came up with in 1937, the non-deformable passenger cell, collapsible steering column, safer detachable hardtops etc. and other Mercedes-Benz innovations, many features which were subsequently broadly adopted in automobiles.
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E93 with roof raised The E93 convertible was BMW's first model to use a retractable hardtop (folding metal roof), instead of the cloth roof as previously used. The E93 was one of first retractable hardtops in its price range. The "Comfort Access" option allows the roof to be raised and lowered using the key fob. The E93's side windows are 30 percent larger than its E46 convertible predecessor, resulting in a 38 percent increase in visibility.
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The previously nameless base models were dropped, as the sedan- only DPL trim line was relegated to base model status, and a new top-line Brougham trim line was added above mid-line SST models. Both the SST and Brougham versions came as two-door hardtops as well as four-door sedans and station wagons. The DPL came with AMC's new Inline-6 with seven main bearings. All the SSTs and Broughams featured the V8 engine with as standard.
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The federal/Canadian version took leaded fuel and depended on an EGR system for pollution control, while the California cars have a catalytic converter and require unleaded gasoline. Gross horsepower ratings are 110 and 107 respectively. Mysteriously, while wagons usually have a smaller gas tank of rather than , the California-market 710 wagon has the same size gas tank as the sedans and hardtops. Introduced for the 1974 model year, the 710 only saw very light modifications for 1975.
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About 629 of these cars were built for public consumption of which 130 were convertibles, 220 with sunroofs and the remaining 279 being hardtops. Almost all of these Pace Car replicas had the less powerful L-75 455 engine and 3.23 axle. A W-30 (L-77) could be ordered but only with 1972 specs netting 300HP with only 8.5 compression. All were painted Cameo white and carried unique 3M Firefrost Gold reflective fade out(pin dotted) laser stripes.
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1956 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer Dodge used the Lancer name from 1955 to 1959 to designate the two- and four-door hardtop (no B-pillar) models in the full- sized Coronet, Royal, and Custom Royal lines. The Custom Royal Lancer was a hardtop only and top-of-the-line model for Dodge in 1959. There were 6,278 two-door and 5,019 four-door hardtops made in 1959. A total of 11,397 Custom Royal Lancers were made.
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The Eldorado and the Cadillac Seville shared Front wheel drive platforms. The cars were not true hardtops, as the rear quarter windows were fixed. 1981 was the first year full electronic "digital" instrumentation was an available option on the Eldorado and Seville. In addition to the digital electronic climate control that was standard on all Cadillacs, the standard analog speedometer and fuel gauges could be replaced with digital displays with features displaying gallons of remaining fuel and approximate range.
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The Y31 was built from late 1987 through 1991 available in either Sedan or Hardtop guises. The sporty Gran Turismo SV version (discontinued in 1991) had short bumpers with a body kit, and was powered by the 2.0 liter VG20DET engine. The sedan version of the Y31 was facelifted at the launch of the Y32, which replaced the four-door hardtops. The Cedric is mechanically related to the Crew, although the Crew is slightly more compact in size.
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It is manufactured in India by Maruti Suzuki. It was introduced in the Indian market in December 1985 with the 970 cc F10A Suzuki engine and while sales were never very high it became very popular with law enforcement. It was codenamed MG410, which stood for "Maruti Gypsy 4-cylinder 1.0-litre engine". Initially, it was only available as a soft-top; but a bolt on hardtop was later introduced to the public after the aftermarket hardtops became popular.
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The 1967 Rogue models were available in new two-tone paint schemes for the roof, trunk lid and hood that included border trim along the upper body line. The two-door hardtops were also available with a black or white vinyl roof cover. Taillight lenses were more sculptured into the rear panel. The 1967 model year also saw the addition of the new safety standards for passenger cars mandated by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
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For 1977, the "Silent Shaft" version of the smaller engine became available, and was fitted as standard equipment in GT and Carousels. The introduction of the new Dodge Colt "Mileage Maker" meant there was a mix of second and third generation models in 1977. Second generation 2-door hardtops and wagons continued alongside 2- and 4-door "Mileage Makers". The wagon was also available with an "Estate" package, including wood grain applique and adjustable reclining seats.
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An automatic transmission, power steering, white sidewall tires, and a vinyl top (on the hardtops) were extra-cost options, but most were built with them. Additionally, air conditioning, power windows, Cruise-Master speed control, power seats, an automatic headlight dimmer (1965 only) and stereo radios were available. The standard transmission was a Synchro-Mesh three-speed manual, mounted on the steering column. This transmission remained standard until the spring of 1971, when the Turbo Hydra-Matic automatic became standard.
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As red rear turn signals were prohibited in Australia, Matador sedans had amber lenses mounted over or behind the reversing lens of the tail light assembly and the turn signals rewired to the reverse lights, while Matador station wagons had their rear turn signals rewired into amber trailer lights that were retrofitted into the tailgate. As with its Rebel predecessor, the Matador hardtops were not marketed in Australia. AMI's two-door offering was the AMC Javelin.
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From 1956, Watsonian started to manufacture sidecar bodies in glass-reinforced plastic (GRP). As well as civilian models, they also manufactured sidecars for the RAC to use for roadside rescue. Modern Triumph motorcycle with Watsonian sidecar In the 1970s, Watsonian used their expertise in GRP to diversify into production of hardtops for Land Rover and for sports cars. When the Land Rover contract ended in 1981, Watsonian was forced to scale back production and make several staff redundant.
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Similar to the sport fours, the pure stocks are, as the name implies, pure stock cars. The pure stocks run stock V8 American rear wheel drive cars, with the only modifications allowed for safety. Allowed cars are American cars made from 1970 through 1992, hardtops only, and cars that have t-tops must be sealed off and braced. No weight is allowed to be added to any car, except for weight added for conversion to a race car through safety devices.
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With subsequent price increases, features were discontinued: the tunable exhaust was phased out after 1994 model year, the ECS after 1995 model year, and the active aerodynamics disappeared after 1996. This was also when Chrysler ceased sales of the Dodge Stealth captive import, and for the remainder of its life only Mitsubishi-badged versions were available. Chrysler and Mitsubishi worked with ASC to engineer and convert 3000GTs into retractable hardtops, marketed as the Spyder VR4 for 1995 and 1996 model years.
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Mach 1 decals were also revised in 1972 for 1973 models, and the previous hockey stick side stripes of 1971–1972 models became an option on hardtops and convertibles with the addition of the 'Exterior Decor Group'. Magnum 500 wheels, previously optional, were superseded by forged aluminum 5-hole wheels. The 1973 model year Mustang was the final version of the original pony car, as the model name migrated to the economy, Ford Pinto-based Mustang II the next year.
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Production was planned to be limited to 400 sedans and 400 hardtops, although actual production did not reach 400 units of either. 371 examples of the DE were built at Chrysler Australia's Port Melbourne facility in 1969 and a further 385 in 1970.Gavin Farmer, Production from Port Melbourne, Great Ideas in Motion, 2010, page 417 For the first time, DE models featured hidden, parallel-action windshield wipers. The body was completely new and featured the Plymouth Fury "Fuselage" curved sides.
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It is interesting that PMC also did a 1958 Chevrolet in two-door style, reinforcing the trend that by about 1960 most promotional makers only modeled sportier and more powerful 2-door coupes and hardtops. However, a molded red four door did became a Fire Chief car. This was in line with the newer era of a stronger economy, more affluent clientele and the onset of the new baby-boomer driver's market. America's first sports car, the 1954 Corvette, was made by PMC.
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It also featured a design that was praised by owners along with complains about its low roofline. The design of the Matador coupe has been described as "polarizing" as well as being "an evocative, swoopy coupe that perfectly captured the design ethos of the era." Factory-backed first-generation hardtops and second-generation coupes competed in NASCAR stock car racing from 1972 to 1975. Drivers included Mark Donohue and Bobby Allison winning several races including the 1975 Southern 500 at Darlington.
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However, Packard's V8 engine was available only during the first half of 1956. At mid-model year Hornet Special was introduced featuring a lower price and AMC's new V8 engine. The Hornet Special models were built on a shorter and slightly lighter Statesman/Wasp four-door sedan and two-door hardtop platform with Hornet trim. The 1956 design failed to excite buyers and Hudson Hornet sales decreased to 8,152 units, of which 6,512 were four-door sedans and 1,640 Hollywood two-door hardtops.
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All 1970 Darts got the federally mandated steering column and ignition lock. The "Swinger" name was applied to all the Dart two-door hardtops except in the high-line Custom series. Other changes were made to the Dart line to avoid internal competition with Dodge's new Challenger: the Dart convertible was discontinued along with the optional V8, leaving the 340 4-barrel V8 as the top Dart engine. The performance model in the Dart line for 1970 was the Swinger 340 2-door hardtop.
