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The convertible is the ideal vehicle for cruising on a summer evening. That too small slice of the day when the heat drops off and the shadows creep into everything is a great time to just go wandering around, everything down. Listen to the world around you or just something you like, it works both ways. Catching the first light of the day is darned cool too.
Owning the perfect vehicle for one task is great, but has a downside. Consider this a list of miscellaneous observations about owning a convertible that won't appear on most check lists.
Anyone who buys a 'vert in the off season winds up running around in weather that is less than ideal. Even in season when reasonably dressed, roads have shadows. Around here we've got our wonderful canyons and significant altitude changes.
Just because it's 70 and sunny in the San Fernando Valley doesn't mean you'll see the same by the time you cross a mountain range and hit the coast (more often, it means you'll drive through some cold fog somewhere along the line if you are driving early in the morning). I saw a twenty degree temperature drop last week on a trip of fifty five miles to the Oregon coast, typical of the drop you can see in SoCal. Is that applicable to the whole west coast? The summer differential isn't usually that large on the right half of the country but it's easily ten to fifteen degrees at times.
Finding the most efficient way to warm your wide open car is going to pay dividends. Back in late March I had a wonderful run through Big Sur on PCH; great road conditions, wonderful view, wearing a long sleeve T-shirt with Beethoven and Cheap Trick in the air. Bit by bit, it got colder. Over a couple hours (I finally caved somewhere south of San Simeon when I was chilled to the core), I learned a few tricks, none of which are ideal. Mostly I learned that indirect heat is better than direct heat (unless your hands are the problem, in which case short bursts of direct heat only make them more sensitive — I may need to rethink driving gloves).
Even in the summer you still see lots of windows up when the top is down. Why?
The noise from traffic can be significantly reduced. It can be startling to put the windows up after the noise level becomes bothersome. Like a -10 dB button on the world. Casual conversation at freeway speed isn't really possible without some help.
Unfortunately, anyone in the back seat is pretty much out of luck either way.
Based on numerous experiments conducted with my usual headset and cellphone combination, the boom mike doesn't introduce much noise (but isn't silent) and does so only when I talk (+ a second or so). I was prepared to lose that ability with the top down... ah well. I'll have to see what happens when the Santa Ana cross winds get rolling in the fall.
And if it's really hot you can turn on the air conditioning and still get rather effective cooling by recycling the air and directing the flow down. What works for heat also works for cold. Just remember that the air flow doesn't adjust itself like the sound system, when you slow down it can get cold quickly down around the nether bits.
I can not emphasize enough how truly bad tunnels (and even really long freeway underpasses) can be. Fetid air and the din of your fellow travelers. Trucks and buses are cursed beasts. And what is it with people honking their horns? Is this the first time they've ever encountered an echo?
On the flip side, catch a tunnel alone in the early morning after a cleansing night and it can be a vastly different experience; that rumble is you. Bridges also offer a completely different auditory perspective.
The materials used for the tops of convertibles just keep getting better. It's not the same as a hard top, but it keeps getting quieter.
People who wash their windows because they just noticed a problem (driving into the sun at one of the perfect times of day) and don't look behind them get moved from 'fiends' into a whole new category. Thanks so much for bathing me in a chemical shower and messing up my windshield to boot.
Rogue sprinklers suddenly become important. I dread the day I get stuck in front of a busted sprinkler head, it's going to happen. Thankfully, random rainstorms aren't a problem here.
Posted by Dave at July 8, 2006 10:50 PM