A hardtop is a term for a rigid, rather than canvas, automobile roof. It has been used in several contexts: detachable hardtops, retractable hardtop roofs, and the so-called pillarless hardtop body style.

Detachable hardtops

Before the mid-1920s 90% of automobiles had open tops, with rudimentary (if any) weather protection provided by a convertible-type canvas top and celluloid or isinglass side curtains. The 1920s is sometimes referred to as the " Jazz Age " or the " Roaring Twenties " when speaking about the United States and Canada A convertible is a type of automobile in which the vehicle's roof can retract and fold away converting it from an enclosed to an open-air vehicle Celluloid is the name of a class of compounds created from Nitrocellulose and Camphor, plus dyes and other agents Muscovite (also known as Common Mica, Isinglass, or Potash mica) is a phyllosilicate Mineral of Aluminium Some automobile bodies had roofs that could be removed during the summer and reattached during the winter, although it was a cumbersome and laborious job. By the time of World War I some automakers offered a lift-off roof, typically with a wood frame, canvas or leather covering, and glass windows. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Leather is a material created through the Tanning of hides and Skins of Animals primarily Cattlehide The Tanning process These removable roofs, sometimes called a California top, were the forerunners of the detachable hardtop, offering security and weather protection comparable to a fixed-roof model when installed.

Following the ascendancy of steel tops for closed bodies in the 1930s, detachable hardtops with metal roofs began to appear. The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression. After World War II, the availability of new types of plastic and fiberglass allowed lighter, easier to handle hardtops with much of the strength of a metal top. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Plastic is the general common term for a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic organic solid materials suitable for the manufacture of industrial products Fiberglass (also called fibreglass and glass fibre see Spelling differences) is material made from extremely fine Fibers of Glass.

In the 1950s and 1960s detachable hardtops were offered for various convertible sports cars and roadsters, including the 1955-1957 Ford Thunderbird and the Chevrolet Corvette. The 1950s Decade refers to the years of 1950 to 1959 inclusive The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969 A convertible is a type of automobile in which the vehicle's roof can retract and fold away converting it from an enclosed to an open-air vehicle A sports car is a term used to describe a class of Automobile. A roadster, also known as a spyder or spider, is a two-seater car traditionally without a roof (or with a detachable roof and no side or rear windows Year 1955 ( MCMLV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar) Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar) The Thunderbird is an automobile manufactured by Ford in the United States from 1955 through 2005 &mdash through thirteen generations and various The Chevrolet Corvette is a Sports car that has been manufactured by General Motors since 1953 Because the convertible top mechanism is itself expensive, the hardtop is customarily offered as an additional, extra-cost option. On early Thunderbirds (and Corvettes through 1967), buyers could choose between a detachable hardtop and a folding canvas top at no additional cost, but paid extra for both. Year 1967 ( MCMLXVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the 1967 Gregorian calendar.

Improvements in canvas tops have rendered the detachable hardtop less common in recent years, in part because the top cannot be stored in the vehicle when not in use, requiring a garage or other storage facility. Nonetheless, some open cars continue to offer it as an option. Around 10% of Mazda MX-5s are believed to have been delivered with an accessory hardtop, which is compulsory for some auto racing series. Generations and overview Now in its third generation the MX5's first generation the NA, sold over 400000 units from 1989 to 1997 &mdash with a Straight-4

Retractable hardtops

See main article: retractable hardtop

A Retractable Hardtop (also known as coupé convertible or coupé cabriolet) is a type of convertible that forgoes a folding textile roof in favor of an automatically operated, multi-part, self-storing roof where the rigid roof sections are opaque, translucent or independently operable.

Pillarless hardtops

1958 Ambassador by Rambler four-door hardtop showing the open look with the side windows lowered. The Ambassador was the top-line automobile produced by the American Motors Corporation (AMC from 1958 until 1974

1963 Pontiac Catalina two-door hardtop showing simulated convertible features. The Pontiac Catalina was part of Pontiac 's Full-sized Automobile line

Two 1967 AMC Marlins with their side windows down. Origin of the Marlin AMC's closest competitor Chrysler had been developing the turbine engine for use in automobiles during the fifties and made a prototype turbine powered showcar

The other automotive usage of the term "hardtop" is a body style known as the hardtop convertible. The automotive industry is the industry involved in the design development manufacture marketing and sale of Motor vehicles In 2007 more than 73 million motor vehicles A hardtop convertible is a fixed-roof model designed to look like a convertible with the top raised. While some early models retained side window frames and B-pillars, by the 1950s most were pillarless hardtops, omitting the B-pillar (the roof support behind the front doors) and configuring the window frames, if any, to retract with the glass when lowered. An A-pillar is a name applied by car stylists and enthusiasts to the shaft of material that supports the windshield (windscreen on either of the windshield frame sides The 1950s Decade refers to the years of 1950 to 1959 inclusive Some hardtops took the convertible look even further, including such details as simulating a convertible-top framework in the interior headliner and shaping the roof to resemble a raised canvas top. By the late 1960s such modifications were often superseded by a simple vinyl roof. The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969 Vinyl roof refers to a Vinyl covering for an automobile's top

A pillarless hardtop is inherently less rigid than a pillared body, requiring extra underbody strength to prevent shake. Production hardtops commonly shared the frame or reinforced body structure of the contemporary convertible model, which was already reinforced to compensate for the lack of a fixed roof. A chassis (plural "chassis" (ˈʃæːsiː ˈtʃæːsiː consists of a framework that supports an inanimate object analogous to an Animal 's With such a reinforced frame, a hardtop was stronger and stiffer than a convertible, but both weaker and (because of the reinforcements) heavier than a pillared body.