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For 1961, and 1961 only, the Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight was renamed Classic 98; nevertheless, most factory literature refers to the line as the Ninety-Eight. A fifth body style was added to the four offered since 1955: a 4-door 6-window hardtop, previously exclusive to Cadillac and the Buick Electra. The "Holiday Sedan" name was transferred to it, and the 4-door 4-window hardtop body style was instead called the "Sport Sedan". This was the first time not all Oldsmobile hardtops were called Holidays.
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The beltline tapered back to the same rear fascia as on the two-door hardtops. This rear fascia contained a new ribbed taillight lens that stretched wall-to-wall and included twin square white reverse light lenses in its center. Station wagons received no change to their rooflines, doors, and rear fascias. However, all Ambassadors received a new extruded aluminum grille at the front, featuring several widely spaced bright horizontal bars with one wide, body colored horizontal grille bar extending to each headlight cluster.
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Other full-size model names included the "Holiday" used on hardtops, and "Fiesta" used on its station wagons. When the 88 was retired in 1999 (with a Fiftieth Anniversary Edition), its length of service was the longest model name used on American cars after the Chrysler New Yorker. Mid-1955 also saw the introduction of the four-door Holiday pillarless hardtop, the industry's first (along with Buick). General Motors' styling as a whole lost its frontrunner status in 1957 when Chrysler introduced Virgil Exner's "forward look" designs.
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1966 saw a complete restyle of the Chevelle on the previous frame that included smooth contours, a broad new grille and bumper treatment, and curved side windows. Bulging rear fender lines and a "flying buttress" roofline (tunneled into the "C" pillar) were highlights of the '66 hardtops, shared with other GM "A" body models. The new body reflected the "Coke bottle" body shape that became the fad for American cars in the mid-1960s. A 4-door hardtop-styled Sport Sedan joined the Malibu series.
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Furthermore, there was no change in market orientation, still rooted firmly in the medium price field. Indeed, in 1948, the final year for President George Christopher, senior Packard production dwindled from 20 percent to 11 percent of total production, trailing Cadillac by tens of thousands. Packard, as a later president, James Nance, stated, "handed the luxury car market to Cadillac on a silver platter." Professional designers have contemplated continuations of the Clipper into 1948–49, with a broader range of body styles including hardtops and convertibles.
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The only problems with fuel occurred when G.C. Spencer ran out of gas on lap 463. Bill Scott and Dominic Persicketti were the typical example of maverick stock car drivers who drove during the days when it was affordable for the daring to go without a sponsor. All the inside starters were hardtops while all the outside starters were convertibles. Benny Rakestraw would make his grand exit from top-level NASCAR racing after this event while Chuck Tombs and Layman Utsman would make their introductions here.
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The twin turbochargers, intercoolers, and requisite plumbing left for a cramped engine bay; however, everything fit perfectly. Like previous generations Nissan offered a 2+2 model with the Z32. In 1993, a convertible version was introduced for the first time in the Z-car's history, as a response to aftermarket conversions. All 300ZXs now featured T-tops as standard, yet there were some rare hardtops (known as "slicktops") produced as well. The 300ZX was doomed to the same fate of many Japanese sports cars of the time.
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The original Grand Am was introduced in the fall of 1972 as a 1973 model. It was based on the GM A platform (A-body) along with other cars such as the Chevrolet Chevelle, Pontiac LeMans, Pontiac GTO, Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, and the Buick Century. The GM A-body platform had major design revisions in 1973 that included the elimination of pillarless hardtops due to proposed Federal rollover standards, but with frameless windows similar to that of a hardtop. No convertibles were produced due to the rollover standards (that never were enacted).
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In 1957, Mercury introduced the Mercury Turnpike Cruiser, featuring a roofline with a retractable rear window. From 1958 to 1960, the feature made its return on the Continental Mark-series line, with a reverse-slant rear window (on both hardtops and convertibles). For 1963, Mercury reintroduced the feature as an option for the Monterey; to streamline production, elements of the window design were shared with Ford station wagons. From 1963 to 1966, the optional reverse-slant roofline with retracting rear window was unique to Mercury, featured by no other American brand.
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The Mercury Monterey is a series of full-size cars that were manufactured and marketed by the Mercury division of Ford from 1952 to 1974. Deriving its name from Monterey Bay, the Mercury Monterey served as the replacement for the Mercury Eight, the debut model line of the Mercury division. During its production, the Monterey would be offered in multiple body styles, ranging from coupes, sedans, hardtops, and station wagons. Over its 22 years of production, the Monterey served as the flagship, mid-range, and entry-level offering of the full-size Mercury product range.
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Dean later pulls it out of storage to confront Dick and has the demon Meg crash it into Sucrocorp to create a distraction. Starting in season 8, Sam and Dean are once again using the Impala as their car. The Impala was stolen by the angel Gadreel while possessing Sam, once again forcing Dean to use a stolen car, but it was quickly recovered and proved instrumental in tracking down the rogue angel. All of the cars used in the show are stock 1967 Chevrolet Impala four door hardtops.
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The Holiday Coupe was renamed the Holiday Sport Coupe, and the Sport Sedan was renamed the Holiday Sport Sedan, so once again, at least temporarily, all hardtops were called Holidays. Ninety-Eights were well appointed with standard equipment including padded dash, guard beam frame, live rubber body cushions, coil springs, foam rubber seats, two-speed windshield wipers, parking brake lights, courtesy lamp package, special moldings, Roto Hydramatic, power brakes, power steering, power windows and power seat. Interiors were leather, vinyl or cloth. Standard tire size was 8.50 x 14 inches.
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The convention of naming all hardtops Holidays would not again return until 1965. Standard equipment included die-cast grille, deep pile carpeting, 21-gallon fuel tank, full-flow oil filter, foam seat cushions, foot-operated parking brake, two-speed windshield wipers, special molding package, Deluxe steering wheel, map light, heavy duty air cleaner, courtesy lights, Roto Hydramatic, power brakes, power steering, special rocker panel moldings, self-regulating electric clock, dual rear seat cigarette lighters and special headliner. Interiors were leather, vinyl or cloth. Standard tire size was 8.50 x 14 inches.
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A revised version of the 1959-60 "bubbletop" roof was used on two-door hardtops. Wrap- around windshields were dropped in favor of flatter glasswork for improved entry and exit to the front seat. The new body is somewhat smaller and lighter than the 1960 model with the wheelbase down three inches (76 mm) to 119, overall length reduced by the same to and width dropping nearly two inches to 78.2 from 1960. The front and rear track of the 1961-62 Pontiac was reduced to front and rear.
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They were fitted with the 328 cc Excelsior Talisman engine like the older SE328, and the four speed and reverse type VR gearbox, and were available as both soft and hardtops. The chassis plate, mounted on the bulkhead above the brake master cylinder, was the printed SE328 type but with 'T60' stamped in the chassis number block along with the chassis number. Chassis numbers run from 1 to approximately 1800. The first 600 cars (approximately) had a bench seat with an umbrella-type pull handbrake and aluminium reinforcement sections in the punt body section.
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In 1965, Harry Ferguson Research purchased three Mustang hardtops and converted them to 4x4 in an attempt to sell potential clients on their FF AWD system. A similar system was used in the Ferguson P99 Formula One race car, and would go on to be featured in the Jensen FF that is considered the first AWD non all-terrain passenger car. As in the Jensen FF, the AWD Mustangs also featured anti-lock braking that would later be known as ABS. The Dunlop Maxaret system was modified from its original use on airplanes.
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DeSoto offered fuel injection (produced by Bendix Corporation), the units proved troublesome and were an expensive option so very few Adventurers were sold with them. Those not equipped with the unit received the dual-quad carburetors. The shortened model year, combined with the effects of the 1958 recession dropped Adventurer production down to 432 units, 350 hardtops and 82 convertibles, a 78 percent drop in sales compared to 1957. However DeSoto itself was in the midst of a sales free-fall, and all series production was off brand-wide.
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In Japan, taxi and commercial versions were also available with an LPG-powered four-cylinder engine (the 3Y). A petrol-fueled version of this engine was available in some European and "general" export markets. The lower- grade models were available with Toyota's F292 live axle rear suspension while the rest introduced 4-wheel independent suspension branded as PEGASUS (Precision Engineered Geometrically Advanced Suspension) on the Crown for the first time, with TEMS installed on the Royal Saloon sedan and hardtops, coupled with Toyota's ECT electronically controlled four-speed automatic transmission, and 4ESC anti-lock brakes.
