If there’s one amenity that today’s tricked-out, high-horsepower SUVs don’t offer, it’s the wind in your hair. But American Specialty Cars in Southgate, Michigan, has developed InfiniVu, a retractable top that lets sunshine into almost any sport-ute, crossover, or – listen up, family guy! – minivan. Of course, designing a practical, trouble-free, and rattle-proof convertible is never easy (see timeline, right), and preserving the vehicle’s structural integrity was central to the company’s engineering effort. One year, 20 concepts, and four prototypes later, ASC has unveiled a sample tanning machine – a convertible Hummer. Sure, open-air driving will make your guzzler’s gas mileage even worse, but at least the $1,600 option will brighten your day.
– Andrew Tilin
Six Decades of Open-Air Blunders
2CV (1948)
Manufacturer: Citroën
Fatal flaw: Security alert! Early versions of the iconic Deux Chevaux featured ragtops that opened only from the outside.
Skyliner Retractable Hardtop (1957)
Manufacturer: Ford
Fatal flaw: Needed seven – count ’em, seven – motors to -collapse the top into the trunk, which then could hold little else.
4Runner SR5 (1984)
Manufacturer: Toyota
Fatal flaw: Fiberglass pop-top exposes only the second row of seats to the outdoors – the driver and shotgun passenger are SOL.
Azure (1995)
Manufacturer: Bentley
Fatal flaw: For $350,000, you got a 400-hp engine, a walnut dash, computer-controlled suspension, and … a convertible top with a plastic rear window.
Envoy XUV (2004)
Manufacturer: GMC
Fatal flaw: Roof opens only far enough to expose the cargo area – perfect for toting refrigerators, but not much else.
SuperAmerica (2005)
Manufacturer: Ferrari
Fatal flaw: Even with the all-glass flip top closed, truck drivers get a bird’s-eye view of your steadily receding hairline.
The InfiniVu venetian blind-style top slides open from the front or the back.
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A Top-Down Transformation
