Vinyl Rooves

[yorkie]

Whatever happened to the vinyl roof which was so popular in the late 70s and early 80s. Nearly every other car had one up until about '83 and then all of a sudden it stopped.

In the same vane, why did manufacturers think that vinyl seats were a good idea. Perhaps there was a conspiracy with the government to persuade people to use seat belt because it was the onle way you could stay in you seat if you pulled more that 0.0001g around a corner (the equvalent of turning into a parking space). Great for kids in the back seat though.

[Diabando]

Vinyl roofs? I dont know why they stopped making them, but if I were to hazard a guess, it would possibly be:

Because they always rust the roof underneath!!

[KC]

I can't say how many cars with the vinyl roof I have seen in my life with the front edge loose and catching air like a parachute while driving down the road. however, there are a few more pathetic things. The Landau style roof where only the back 1/3 of the roof was covered in vinyl. Or the fake convertible top. They glue a plastic insert to the roof to simulate top bows and then stretch vinyl over it. What a joke!

[Bluebottle]

The've gone the same way as big graphics from the 80's- and hopefully rear spoilers and blue fog lights will go the same way!

[elephino]

KC, my dad has a Mazda 121 Landau...the size and weight of a Commodore with a puny little 2 litre 4 cylinder engine.

[KC]

You mean that Aus was afflicted with those abortions too? What has the world come to?

[djb]

KC, I too always thought that this was a North American thing. Thinking of them makes me think of Dodge/Plymouth '70s ads with Ricardo Montebon telling us suavely of the beautiful lines of the vinyl roofed Fifth Avenue or whatever.

[StuiE]

Do u actually want a vinyl roof?
thank god they got rid of them

[djb]

are you kidding, of course not!

[Ray Bell]

One of the wonders of the sixties, perfected in the seventies, discredited in the eighties, forgotten (thankfully) in the nineties.

They were only even an attempt to make a sedan look like a convertible with the top up...

Vinyl seats, by the way, were always cheaper and promised durability.

[djb]

Yet also promised memorable skin burns for all of us who hopped onto a summer baked seat whilst wearing shorts! OUCH!
You Aussies would know that two or three times as much as Canadians, our summer really being only June (sortof),July and August.

[Neil C]

I first saw a vinyl roof at the annual auto show in '62 or '63, on a Ford LTD. I thought it was cool. My dream car later became a '66 Chevelle SS in bright yellow w/ a black vinyl roof.

I now regard them as silly affectations. The silliest of all is the ridiculously puffed-up landau padded rooftops still seen on Caddy's dressed up in the Superfly pimpmobile style. God, I love living in Detroit!

[Aysedasi]

Originally posted by djb
Yet also promised memorable skin burns for all of us who hopped onto a summer baked seat whilst wearing shorts! OUCH!
You Aussies would know that two or three times as much as Canadians, our summer really being only June (sortof),July and August.

You guys ought to count yourselves lucky! with our weather, we'd jump at the chance of the occasional vinyl seat burn! As it is, I think the weathermen have slated one week-end in August sometime as our Summer......

[Maisie]

I remember hideous moments of peeling my melted skin off the vinyl seats in Chris's brown Mk3 Cortina after we parked it at the beach for a gloriously sunny afternoon

However, a vinyl seat covered with a towel in summer is preferable to peeling your hands off the dry ice on the steering wheel in winter

[Aysedasi]

Ah Maisie, our wonderfully consistent British weather! 3 or 4 days each year when I could fry an egg on the top of my sadly balding head, and the rest devoted to rain and more rain.

(And the 3 or 4 days of sunshine is always enough to empty the reservoirs, isn't it?!).

[KC]

You guys need to experience a little mid-USA summer weather. I used to have a thermometer inside my car and have seen 140 degrees F on a summer afternoon if I forgot to leave a window slightly open. I have had cassette tapes melt down in the summer, formed to the seat contour.

[djb]

Neil, yup those SS Chevelles' were good looking weren't they (sans the vinyl roof though for my tastes)

Aysedasi, I am always reminded of your sentiments whenever I see a "Junkyard Wars" or "Top Gear" and the poor sods always seem to slogging around in the wet (mind you, I don't reserve much sympathy for Tiff and co. as they "slog" around in some delectible tidbit)
I can't wait to go visit my sister and kids when she moves to Aber-whatsit-wyth in Wales this year.

and Maisie, that's why we always carry lock de-icer, so the passenger can unstick our paws off the steering wheel

and KC, I'm sure that it's similiar out in your neck of the woods, here we go from +35c or so to -35c or so. I suspect you get higher summer temps tho.