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BIS type belts have been used by automakers in convertibles and pillarless hardtops, where there is no "B" pillar to affix the upper mount of the belt. Chrysler and Cadillac are well known for using this design. Antique auto enthusiasts sometimes replace original seats in their cars with BIS-equipped front seats, providing a measure of safety not available when these cars were new. However, modern BIS systems typically use electronics that must be installed and connected with the seats and the vehicle's electrical system in order to function properly.
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The Australian-built Ambassadors included a significant percentage of "local content" to gain import tariff (tax) concessions by using parts and components (such as interiors and upholstery) that were sourced from Australian manufacturers. AMI's first year of production resulted in 65 registrations for 1961. Registrations of the 1963 model continued into 1964 for a total of 21 Ambassadors registered for 1964. Although not documented by AMI records, it is concluded that 20 right-hand drive 1970 Ambassadors were fully imported from Kenosha, apparently 16 two-door hardtops and 4 four-door sedans.
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Studebaker Silver Hawk The Studebaker Silver Hawk is an automobile produced in 1957, 1958 and 1959 by the Studebaker Corporation of South Bend, Indiana. Studebaker introduced the "Hawk" line in 1956, with four models based on the wheelbase and body of the '53 coupes and hardtops designed by Robert Bourke, as head of the design team Studebaker contracted from Raymond Loewy Associates. In 1956 the Golden Hawk, Sky Hawk and Power Hawk came with 352 cid, 289 cid and 259 cid v-8s respectively. While the Flight Hawk ran the Champion 185 cid engine.
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On March 8, 1936, a collection of drivers gathered at Daytona Beach, Florida. The drivers brought coupes, hardtops, convertibles, and sports cars to compete in an event to determine the fastest cars, and best drivers. Throughout the race, the heavier cars got bogged down in the sand, while the lightweight Fords navigated the ruts of the course, eventually claiming the top 6 finishes for the race. Of the 27 cars that started the event, only 10 managed to survive the ordeal, as officials halted the event short of the scheduled distance.
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A substantial component of the weight reduction was in the drivetrain, where a small-block V8 replaced the heavier big-block V8s of previous years and proved to be an outstanding performer. The standard engine outside California was the Windsor V8, while the larger 351M and and T-tops were available as options along with the 351W. In California, the 351 was the standard engine, and the 400 was optionally available. For the first time, a wide fixed "B" pillar was used, reflecting Detroit's abandonment of pillarless hardtops in the mid- and late-1970s.
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LeSabres were rear-drive six-passenger vehicles from 1959 to 1985 (station wagons through 1990) featuring separate body-on-frame construction along with a longitudinally mounted front engine. The first downsized generation of LeSabres introduced in 1977 retained the rear-drive and body-on- frame construction, while the later-generation models introduced in 1986 switched to front-wheel-drive, unit-body construction and transversely mounted engine. Convertibles were offered each year through 1975 while two- and four- door hardtops were dropped after 1976 and only pillared body styles were offered from 1977 to 2005.
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Occasionally, as shown in the episode titled "Wally's Dinner Date", they play on their own. In other episodes, Ward manages the grill on the patio for dining al fresco with guests. Among the cars Ward drives are a 1957 Ford Fairlane in the first season, and 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, and 1963 Plymouth Furys in subsequent seasons, all of them four-door hardtops. Although a 1962 model is used in the opening credits through the last season, a 1963 model can be seen in the driveway on at least one episode.
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The Hornet proved to be nearly invincible in stock-car racing. "[D]espite its racing successes...sales began to languish." Hudson's competitors, using separate body-on-frame designs, could change the look of their models on a yearly basis without expensive chassis alterations" whereas the Hornet's "modern, sophisticated unibody design was expensive to update," so it "was essentially locked in" and "suffered against the planned obsolescence of the Big Three [General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler] automakers. A total of 35,921 Hornets were produced for 1952, with approximately 2,160 hardtops and 360 convertibles.
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1958 Pontiac Parisienne Sport Coupe The Parisienne entered the production lineup as a sub- series within the Laurentian line in the 1958 model year. Parisienne became a separate model in 1959. For most of its life, the Parisienne was the Canadian nameplate for the top-of-the-line model sold in GM of Canada's Pontiac showrooms. Parisiennes were distinct from other Canadian Pontiac models by their standard features: the luxuriousness of upholstery fabrics; standard equipment such as courtesy interior and trunk lights; bright trim mouldings in the interior; distinct exterior accent chrome pieces; and availability of two- and four-door hardtops and convertibles.
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The 2003 Miata Club Sport (MCS) was a special edition MX-5 NB limited to 50 units (25 soft-tops and 25 hardtops with no soft-tops) at the behest of the SCCA. The MCS was stripped of all interior features such as power windows and air conditioning, with the intent to run on SCCA Solo or SCCA Road Racing events. Also in 2003, a division of Mazda in Japan released the Roadster Coupé, with a fixed hardtop roof. The body structure was reworked to incorporate the roof and gave a substantial increase in chassis rigidity with a weight increase of .
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In fact, front and rear shoulder room increased from to on 4-door hardtops. To reduce development and tooling costs, and bring overall expenditures more in line with actual sales, Imperial began to share some of its bodyshell with Chrysler for the first time since 1956. Consequently, glass, and roofs were common with the entry-level Chrysler Newport. In other respects, however, little had changed; construction was still unibody, the wheelbase was still stretched longer than a Chrysler's in front of the passenger section, the engine and transmission were the same, and the torsion bar front suspension was still used.
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All Electra 225s were hardtops in the 1971 to 1973 model years, eliminating the previous four-door pillared sedan variant and the convertible. In 1974 Buick adopted GM's pillared coupe body and fitted it with the "Landau" option on the Electra Limited coupe. Optional driver and passenger airbags were also available from 1974 to 1976, but they were unpopular due to their cost. In the first year for new GM C-body shared with Oldsmobile 98 and Cadillac, the 1971 Electra 225 rode on a new body chassis which retained the wheelbase with styling evolutionary from previous models.
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The Chevrolet Bel Air was a full-size car produced by Chevrolet for the 1950–1975 model years. Initially, only the two-door hardtops in the Chevrolet model range were designated with the Bel Air name from 1950 to 1952. With the 1953 model year, the Bel Air name was changed from a designation for a unique body shape to a premium level of trim applied across a number of body styles. The Bel Air continued with various other trim level designations, and it went from a mid-level trim car to a budget fleet sedan when U.S. production ceased in 1975.
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1959 DeSoto Adventurer Restyled for 1959, the DeSoto's look began to take on more traits of the up-market Chrysler. The new model year was introduced in October 1958. The Adventurer again was limited in its color schemes, and came with the most standard features of any DeSoto automobile (though the radio became an option). The car was powered by the wedge head 383 V8, tuned to at 5,000 R.P.M. 687 units, 590 hardtops and 97 convertibles, were produced for 1959, up from 1958, but not significantly enough to help stem the forty percent drop to DeSoto's divisional sales.
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Today, the Bel Air series of Chevrolets from 1953 to 1957 are far and away the most desirable models for collectors. However, Two-Ten models do have appeal, especially the 1953 convertible (very rare), the Del Ray Club Coupe with its upgraded vinyl interior, and the Sport Coupe hardtops of 1953 and 1955-57. Other models are less valuable, but again, can be purchased for less money than Bel Airs, for Chevy collectors on a budget. Unlike the One-Fifty series, Two-Tens do sport a fair amount of chrome trim and de luxe interior appointments, making them attractive and comfortable.
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The 1977 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 winning Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtop of Allan Moffat and Jacky Ickx on display at the National Motor Racing Museum The GS 500 Hardtop formed the basis for the Ford Falcon Cobra and a customer racing program, with a special "Evolution" (and later Evo II) package to homologate parts. At the 1977 Hardie-Ferodo 1000, Allan Moffat and Colin Bond drove Group C specification Hardtops to a "1, 2" formation finish. Moffat later went on to win the 1977 Australian Touring Car Championship driving both an XB Falcon GT Hardtop and XC Falcon GS 500 Hardtop.
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Facel Vega HK500 1961 The Vega production cars (FV, later and more famously the HK500) appeared in 1954 using Chrysler V8 engines, at first a DeSoto Hemi engine; the overall engineering was straightforward, with a tubular chassis, double wishbone suspension at the front and a live axle at the back, as in standard American practice. They were also as heavy as American cars, at about . Performance was brisk, with a top speed of around and 0 to in just under 10 seconds. Most cars were two-door hardtops with no centre pillar, but a few convertibles were built.
