{"id":40822,"date":"2011-07-22T12:46:35","date_gmt":"2011-07-22T16:46:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/?p=40822"},"modified":"2011-07-22T12:46:35","modified_gmt":"2011-07-22T16:46:35","slug":"convertibles-facing-a-cloudy-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/2011\/07\/convertibles-facing-a-cloudy-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Convertibles Facing a Cloudy Future"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Despite sluggish ragtop sales, the buyers are lining up for the new Chevy Camaro Convertible.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With the temperature nudging 100 in much of the country, even the most diehard convertible fans have folded up the top and turned on the air conditioning.\u00a0 But the ongoing heat wave doesn\u2019t explain why convertible sales have gone cold.<\/p>\n

Now, drop-tops will never again match the numbers of yester-year, when they were as common as station wagons parked in the driveways of \u201850s-era suburbs.\u00a0 But even as recently as 2006, convertibles accounted for about 2.0% of the U.S. auto market, according to data from R.L. Polk.\u00a0 Last year, that plunged to an even 1.0% and the question is whether there\u2019s a sunny future ahead.<\/p>\n

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Subscribe Now! Free!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWill this market be able to rebound?\u201d asks Polk analyst Mark Pauze.\u00a0 \u201cWe are seeing a slight uptick\u201d in sales this year, but the increase in convertible sales isn\u2019t keeping pace with the overall improvement in the U.S. new car market, he adds.<\/p>\n

There are some exceptions.\u00a0 Audi can barely keep up with demand for models like the A5 Cabriolet, many customers waiting for backorders to be filled from the factory in Germany.\u00a0 The new Chrysler 200 Convertible appears to be making up for the declines suffered by the unloved Sebring drop-top.<\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s the long-delayed Camaro Convertible.\u00a0 Polk data show buyers have registered 7,500 of the al fresco pony cars this year \u2013 equal to 12.4% of the entire convertible market.\u00a0 The competing Mustang Convertible was close behind, at 11.0%.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s behind the decline, Pauze suggests that, \u201cCurrently there is a real focus in the market on fuel efficient, economical and practical vehicles \u2013 not a recipe for a convertible revival.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other analysts note that buyers are, in general, staying away from vehicles that carry a premium for features that don\u2019t seem essential in this economy.\u00a0 That could change as the overall economy improves and buyers begin to spend more on their desires, rather than just basic needs.<\/p>\n

But with mileage now the top-ranked concern for U.S. buyers, the inherent disadvantage of a convertible may be hard to overcome.\u00a0 You may not use the AC as much, but aerodynamic drag still means significantly poorer fuel economy.<\/p>\n

\u201cUntil we see a shift in consumer sentiment the convertible segment will be one of the last segments to recover,\u201d warns Polk\u2019s Pauze.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Despite a few exceptions — notably including the new Chevy Camaro Convertible — ragtop sales seem to be facing a decidedly cloudy future. More from TheDetroitBureau.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36022,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"make":[],"post-state":[],"category_old":[151],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40822"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40822"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40822\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40822"},{"taxonomy":"make","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/make?post=40822"},{"taxonomy":"post-state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-state?post=40822"},{"taxonomy":"category_old","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category_old?post=40822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}