why have convertible cars fallen?

Question

why have convertible cars fallen?

In: 353

Answer 1

With rare exceptions, convertibles are harder to make and heavier than their counterparts because the roof structure is no long there to add strength, so lots of reinforcement is needed in the rest of the frame. Add that aerodynamics aren’t as good, and you have worse gas mileage.

By exception I mean like the Lotus Elise where the bathtub frame provides all the strength, so the hard top version just adds more weight over the convertible.