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Customers wanting something fancier could opt for the LeMans trim package upgrade, which featured front bucket seats. Tempest LeMans models were available with either the coupe or the convertible; there was no LeMans sedan or station wagon. And although Oldsmobile and Buick offered pillarless hardtops on the Cutlass and Skylark respectively, Pontiac did not offer a pillarless hardtop LeMans model. In 1963, the LeMans became a separate series; its sales were nearly 50 percent of combined Tempest and Le Mans production. 1963 models, referred to as senior compacts, were slightly larger and heavier than the 1961 and 1962 models had been.
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Refer to the GM Heritage Center 1963 Chevrolet Nova information available on the GM Heritage site. In addition, that documentation does not list a V8 engine as a possible dealer installed option. In 1962 and 1963 the Nova option for the Chevy II was available in a convertible body style, and a two-door hardtop was available from 1962 to 1965, although the hardtop was dropped when the 1964 models were first introduced, but subsequently brought back to the line later in the model year. Like all Chevy two-door hardtops, the body style was marketed as the Sport Coupe.
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1968 Mercury Marquis For 1967, Mercury introduced two hardtop model lines above the Park Lane to serve as the counterpart of the Ford LTD. The (Park Lane) Brougham was a four-door, with the Marquis offered solely as a two-door. While all full-size Mercury two-doors were hardtops, the Marquis was fitted with a standard vinyl roof (giving it a wider C-pillar). While sharing a roofline with the Ford LTD, the Marquis differed from its Ford counterpart from the use of higher- specification interior trim (wood trim in place of simulated wood, optional leather unavailable on the LTD).
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Although the different terms may have once had specific meanings for certain car manufacturers or countries, the terms are often used interchangeably. Some coupé de villes have the passengers separated from the driver in a fully enclosed compartment, while others have a canopy for the passengers and no partition between the driver and the passengers (therefore passengers enter the compartment via driver's area). ;Hardtop: Any car with a rigid roof. However, the term is usually used for pillarless hardtops, which are cars without a B-pillar that are often styled to give the appearance of a convertible.
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This model was inspired by VAM's successful 1965 racing season using Rambler American sedans and hardtops, as well as a growing domestic market demand for muscle and performance cars in general. The package consisted of a two-barrel I6 engine, power drum brakes, fender-mounted "232 SIX" rectangular emblems and individual reclining front seats with center folding armrest. Transmission was still the three-speed manual with column-mounted shifter with a floor-mounted gearshift as a dealership option. Other dealership options included front disk brakes, front sway bar, stiffer shock absorbers, and a Hurst-linked four-speed manual transmission.
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Ford wagons were offered from 1955 through 1959. The '55 was offered as a 'Red Cross Ambulance' (Timm 2010, PMC Literature, page 7). Normally the promo versions were painted and had green tinted windows while retail versions lacked the paint and went windowless (Doty 2011, 87). PMC's last promotionals were 1959 Fords in a slightly larger scale about 1:20; the Ranchero and Country Sedan wagon (AMT had the two-door hardtops and convertibles). PMC's late 1950s Ford Motor Company offerings were not limited to the Ford brand – the company also produced the 1959 Mercury Park Lane convertible in promotional and retail form.
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1953 Arnolt-Aston Martin DB2/4 Spyder (LML50/502) An attempt to build a Bertone-bodied Aston Martin DB2/4 roadster and sell it as an Arnolt-Aston was stopped by Aston Martin after three cars were built. There were three Arnolt-Astons designed by Bertone's fresh new designer - Franco Scaglione (chassis numbers LML50/502, LML 50/505 and LML 50/507). All looked very much like Scaglione's subsequent Arnolt-Bristol, having sharply creased fender lines, and were open cars without hardtops. There were four additional Bertone Astons that were commissioned at Arnolt's request and went through Arnolt's hands.
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All full size Mercury hardtop coupes got the same "slantback" roofline as in the big Ford, which was basically a more sharply- angled version of the 1964 Marauder roofline. Four-door hardtops got a new formal "limousine" styled notchback roofline that was shared with Ford's Galaxie hardtop sedans. Mercury continued to advertise the big-block FE-series V8s as "Marauder" engines. For the 1966 model year, as Mercury shifted away from full-size performance vehicles, the Marauder was replaced by a repackaged S-55; the move also consolidated the options of three model lines into a distinct nameplate.
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The Edsel Citation is an automobile that was produced by the Edsel division of Ford for the 1958 model year. The flagship Edsel model line, the Citation was offered as a two-door convertible; all Citation sedans were produced as hardtops. Slotted above the Corsair, the exterior of the Citation was distinguished by additional stainless steel trim and a gold-anodized aluminum cove panel (emulating the Mercury Turnpike Cruiser). In total, 9,299 Citations were produced by Edsel; 930 convertibles were produced, making it the second- rarest 1958 Edsel (following the nine-passenger Edsel Bermuda station wagon; 779 produced).
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The Packard Pacific is an automobile manufactured by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan for the 1954 model year. It replaced the Mayfair and was sold exclusively as a two-door hardtop. In the early 1950s, Packard used a numeric naming scheme that designated Packard's least expensive models as the Packard 200 and 200 Deluxe, while two-door hardtops and convertibles were designated Packard 250 and its mid-range sedan the Packard 300. For model years 1951 through 1953, the 250 hardtop was named the Mayfair; for model year 1954 only, the hardtop was given the model name Pacific.
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For 1972, the second-generation Montego was introduced alongside the redesigned Ford Torino.Flory, J. "Kelly", Jr. American Cars 1960-1972 (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Coy, 2004), p.911. In a major design shift, the intermediate Ford/Mercury model lines shifted from unibody to body-on-frame construction; similarly to the General Motors A-platform, the Montego adopted a split-wheelbase chassis (114-inch for two- doors, 118-inch for four-doors and station wagons). True four-door hardtops were replaced by "pillared hardtops" (frameless door glass remained, supported by a thin B-pillar), while two-door Montegos retained hardtop roofs, though with much wider C-pillars. The Cyclone had reverted from a stand-alone model line to an option package for 1972 for the Montego; only 30 1972 Cyclones would be produced, making it among the rarest Mercury vehicles. As a replacement for the Cyclone, Mercury introduced the Montego GT, a counterpart of the Ford Gran Torino SportsRoof for the first time; the Montego GT was offered from 1972 to 1973. As a standard engine, the Montego was equipped with a 250 cubic-inch inline-six, with five different V8 engines available as options. Starting in 1974, the Mercury Montego was available with a 460 V8, shared with the Mercury Marquis/Colony Park. The redesign was initially met with success, as 1972 Montego sales increased 136% over 1971;Flory, p.914.
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During the entire 1979 model year, there were no Fury offerings from Plymouth at all. Only minor styling changes occurred from the 1975 to the 1978 model years, most notably, during the 1977 model year when quad stacked square headlights (see photo) replaced the previous round dual beam headlights, the front turn signals, previously on the outboard edges of the grille, were moved over to the cutouts in the front bumper. Tail lights received amber turn signal lenses in place of the previous red turn signal lenses. Various 2-door models had no centerposts and some of them were true hardtops with roll-down rear windows.
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Cadillac four-door hardtop Sunbeam two- door hardtop Hardtop sedans were a popular body style in the United States from the 1950s to the 1970s. Hardtops are manufactured without a B-pillar leaving uninterrupted open space or, when closed, glass along the side of the car. The top was intended to look like a convertible's top but it was fixed and made of hard material that did not fold. All manufacturers in the United States from the early 1950s into the 1970s provided at least a 2-door hardtop model in their range and, if their engineers could manage it, a 4-door hardtop as well.
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The 1955 show dates were New York (January 20–25), Miami (February 5–13), Los Angeles (March 5–13), San Francisco (March 26 to April 3), Boston (April 23 to May 1). Exhibited at these venues were the Buick Wildcat III, Chevrolet Biscayne, Pontiac Strato Star, Oldsmobile 88 Delta, LaSalle II roadster and sedan, and Cadillac Eldorado Brougham. Oldsmobile and Buick pillarless four-door hardtops were first shown at this show. In 1956 over 2.2 million visitors attended. The dates were New York City (January 19–24), Miami (February 4–12), Los Angeles (March 3–11), San Francisco (March 24 to April 1), Boston (April 19–29).
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The third generation was introduced September 1964, one month before the 1964 Summer Olympics. It was available in sedan, two-door hardtop, three-door van, five-door station wagon (also as a van), two coupé utility variants and a five-door hatchback. Italian designer Battista Farina assisted in the styling of the new Corona. The 40–43 series were reserved for sedans, while commercial vehicles (and wagons) were in the 46 and 47 series. Hardtops received 50–55 series model codes, while 56 was reserved for the five-door hatchback. The 1965 model marked a return of Toyota to the American market after withdrawing there temporarily in 1961.