There were a variety of hardtop-like body styles dating back to at least the 1920s. The 1920s is sometimes referred to as the " Jazz Age " or the " Roaring Twenties " when speaking about the United States and Canada Chrysler Corporation showed a pillarless Town and Country hardtop coupe as a concept vehicle in 1946, but the car never went into production. The trend-setter for mass-production hardtops was General Motors, which launched two-door, pillarless hardtops in 1949 as the Buick Roadmaster Riviera, Oldsmobile 98 Holiday, and Cadillac Coupe de Ville. General Motors Corporation ( GM) ( is a multinational automobile manufacturer founded in 1908 and headquartered in the United States. Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Roadmaster was an automobile built by the Buick division of General Motors. The Oldsmobile 98 (originally Series 90; aka Ninety-Eight) was a full-size Automobile, as well as the flagship model of the See also Cadillac DeVille. The Coupe deVille (sometimes spelled Coupe Deville or Coupe DeVille was a model of Cadillac from 1949 through They were purportedly inspired by the wife of a Buick executive who always drove convertibles, but never lowered the top. The hardtop became extremely popular in the 1950s, and by 1956 every major U. The 1950s Decade refers to the years of 1950 to 1959 inclusive Year 1956 ( MCMLVI) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. S. automaker offered hardtop coupés and four-door sedans in a particular model lineup. In 1955, Buick and Oldsmobile introduced the first 4 door hardtop sedans and Chevy and Pontiac even introduced "hardtop" (six pillar) two door wagons (the Nomad and Safari, respectively), and in 1956 the first four-door hardtop station wagon was introduced by Rambler. The Chevrolet Nomad was a Station wagon model produced by the Chevrolet Division of General Motors. Safari was a name first applied to Pontiac's version of the 2-door Nomad station wagon A station wagon (or simply wagon) in American, Australian, Canadian and New Zealand usage and an estate car (or just estate The Rambler Six was an intermediate sized automobile that was built and sold by American Motors Corporation (AMC In 1957, Mercury offered both two- and four-door hardtop wagons, the only brand to ever to do so. The type didn't didn't catch on, though, as most buyers considered wagons too boxy to benefit from the sporty look (or expensive enough to begin with). All disappeared from the market after 1964.

Throughout the 1960s the two-door pillarless hardtop was by far the most popular body style in most lines where such a model was offered. The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969 Even on family vehicles like the Chevrolet Impala, the two-door hardtop regularly outsold four-door sedans. The Chevrolet Impala was through 1996 a Full-sized Automobile built by General Motors for their Chevrolet division

The hardtop began to disappear along with convertibles in the mid-1970s, partly out of a concern that U. This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. S. federal safety regulations would be difficult for pillarless models to pass. The ascendancy of monocoque construction also made the pillarless design less practical. Monocoque, from the French for single ( mono) and shell ( coque) is a construction technique that supports structural load by using an object's external Some models adopted modified roof styling, placing the B pillars behind tinted side window glass and painting or molding the outer side of each pillar in black to make them less visible, creating a hardtop look without actually omitting the pillar. Some mid to late 1970s models continued their previous two-door hardtop bodies, but with fixed rear windows or a variety of vinyl roof and opera window treatments. Opera Windows were small Porthole sized side windows in the C-pillar of cars The U. S. industry's last true two-door and four-door hardtops were in the 1978 Chrysler Newport and New Yorker lines. The Newport was a name used by the Chrysler division of the Chrysler Corporation used as both a hardtop body designation and also for its entry level model between 1961 The Chrysler New Yorker was a premium automobile built by the Chrysler Corporation from 1939 to 1996 serving for several years as the brand's flagship model

Since then, no U. S. manufacturer has offered a true hardtop in regular production, although some German manufacturers, including BMW and Mercedes-Benz have offered upscale pillarless hardtops. ( BMW) (Bavarian Motor Works is an independent German automobile manufacturer founded in 1916 Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of luxury Automobiles Buses coaches and Trucks It is currently a division of the Many Japanese domestic cars, particularly from Toyota and Nissan, are offered in hardtop form. (pronounced) is a Multinational corporation headquartered in Japan, and is currently the world's largest Automaker. British luxury carmaker Bentley (owned by Volkswagen Group) sells two true hardtop coupes, the Continental GT fastback, and the new Brooklands coupe (2008). Bentley Motors Limited is an English manufacturer of luxury Automobiles and Grand Tourers Bentley Motors was founded in England Volkswagen Group, or Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft (German (listed as Volkswagen AG) is a German automobile manufacturing group currently The Bentley Continental GT is a Grand tourer Coupé with two Doors and a 2+2 seating arrangement released in 2003 replacing the previous There is also a type of Windscreen known as "Brooklands" or "Brookland screen" The body style was thought to be making a comeback, as concept versions of the Dodge Challenger and Chevrolet Camaro shown in 2006 were both two-door hardtops, though both companies have stated that production versions will contain a B Pillar to keep the prices low. Dodge Challenger is the name of three different Automobile models marketed by the Dodge division of Chrysler LLC since 1970 The Chevrolet Camaro is a " Pony car " made in North America by the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors. An A-pillar is a name applied by car stylists and enthusiasts to the shaft of material that supports the windshield (windscreen on either of the windshield frame sides Another pillar-less design was featured in the 2007 model concept for the Chrysler 300C.

See also

• Car body style