Being just older than dirt, I was around when "Hardtops" were introduced.
D^2 is correct. This was a new concept, at last for the major car
makers.
Previously only convertibles had an unobstructed window opening from
front to rear.
If I remember correctly, Willys Aero had the first one in 1952. Willys
was the company
famous for making Jeeps. They made a very nice small sedan in the 1950's
with an "F"-
head six engine. (Anyone out there, under 65, know what an F-head is?)
The same
company was sold/merged, etc. and later purchased by Chrysler.
Reminiscing, 4 - Toes
On Tue, 05 Mar 2002 10:00:56 -0600 "D. Dardalis" <dardal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
writes:
> At 12:13 AM 3/5/2002 -0600, you wrote:
> >PS Why is it called a hardtop anyway? I know what a soft top is.
>
> Hugh,
> I am not sure if this is right, but the original term was "hardtop
> convertible". Without a B-pillar it is as if the car is a
> convertible, but
> it actually has a hardtop rather than a soft top (so, its really not
> a
> convertible, but it kind'o looks like one). Eventually, the term
> got
> simplified and the second word got damped and forgotten. I had read
> this
> on the British "Classic Cars" Magazine when they made a presentation
> of an
> early 50's Bu*ck Roadmaster 2 door hardtop, I think 53.
> D^2
>
>
>
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