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The Riviera also featured frameless glass in the front doors, giving hardtops an even sleeker look. An encounter with a shark, while skin diving in the Bahamas, inspired Mitchell's Corvette Shark show car, his Stingray racer and the production 1963 Corvette Stingray, largely designed by Larry Shinoda, under Mitchell's direction. The 1963 Corvette Sting Ray Coupe featured what is sometimes referred to as "Coke bottle" styling. Mitchell's fondness for split rear windows as featured on the 1957 Buick and on the 1963 Corvette Stingray coupe was not shared by some of his fellow stylists or the buying public and both cars dropped the feature after public resistance.
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The Luxury Sedan was no longer a hardtop but featured a more luxurious interior along with more standard amenities than the Town Sedan such as power seats. Most Ninety-Eight Luxury Sedans also had vinyl roofs, which were offered only in black that year. For the first time since 1962 all hardtops were once again called Holidays. Standard equipment included automatic transmission, power steering and brakes, power windows, clock, padded dash, foam padded seats, parking brake light, Deluxe steering wheel, special wheel covers, windshield washer and two-speed electric wipers, courtesy and glovebox lamps, and front seat belts. Standard tire size was 8.55 x 14 inches.
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GMC S-15 Jimmy 2-door Chevrolet introduced the S-10 Blazer in 1982 along with its rebadged variant, the GMC S-15 Jimmy, and S-10 pickup truck, the latter replacing the Isuzu-based Chevrolet LUV. The Blazer and Jimmy appeared as 1983 models. The S-series Blazer and Jimmy did not feature removable hardtops like their full-size counterparts and were only offered in a two-door bodystyle. Base power was provided by GM's 2.0 L OHV four-cylinder engine, producing . A 2.8 L, V6 was offered as an option (coincidentally this engine was also used in Jeep's competing Cherokee until 1987).
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While both trims shared the same powertrain offerings, the XR-7 received its own exterior and interior design, distinguished by a vinyl top (on hardtops); along with standardizing many options, the XR-7 received its own door panels and dashboard. For 1973, Lincoln-Mercury marketed a "Bronze Age" special edition promotion of the Cougar (alongside the Monterey, Montego MX, and Comet)."Cougar A Source Book, edited and annotated by Thomas E Bonsall, 1967 Thru 1976" page 118. A standard Cougar equipped with the Decor Group, the "Bronze Age" Cougar was distinguished by its copper metallic (officially, saddle bronze) appearance and a color-coordinated vinyl roof.
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Mitsuoka Galue - 2nd generation The Galue-II was based on the Nissan Cedric Y34 and Gloria Y34 hardtops. (The Cedric and Gloria were very similar in styling and mechanicals.) Once again the front and rear styling was modified, and the interior fittings upgraded. The Galue-II's styling was more extrovert than that of the Galue-I, including spoked alloy wheels instead of the disc wheels or wire wheels found on the Galue-I; this may well have been necessary to harmonise with the styling of the Cedric hardtop. The mechanicals were taken from the Cedric; 2.5-litre and 3-litre V6 VQ-series petrol engines were offered.
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1973 Chevrolet Chevelle Coupe The most extensive redesign in its 10-year history marked the 1973 Chevelle. Due to concern over proposed Federal rollover standards, convertible and 4-door hardtop models were discontinued, while the 2-door hardtop was replaced by a pillared coupe—named "Colonnade Hardtop". This body style featured a semi-fastback roofline, frameless door glass and fixed, styled "B" pillars, structurally strong enough to contribute to occupant safety of a roll-over type accident. This move was somewhat controversial with the buying public as hardtops had been a staple of American cars for over 20 years and their presence almost taken for granted.
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However, the Rebel's front end had an entirely new concept with a "venturi" grille motif in die cast metal, while its rear end featured a simple design with inward-curved taillights. Rebels came in the base 550 and deluxe 770 models, with a high- line SST available only as a two-door hardtop. The base 550 two-door sedans featured the identical "semi-fastback" roofline as the more expensive pillar- less hardtops, but had slim B-pillars that gave them a more "sporty" coupe appearance. The convertible featured a new "split stack" folding mechanism design that allowed a full-width backseat with room for three passengers.
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Option E35 included a 4-barrel carburettor, high-performance camshaft, heavy-duty engine bearings, a dual-plate clutch, torque-limiting engine mount strut, and the ordinary Pacer-spec transmission. The VG series Pacers were also the first and last to be offered in the Hardtop body style, of which three were optioned with the E31 package and three were optioned with E35 package. No VG Pacer Hardtops were available with the E34 option. Due to Chrysler Australia's policy (local content law/government law) of using only locally produced components, and the unavailability of a local four-speed gearbox, the Pacer was offered with only a three-speed floor shift manual transmission.
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1958 Continental Mark III convertible, retractable rear window open 1963 Mercury Monterey S-55 with "Breezeway" rear window While the Turnpike Cruiser was produced only for two years, elements of its design would be adopted across several other Lincoln-Mercury vehicles. For 1958, Lincoln introduced the Continental Mark III; to distinguish it from the standard Lincoln, the Mark III was fitted with a retractable rear window on all body styles (including convertibles). While using a similar roofline as the Turnpike Cruiser, Continental used a reverse-slant rear window. For 1959, following the discontinuation of the Turnpike Cruiser, Mercury designated its hardtop roofline as a Hardtop Cruiser, with all Park Lanes (except convertibles) produced as hardtops.
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The GM B platform (also known as GM B body) was General Motors' full-size rear-wheel drive automobile platform from 1926-1996. It was closely related to the original rear-wheel drive GM C and GM D platforms, and was used for convertibles, hardtops, coupés, sedans, and station wagons. With approximately 12,960,000 units built, divided across four marques, the 1965-70 GM B platform is the fourth best selling automobile platform in history after the Volkswagen Beetle, Ford Model T and the Lada Riva. Originally, the B platform was used for Buick and Oldsmobile products, with the first GM A platform for Chevrolet and Oakland, and the above GM C and D platforms devoted to Cadillac.
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1965 Pontiac Catalina 4-Door Vista 1966 Pontiac Catalina 4-Door Sedan 1967 Pontiac Catalina 2-Door Sedan 1968 Pontiac Catalina Hardtop Coupe 1969 Pontiac Catalina wagon 1970 Pontiac Catalina Convertible The 1965 full-sized Pontiacs were completely restyled with more flowing sheetmetal featuring "Coke-bottle" profiles and fastback rooflines on two-door hardtops. Wheelbases increased to on all models. Pontiacs for the 1965 were now available with GM's new-for-1964 three- speed Turbo Hydramatic 400 transmission, often abbreviated as THM-400. This new unit replaced the older three-speed, four-range Roto-Hydramtic in the Catalina, as well as the four-speed Super-Hydramatic that was equipped in other Pontiacs.
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1972 Ford Thunderbird The interior featuring round dials and clock would remain the same till the 1979 model year Aside from the redesign itself, the 1972 Thunderbird represented a simplification of body styles. Instead of the three body styles (landau, two-door and four-door hardtops) offered for the 1971 model year, the Thunderbird was pared down to a single two-door hardtop model line. Exterior wise, many components were common with the Lincoln Continental Mark IV, with the primary differences being the front and rear body panels. The controversial prominent “beak” introduced for the 1971 model year was toned down while the sequential turn signals seen since 1965 were deleted for cost saving reasons.
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1966 Mercury S-55 Convertible For the 1966 model year, the S-55 made its return as a stand-alone model (becoming the only S model to make a return). As in 1962, the model lineup consisted solely of two-door hardtops and convertibles. Again based on the Monterey, the S-55 featured a bucket-seat interior with a floor-mounted shifter and a higher- performance powertrain. Styling accents include unique body side-striping, deluxe wheel covers and the distinctive S-55 emblem on rear quarter panel and 428 V-8 emblem on the front fender sides. In place of the 390 and 427 V8 engines, the 1966 S-55 was powered by a single engine.
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The Mercury Marauder nameplate made its debut as a trim package of each of the four Mercury full-size series, including the Monterey, Montclair, S-55 (1963 only), and Park Lane in the Spring of 1963. For the first time for a mid-year introduction, the Marauder was introduced as a "1963½" model (as was an entire line of new, "sports" models from Ford in many of the existing series). All 1963½ Marauders were two-door hardtops. In sharp contrast to the distinctive reverse-slant "Breezeway" roofline option, the Marauder hardtop coupe was styled with a sloping notchback rear roofline; matching the same roofline that was introduced at the same time on the contemporary Galaxies.
