Coach Convertible - Decline of Factory Convertibles

Decline of Factory Convertibles

Sales of convertibles began to decline in the late 1960s and took a sharp downturn by the early 1970s. Chrysler Corp produced its last convertible in 1971, Ford was done by 1973 and GM stopped all convertible production except Cadillac by 1975. By 1976 GM was done as well.

A December 1973 article in Road & Track magazine explains the fall of the convertible in a very data-rich and scientific manner. The article does not blame government mandates or safety concerns for making the convertible too expensive or impossible to continue to build. Rather, it suggests that buyer tastes have changed, making the convertible a less attractive option for new car buyers. Some reasons listed were:

• Better interstate highways, higher speeds and longer travel times that make wind-in-your-hair driving less appealing.
• "Hardtop" design improved, making the 2-door hardtop more stylish.
• Convertibles cost more to build and sell than a comparable hardtop.
• Hardtops are stronger and have a stiffer frame for more spirited driving.

• Air conditioning became an affordable and more common option that made comfortable windows-up driving more common.
• Longer hair on men and women became the trend and was hard to keep orderly in a convertible.
• Custom vans and pickups became a trend that many would-be convertible buyers went to.
• Fake fabric top coverings on a hardtop became a style alternative to true convertibles. In 1971, 42% of all domestic cars were sold as fabric covered hardtops.

The article showed the slow decline in sales of the convertible from the mid-sixties into the seventies, compared to the hardtops of the same model. Sales were down because few buyers decided a convertible was the right car for them.

The last American convertible to come out of the factory was the 1976 Cadillac Eldorado. It was advertised to be the end of an era, and all indications at the time seemed to corroborate that. Convertibles were not built by mainstream U.S. automobile manufacturers again until 1982. Only a few 2-seat sporty European import convertibles remained for the American market.