Word: ragtop
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
McGraw is not totally risk averse--a neutral mention of abortion on his 2002 hit Red Ragtop was a country watershed--but in general he is too cautious and too willing to compromise his individual perspective to be considered a significant artist. It's a shame, given that his biography is rich territory: he was born dirt poor, he discovered as an adolescent that his father was the late big-league pitcher Tug McGraw, and he was rejected by almost every record label for being too ordinary before becoming a star when Curb Records finally took a chance...
More and more drivers are asking the same question, resurrecting the ragtop from near extinction. And not just at Ford. Today the market is flooded with 30 convertibles, up from about a dozen six years ago. Over the same period, registration of new convertibles is up 63%, according to R.L. Polk & Co. The new fleet ranges from family-oriented cruisers like the Toyota Camry Solara to such trophy hot rods as the Lexus SC 430. At next week's New York International Auto Show, carmakers from Audi to Mercedes will show off new models. Even Chevy's pickup division...
...onto the Solara with minimal changes to the rest of the car. Toyota sold 7,600 units when it introduced the vehicle in 2000, charging about $5,000 more than for the comparable hardtop. The convertible shares a platform with seven other vehicles, so if interest in the ragtop wanes, the automaker can easily shift production...
...course. There is enough room in its midget trunk for two tennis rackets and one can of balls. Is it a yupmobile? A delicate question, but the answer is not really. Yuppies lack a sense of nonsense. They buy BMW or Saab Turbo convertibles, ragtop versions of sedans that are irreproachably expensive and slightly stodgy. If you must pick up your elderly aunt, her Doberman and her scuba gear at the airport, you can manage it in one of these. In the Miata...
...Raton in his custom-made number, but nearly all were prohibitively expensive imports that served mainly as playthings for the rich and as auto-show mouth waterers. The principal exception was Volkswagen's Rabbit, introduced to replace the Beetle in 1980. Crafted by Karmann, 12,114 of the ragtop Rabbits were sold in 1981 (price: $10,000) at a handsome profit. In addition, small customizing companies in states like Florida, California and Michigan have been cutting the steel tops off cars since the late '70s and turning them into convertibles for 20,000 to 25,000 fanatical owners...