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American Motors was facing many challenges in a dynamic marketplace. The strategy to redesign the Matador for the 1974 model year was an example of the changes that Gerald C. Meyers, vice president of product development, wanted for AMC's mid-sized product range. The intermediate-sized cars were best sellers in the U.S. and the two-door hardtops or coupe versions most popular with consumers. Because styling was their greatest selling point, a decision was made to develop a new version of the Matador as a coupe, thus giving designers the freedom to style "rakishly as sheet metal could be made to look" and eliminating the limits of making sedans and station wagons with the same lines.
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The Weather Eye heating and ventilation with an optional air conditioning system were highly rated in terms of efficiency. The integrated placement of major air conditioning systems under the hood and the price of only $395 (about half the cost as on other cars) also won praise. Automotive journalist Floyd Clymer rated the Hudson Hornet as the safest car built in the United States because of (1) the single unit welded body, (2) high quality braking system with added mechanical backup system, (3) roadability, general handling, and maneuverability; as well as (4) excellent acceleration and power for emergency situations. Production for the 1955 model year totaled 10,010 four- door sedans and 3,324 Hollywood two-door hardtops.
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The Coronet reappeared for the 1965 model year as the intermediate sized B-body using a 117-inch wheelbase, continuing what had been the Dodge Polara, which was once again full-size. For 1965, Dodge sold slightly over 209,000 units, making the Coronet the most popular model sold by Dodge that year. Trim levels initially were base Coronet including a Deluxe version, Coronet 440, and Coronet 500. The base Coronet and Deluxe were available as two-door sedans, four-door sedans, and station wagons. For 1965 only, Dodge also sold 101 units of a modified wheelbase version of the base Coronet two-door sedans and 440 hardtops specifically for NHRA drag racing.
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The handcrafted "dual personality" interior is designed specifically to combine driver technology amenities and rear-seat passenger comfortability into one automobile. A wide, three-layered curved OLED screen developed with Samsung stretches across the dashboard in the driver's compartment, while accompanied by smaller, retractable displays at the back of the front seats for rear passengers. The normal metal top is replaced by a panoramic glass roof, which along with the absence of B-pillars gives the car a more "airy" feel associated with Cadillac hardtops from the 1950s to 1970s. Much of the upholstery, including the seatbacks, door panel and lower dashboard, is finished in a pale gray leather similar to those used in designer suits, contrasted by woven white wool.
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In 1971, Malibus and all other Chevelles got a new grille surrounded by single headlamps replacing the duals of previous years, and four round taillights similar to Camaros and Corvettes were located in the bumper. All engines were detuned to use lower- octane unleaded gasoline this year per GM corporate policy as a first step toward the catalytic converter-equipped cars planned for 1975 and later models which would require no-lead fuel. Only new grilles highlighted the 1972 Malibu and other Chevelles. All bodystyles were carried over from 1971, but 1972 would be the final year for hardtops and convertibles as the redesigned Chevelles originally planned for this year, but delayed until 1973, would feature Colonnade styling with side pillars and frameless door windows.
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1949 Buick Roadmaster Riviera (one of the first hardtops) 1959 Buick Electra 225 Riviera The name Riviera, Latin for coastline, was chosen to evoke the allure and affluence of the French Riviera. It first entered the Buick line in 1949, as the designation for the new two-door pillarless hardtop, described in advertising as "stunningly smart". The Buick Roadmaster Riviera coupe (along with the Cadillac Coupe de Ville and Oldsmobile 98 Holiday coupe) constituted the first mass production use of this body style, which was to become extremely popular over the next 30 years. Buick added a two-door Riviera hardtop to the Super the following year, the Special in 1951 and the Century upon its return, after a 12-year absence, in 1954.
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1971 Oldsmobile Delta 88 sedan 1972 Oldsmobile Delta 88 convertible 1972 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale convertible interior 1972 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale Holiday hardtop coupe 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale convertible 1975 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale convertible All GM B-body full-size cars were completely restyled and enlarged for 1971, but continued to ride on a wheelbase. It reached its maximum size in 1974 at an astounding in length. It was available as a pillared four-door Town Sedan, two-door and four-door Holiday hardtops and a convertible. Series models for 1971 included the base Delta 88, Delta 88 Custom and Delta 88 Royale, the latter inheriting the convertible body style previously offered on the base Delta 88.
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Both of these offerings reflected the company's strategy to shed its "economy car" image and appeal to a more youthful, performance-oriented market.Mueller, page 99. Sales of convertibles were dropping and AMC did not have the resources to design separate fastback and notchback hardtops that were available on the Mustang and on the second- generation Plymouth Barracuda, so the AMC styling team led by Dick Teague penned only one body style, "a smooth semi-fastback roofline that helped set Javelin apart from other pony cars." The Javelin was built on AMC's "junior" (compact) Rambler American platform only as a two-door hardtop model to be a "hip", dashing, affordable pony car, as well as available in muscle car performance versions.
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Launched in September 1973, the XB GT was to be the last Falcon GT for almost 20 years, until the 25th Anniversary EBII GT in October 1992. The XB GT received a new aggressive front end with a twin nostril bonnet, similar to the style found on the '71-'73 Mach 1 Mustang. The XB was the most popular GT model built by Ford with a total of 2,899 (1950 sedans and 949 hardtops) sold. In August 1975, Ford introduced the John Goss Special , a limited-edition hardtop with a unique color scheme and several GT appearance and interior features, to celebrate the fact that Goss was the only driver to win both the Australian Grand Prix and the Bathurst 1000.
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1966 hardtops featured a formal roof design – DPL model 1966 AMC Ambassador 990 convertible 1966 Ambassador 990 Cross Country wagon For 1966, minor changes greeted the Ambassador range. The V-shaped horizontal louver spanned unbroken between the headlamps and the effect was continued with twin rectangular trim pieces attached to the side of the front fenders at their leading edges by the headlamps. The effect was repeated in the new vertical wraparound taillamps with the top-line models receiving a twin set of horizontal ribbed moldings across the back of the trunk lid that simulated the look of the front grille. Hardtop coupes received a redesigned roofline that was angular in appearance with an angle cut rear side windows and rectangular rear window.
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Ambassador DPL hardtops included reclining bucket seats with a center armrest between them (with a center cushion for a third occupant or a floor console with gear selector), as well as a foldaway center armrest for the rear seat. The new safety-oriented instrument panel grouped all gauges and controls in front of the driver, with the rest of the dashboard pushed forward and away from the passengers. Focusing on safety, there were now no protruding knobs, the steering column was designed to collapse under impact, and the steering wheel was smaller than previous Ambassadors. The long-lived "GEN-1" family of AMC V8 engines was replaced by an all-new line of engines that debuted for 1966 in the Rambler American.
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Other two-door models had fixed rear windows even though they had no centerposts. For the most part, the Plymouth Fury two-door models, during the 1975 and the 1978 model years, were labeled as "hardtops". 1977 Plymouth Gran Fury Sport Suburban The Plymouth Fury, 1975-1978, shared its B-body and unibody structure with the Dodge Coronet (1975-1976), Dodge Monaco (1977-1978) and the corporation's new personal- luxury coupe models, Chrysler Cordoba (1975-1979) and Dodge Charger SE (1975-1978). All the four-door models, wagons and sedans alike, continued with the basic body shells, which date back to the start of the 1971 model year, rode on a wheelbase, while the various two-door models—which were restyled with new and more formal sheetmetal and rooflines—rode on the wheelbase.
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Malibus and all other Chevelles were completely restyled for 1968 with semi-fastback rooflines on two-door hardtops and wheelbases split to } on two-door models and 116 for four-door sedans and station wagons. Engine offerings included a new V8 rated at that replaced the V8 that had served as the base V8 since the Chevelle's introduction in 1964. Inside was a new instrument panel featuring round gauges in square pods similar to what would appear in Camaros the following year. New for 1968 was the Concours luxury option for Malibu sedans and coupes that included upgraded cloth or vinyl bench seats, carpeted lower door panels, woodgrain trim on dash and door panels, a center console and floor shifter (only with the hardtop and convertible, which was shared with the SS396) and Concours nameplates.
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After 1937 the Brougham name was not applied to any Cadillac for the remainder of the pre-World War II period. The Brougham name would eventually reappear on the 1955 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham show car which preceded the 4-door Eldorado Brougham hardtops of the 1957 to 1960 model years. The 1957 Cadillac Series 70 Eldorado Brougham joined the Sixty Special and the Series 75 as the only Cadillac models with Fleetwood bodies although Fleetwood script or crests did not appear anywhere on the exterior of the car, and so this would also mark the first time in 20 years that a Fleetwood bodied car was paired with the Brougham name. After a five-year absence, the Brougham name reappeared as an option package on the 1965 Cadillac Sixty Special.
