windshield spoiler?

[Micky]

The other day at a traffic light, a convertible passed in front of me with some gizmo atop the windshield, attached to the frame. A spoiler is the closest name I can think of.

Googling doesn't show me anything close. Has anyone here seen such a thing? Maybe spoiler is the wrong word and that's why I can't find it??

Maybe I want one.

Feel free to skip historical narrative: With my '65 and '67 Catalinas, I could open the vent windows so far that they blew air into the passenger compartment, and I could turn the sun visors up and forward so that they did the same thing. And both had big fresh air vents to the left of driver ankles and to the right of passenger ankles, even the '67 that had factory air. IOW, I could get a lot more fresh air than I can now, even with the top down. So maybe I want this thing.

Sunday, I was 90 miles west of here near some little town and as usual, I bought the local newspaper. It had a front page story about a congressional primary not yet settled, maybe in nearyby Pa. I left the advertising section behind and put the rest in the back seat, left side. I was going only 20 or 30 for the next hour but the paper was gone. OTOH, the Wash. Post underneath it was still there. Usually if something tries to blow out of the car, especially a full size piece of newsprint, I see it in the rear view mirror. Today I found the whole section intact stuffed near the rear floor left side.

[bob_villain]

I visor? They were on cars in the '40s and '50 at least. I know you're old enough to remember if you're capable!

[clare]

Wind deflector - or "hair saver" Most that fit on the windshield are uselessm - the ones behind the headrest work a whole lot better.

[bob_villain]

[Micky]

Thanks. I'll remember that. I still couldn't find one mounted above the windshield, but that's okay, at least I gave it a good shot and I've lost interest.

At speeds over 50 I often put up the windows, and I rarely go over 65, too much noise.

[Dean Hoffman]

My parents had one on their Plymouth. It was a two door and not a convertible. They called it something like sunscreen, maybe sun visor.

[Micky]

Sort of like an awning, right? To keep the sun out of their eyes without obstructing the view in front of the driver, like sun visors do. I remember those. They were a good idea, just like awnings on houses keep the sun out while not interfering with the view or the breeze, like shades do.

But this was diferent. It went up from the windshield frame, not forward (I should have said that.) and it was like the curved wing of a balsa wood toy glider, but shiny metal, on legs about 2 inches above the windshield.

[Ed Pawlowski]

I had one convertible many years ago and it was fun to have back then. About 3 days a year I'd still like to have one. The other 362 days a year the windows are up and the climate control is set at 72. Quiet, nice sound from the XM radio, no wind noise.

[Micky]

Not interested.

[DerbyDad03]

I was watching a commercial for the 2016 Buick Cascada. The top can be raised or lowered at speeds up to 31 MPH. Having never owned a convertible, this leads me to ask:

Is 31 MPH an slight improvement over other convertibles or a major improvement? In other words, is there a speed at which other convertible tops can be raised/lowered or has it always been required that the vehicle be stopped?

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per Ed Pawlowski:

Does anybody else think that convertibles lost a lot of their attraction when steel-belted radial tires came into wide use?.... The noise...

[DerbyDad03]

I'd blame more on the expense of the feature vs. the limited usage time, as well as the practicality. As the market appeal for SUV's continues to grow, the appeal of the convertible goes in the opposite direction.

Factor in the growing markets in India and China, where the concept of "open air" brings up images of gas masks as opposed to rolling country roads, and you can imagine the appeal dropping even further.

[rbowman]

The noise? After you've spent some time going down the road at 80 on a

650cc single cylinder bike with DOT legal knobbies, noise is relative. Even with the car when I take the studs off it becomes as quiet as a church. Sort of.

[clare]

If it was an "old" convertible it could very well have been a sun visor - by old I meam 40's ish

[Micky]

I don't think that. I never noticed any increase in noise, and I don't think I've ever heard tire noise.

But they'll pay for other things.

I have my top down 6 to 7 months a year in Baltimore, and when I lived in NYC and only drove on the weekends mostly it seemed there was one weekend day every month in the winter that it was warm enough to put the top down.

Now that I don't understand at all. What does one have to do with the other?

They hadn't driven convertibles since they had horse and buggies or rickshaws. It's not an increasing market there, but I don't see how it can be declining.

I was never interested in the "Image of Fun and Freedom" but in actual fun and freedom, and that hasn't diminished. When I was working, the highlight of many spring, summer, fall days was the drive home.

[Micky]

That's pretty fast.

No convertible that I know of had any limit on speed until I got this

2000 Toyota Solara. Its limit was about 2 or 3 mph and it was an enormous nuisance. I bought the shop manual and the convertible supplement, but the relay was shown only vaguely. I asked dealers where it was and two of them asked their mechanic but no one knew. I was also looking behind the back seat and under the fuzzy walls of the trunk and I eventually found it, behind the seat but accessible from the trunk.

I could barely reach it and I couldn't fit in the trunk to get closer. I could barely see it while I reached for it, but I did my best to cut just the right wire, and I cut it, and now there is no speed limit on putting it up and down.

I get stuck in the rain less than every 10 years, but I don't like waiting when I'm going out to put the top down so I unlatch it, then drive off while lowering it. Then when I get home, I start putting the top up when I'm about 200 feet away from parking. Not driving more than 15 or 20 mph either time, I think. I'll check.

I was afraid to raise or lower the top while moving for the first 10 years, but that ended 40 years ago, and never had a problem.

** I mostly know the '65 and '67 Pontiac, the '73 Buick, and the '84, '88, and '95 Lebaron.

[clare]

I'm looking forward to baysitting the TD again this summer. (a convertible with no top - and only a pair of "brooklands" wind screens). When it looks like rain it sits with the toneau cover on.

[clare]

Putting the top up (or down) with the car at any speed at all is NOT a good idea. A stiff crosswind will show you why in a hurry - and lighten your wallet getting it repaired.

My personal experience with retractible tops is limited to a 65 Pontiac Parisienne MG B, Jeep CJ and a Sunbeam Alpine - but I've had to work on quite a number of others - both power and otherwize

[Micky]

Maybe I'm only going 10mph. I'll check in a few minutes if I remember, but it's not enough to fully bulge out the fabric let alone bend anything. I've been doing this for 40 years, iow 1000's of times, and 6 cars, so I'm sure.

But other than your own, you only see the broken cars.

[Micky]

I would like one of those.