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1972 Oldsmobile 442 Convertible By 1972, the muscle car era was unmistakably in decline due to the twin blows of rising insurance rates and soaring gas prices. The 4-4-2 name reverted to an appearance and handling option package (option code W-29) in 1972 on the Cutlass Holiday coupe, Cutlass S sport coupe and Holiday coupe, and Cutlass Supreme convertible. The W-29 option was not available on Cutlass Supreme notchback hardtops. The 4-4-2 option package, which carried a modest sticker price of $29, consisted of the "FE2" suspension upgrades (heavy duty springs & shocks, front and rear sway bars, boxed lower rear control arms, and 14- by 7-in [356- by 178-mm] wheels), side striping, fender and decklid badging, faux hood louvers, and a unique grille.
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1961 Chrysler Saratoga 1964 Chrysler Saratoga 300 In 1961, Chrysler decided to release a new low-price entry-level model called the Chrysler Newport for the American market, a name which in 1961 was commonly associated with Chrysler’s expensive hardtops in the early and mid 1950s to take the market segment left open when Chrysler's DeSoto brand was cancelled. While the Newport took the place of the Windsor in the lineup, the company cancelled the mid-range Saratoga, and elevated the Windsor name to the mid-level position. In Canada the Saratoga continued on through to 1965 with the Windsor line remaining on the bottom. Thus the Canadian 1961 Saratoga was basically the U.S. Windsor with Saratoga nameplates on the 122 inch wheelbase. For 1962 Canadians did not get the new 300, but instead got the Saratoga.
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When Cadillac started offering Fleetwood bodies on some of its cars in 1925, the Brougham body style was Fleetwood bodied every year with the exception of 1926. After 1937 the Brougham name was not applied to any Cadillac for the remainder of the pre-WW II period. The Brougham name would eventually reappear on the 1955 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham show car which preceded the 4-door Eldorado Brougham hardtops of the 1957 to 1960 model years. In 1957 the Cadillac Series 70 Eldorado Brougham joined the Sixty Special and the Series 75 as the only Cadillac models with Fleetwood bodies although Fleetwood script or crests did not appear anywhere on the exterior of the car, and so this would also mark the first time in 20 years that a Fleetwood bodied car was paired with the Brougham name.
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Out back, a new fully articulated rear suspension virtually eliminated the danger of the previous generation's swing axles, and was based on the contemporary Corvette Sting Ray (Corvair used coil springs while the Sting Ray uses a transverse leaf). AM/FM stereo radio, in-dash All Weather Air Conditioning, telescopically adjustable steering column, and a Special Purpose Chassis Equipment ("Z17") handling package, consisting of a special performance suspension and quick ratio steering box, were significant new options for 1965. The Monza and Corvair 500 Sport Sedans were the only compact cars ever available in the U.S. as pillarless four door hardtops. The station wagon, panel van, and pickup body styles had all been dropped and 1965 was the last year for the Greenbrier window van, which was retained mainly for fleet orders, with 1,528 being built.
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319 The fastback body shape was achieved primarily with an enormous rear window, or backlight, which wrapped down to the fenderline. Pittsburgh Plate Glass (PPG) collaborated with Chrysler designers in producing this rear window, the largest ever installed on a standard production car up to that time. The following year, the fenders and taillamps that had been introduced on the 1964 Barracuda were used on the whole 1965 Valiant range except for the wagon, which got different taillamps. The second-generation Barracuda, though still a wheelbase A-body sharing many components with the Valiant, was given Barracuda-specific styling and its own range of models including convertibles and fastback and notchback hardtops. A wide range of engines were available on the Barracuda throughout its production lifecycle, from a 145-hp 225 cubic-inch (3.7L) Slant Six, up through high-compression small- and big-block V8s.
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Many were amazed that AMC came up with the fast, stylish Matador, considering the automaker's size and limited resources. The Matador coupe stands out as one of the more distinctive and controversial designs of the 1970s after the AMC Pacer and was named "Best Styled Car of 1974" by the editors of Car and Driver magazine. A Popular Mechanics survey indicated "luscious looks of Matador coupe swept most owners off their feet" with a "specific like" listed by 63.7% of them for "styling". Sales of the coupe were brisk with 62,629 Matador coupes delivered for its introductory year (August 1973 thru December 1974, Long Year), up sharply from the 7,067 Matador hardtops sold in 1973. This is a respectable record that went against the drop in the overall market during 1974 and the decline in popularity of intermediate-sized coupes after the 1973 oil crisis.
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1961 Pontiac Catalina Safari 1962 Pontiac Catalina Vista 1963 Pontiac Catalina 4-Door Sedan 1964 Pontiac Catalina Safari The 1961 full-sized Pontiacs were completely restyled with more squared-off bodylines, the reintroduction of the split grille first seen in 1959 and dropped for 1960 and an all-new Torque-Box perimeter frame with side rails replacing the "X" frame chassis used since 1958. The new frame not only provides greater side-impact protection than the "X" design but also improves interior roominess. The distinctive protruding grille made its appearance on all Pontiac products during the early 1960s, and was a modern revival of a similar appearance on Pontiac products during the 1930s and early 1940s, as demonstrated on the Pontiac Torpedo. Rooflines are more squared off on four-door models with the six-window styling dropped on pillared sedans and wider C-pillars with flat rear windows on four-door hardtops.
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The Magic Doorgate was reworked so that it could swing outward without having to roll the window down. Coinciding with the addition of 5–mph bumpers, Ford and Mercury station wagons underwent a major redesign for 1973, including a completely new roofline. In place of the framed doors, the station wagons were marketed as "pillarless hardtops"; though the roof was fitted with slim B-pillars, the doors were fitted with frameless door glass. Although narrower than the 1959–1960 generation, this generation of the Colony Park would be the longest and heaviest station wagon ever sold by Mercury. Due to its nearly 5,000 lb curb weight, the standard engine was a 400 cubic-inch V8 with a 429 cubic-inch V8 as an option; in 1972, the 429 was replaced by a 460 cubic-inch V8 sourced from Lincoln. For the 1978 model year, a 351 Windsor V8 became standard (outside of California and high-altitude areas), with the 400 and 460 as options.
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The race was resurrected in 1988 by Pedro Dávila, Loyal Truesdale, and Eduardo de León Camargo, and runs a 7-day, route aping some of the original course. It is run, unusually, with official backing on special closed stages of the public road network and fast transit sections through central Mexico until recently at unlimited speeds approaching . The race is competed by 80 to 100 cars organised into 10 classes, which are differentiated by car age and authenticity; virtually any car with a classic bodyshell is eligible. The bulk of entries are provided by 1950s and '60s American stock cars; the most popular shapes are the 1953/54 Studebaker Starliner hardtops and Starlight pillared coupes, originally designed by a team led by famed industrial designer Raymond Loewy, because of their exceptional aerodynamics. This is best proven by the fact that as of 2016, out of 29 modern-era races, 22 have been won by Studebakers.
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Peter Brock won his third and final ATCC title, driving a Holden VB Commodore for the Marlboro Holden Dealer Team which he had purchased from team owner/manager John Sheppard in late 1979 after Holden had pulled out of the sport following the domination by the Toranas in 1978 and 1979. After buying the team, Brock, backed by Adelaide based Holden dealer Vin Keane, actually went around Australia to the Holden dealers in a successful attempt to help finance the team which also saw the launch of the HDT Special Vehicles which built "hotter" versions of the road-going Holden Commodore. This effectively meant that for the first time since founded by Harry Firth in 1969, the HDT was actually a Dealers Team rather than a backdoor factory operation. Brock and Sheppard had been secretly testing a VB Commodore in late 1979 in readiness for the rule changes enforced by CAMS. These rule changes aimed at reducing engine emissions, mostly sparked by the 1970s Oil Crisis, effectively made the Toranas and Falcon Hardtops of the previous years ineligible.
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Rounding out both the base and Super GS packages were dual exhaust, heavy-duty suspension, posi-traction and updated rear quarter-panel "GS" badging in the new, initials-only format employed on all post-1965 Gran Sports. A total of 1,244 Wildcat GSs were built by Buick during the model year. Of those, 242 were convertibles and the rest were hardtops. A mere 22 (consisting of an unknown mix of both body styles) were Super Wildcats. A styling appearance cue was adopted from the popular 1963 Buick Riviera, where the beltline arched up over the rear wheels, a modification of an older styling element called the "Sweepspear," with later vehicles installing a rub strip along the entire side of the vehicle tapering down as it reached the rear bumper. The year 1967 brought a new engine to the Wildcat line (along with the Riviera and Electra 225) – a 430-cubic-inch V8 with four-barrel carburetor and rating that featured larger valves for better breathing than the previous 401/425 Nailhead design that dated back to Buick's first V8, in 1953.
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Both VAM Rebel- based Rambler Classics included almost the same equipment between the two body styles with only a few exceptions. The largest difference was in the front seats. The Classic 770 came with full-width bench seat while the Classic SST had individually adjustable units, even though some of the hardtops came with a front bench. The standard features included flow-through ventilation, front door flip-open air vents, four-wheel drum brakes, rigid four-bladed cooling fan, day-night rearview mirror, two-speed electric wipers, electric washers, luxury steering wheel, electric clock, 200 km/h speedometer, cigarette lighter, front ashtray, AM Motorola radio with antenna, locking glove box, courtesy lights, dual rear ashtrays, four side armrests, front two-point seatbelts, dual coat hooks, dual dome lights on C-pillars (except 1969–1970 sedan), single dome light on headliner (1969–1970 sedan only), fold-down armrest integrated to the rear seatback, bright molding package, luxury wheel covers, back-up lights, turn lights, and driver's side remote mirror.
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But 1959 was the first year that not all Buick hardtops were called Rivieras. A standard 4-window four-door hardtop was also available, as was a 4-door 6-window pillared sedan, along with a stripped chassis of which 144 were built in 1959 and 1960. The two-door convertible was only available as an Electra 225, and the 2-door hardtop as an Electra. 1959 Buick Electra 225 4-door 6-window Riviera hardtop Delta Fins on a 1959 Buick Electra 225 4-door 6-window Riviera hardtop For 1959, the Electra and Electra 225 both used the General Motors C-body shared with the Oldsmobile 98 and all Cadillac, riding on a longer wheelbase than the B-body LeSabre and Invicta, both of which rode on . The standard and only available engine was the 401 cubic-inch Wildcat V8 with four-barrel carburetor, 10.25 to 1 compression ratio and mated to a two- speed Dynaflow automatic transmission, which was also standard equipment along with power steering and power brakes using Buick's unique finned aluminum brake drums. Power windows and seat and leather interiors were standard on the Electra 225 convertible and optional on all other models.
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The running gear and most other components stayed the same from the XM through to the XP. All of the utility, sedan delivery, and taxi/police kit vehicles had five-lug 13-inch wheels and larger 10-inch drum brakes, as had all previous commercial models. Commercials had always had lower-ratio differentials (4.00:1) and larger 6.70 x 13 tyres. The high-end Fairmonts, which were released by Ford Australia as a means of competing with Holdens Premier came with 14-inch four- lug wheels to accommodate the standard disc brakes on this model, whereas other models had 13-inch wheels if disc brakes were not optioned. Both Fairmonts and Futuras (including Futura hardtops) featured bucket seats, however only the Futura models had a center console, The 200 ci Super Pursuit engine initially in four-main bearing form and finally with the imported seven-main bearing unit, three-speed automatic transmission, and a padded dash along with carpets, perforated, colour-matched headlining, blower heater, screen washers, chrome-plated interior mirror, seven interior door-operated lights, and a handbrake on warning light flasher as standard.
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Advertisements also featured the wife of Jimmy Stewart and her Country Club 2-door hardtop she described as "a woman's dream-of-a-car come true!" and promoting buyers to spend "one wonderful hour" test driving to discover how "among two-car families - four out of five prefer to drive their Rambler." A survey of owners of 1953 Ramblers conducted by Popular Mechanics indicated the majority listed their car's economy as the feature they like best. After they had driven a total of , owners' complaints included a lack of rear-seat legroom, water leaks, and poor dimmer switch position, but none of the Rambler drivers rated acceleration as unsatisfactory. Fully 29 percent had no complaints and "only four percent of Rambler owners described the car as too small and 67 percent rated their Ramblers as excellent over-all." Production for the model year was 31,788 and included 9 Deliveryman models in the station wagon body, 15,255 Country Club hardtops, 10,598 Convertible Landaus, 10,600 Custom station wagons (of which 3,536 were in the Greenbrier trim and 7,035 with 3M's DI-NOC simulated wood-grain trim), and 1,114 standard wagons.
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Ford Motor Company, p.F8. A tachometer was optional. All Pacers rode on Ford's 118 in (2997 mm) wheelbase and shared the Ranger’s engine choices, with a 303 hp (226 kW) FE V8 (with four-barrel carburetor)Ford Motor Company, Edsel Data, 1958 Official Reference Manual for Edsel Salesmen, p.F-8 as standard. (The 345 hp (257 kW) MEL V8, standard in the Corsair and Citation, was not available.) A three-speed manual transmission was also standard. Buyers also could upgrade to a three-speed automatic transmission with a standard column-mounted gear selector, or choose Edsel’s highly promoted but trouble-prone Teletouch automatic, which placed its drive-selection buttons in the steering wheel hub, as a US$231 option. While their roll-out was highly publicized in the fall of 1957, Edsels were a marketing disaster for Ford and for Ford's corporate strategy for meeting General Motors product line for product line. Total Pacer output in U.S. and Canada for the model stood at 20,988 units, of which 1,876 were U.S.-built convertibles, 7,141 four-door sedans (6,083 U.S./1,058 Canada), 6,717 hardtop coupes (6,139 U.S./578 Canada), and 5,254 four-door hardtops (4,959 U.S./295 Canada).
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1990 Mitsubishi Sigma (US) Mitsubishi Sapporo (Europe) The hardtop sedan bodywork was used in export markets as well, where it received a six-window design unlike for its Japanese market counterparts. It was marketed under different names; "Galant Σ" or "Eterna Σ" (Sigma) in Japan, "Sapporo" in Europe, and in the US as "Galant Σ" (1988 model year) followed by plain "Sigma" (1989 to 1990 model years). The "Galant Σ" was released for the 1988 model year, but the "Sigma" version with updated alloy wheels began US sales in August 1988 for the 1989 model year and continued until 1990. These cars were available with a 3.0-liter V6 (North America, only with automatic transmission) or 2.4-liter four-cylinder engines (Europe) in the export. In the domestic Japanese market the hardtops received 2.0-litre fours, or the smaller 2.0-litre 6G71 V6 engine from 1986, shared with the Mitsubishi Debonair limousine. For the top-of-the-line VR models, an intercooled turbo-charged 4G63T "Sirius Dash 3x2" engine that automatically switched between two and three valves per cylinder depending upon throttle response and therefore allowing both economy and performance, was fitted, along with self-levelling suspension, climate-controlled air-conditioning, blue velour interior, steering wheel-controlled audio functions, and 15-inch alloy wheels.
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For 1959, Pontiac dropped the name "Chieftain" and "Super Chief" models for its entry level model and renamed it "Catalina", while demoting the former top-line Star Chief to mid-line status eliminating the two door StarChief Catalina, the only hardtop for the StarChief was the four door hardtop and expanding the Bonneville nameplate to a full flagship series that included sedans, coupes, convertibles and Safari station wagons. In the lower- priced Catalina line, Pontiac division advertising placed higher emphasis on the top trimmed two- and four-door hardtops, convertible and Safari station wagons instead of the pillared two- and four-door sedan variants despite the fact that the four-door sedan was the best seller in this line. The Catalina, though it was the lowest-priced full-sized Pontiac, was priced and trimmed below the Chevrolet Impala due to GM's overlapping price structure formula only a step below the Buick LeSabre and Oldsmobile 88 in trim and appointments but priced about $100 to $200 less. Catalinas also came standard with more amenities than Chevrolet models and included a larger and more powerful V8 engine of 389 cubic inches, compared to the Chevy's six-cylinder or 283 and 348 cubic-inch V8s.
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The two-door sedan was unique to Buick, sharing its roofline as the hardtop but having a thick "B" pillar, with Buick's traditional "Sweepspear" feature appearing as a crease running the length of the vehicle. Chevrolet did not offer a pillared coupe for the Chevelle from 1970 to 1972; all two-doors were hardtops. Replacing the previous Buick Skylark was the Buick Skylark 350, available as a two-door hardtop coupe or four-door sedan with the 350-cubic-inch V8 as standard equipment. This 350-cubic-inch engine was a different design than the Chevy's 350 CID engine (4.000 in × 3.48 in) the Buick design had a longer stroke and smaller bore (3.80 X 3.85 in) allowing for lower-end torque, deep- skirt block construction, higher nickel-content cast iron, crank main journals, and connecting rods, the distributor was located in front of the engine (typical of Buick), the oil pump was external and mounted in the front of the engine, the rocker arm assembly had all rocker arms mounted on a single rod and were not adjustable. The Skylark Custom continued to be available, also using the 350-cubic-inch V8 as standard equipment and still available as a two-door convertible coupe, two-door hardtop coupe, four-door hardtop sedan, and four-door sedan.
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