Originally Posted by midnightman

I mentioned earlier in this thread that I had a '70 VW Bug convertible... I don't know where the car was actually built, but I was told back then that the top was made by Karmann. The VW was a time-tested, well-made, efficient, no frills basic car. But, the convertible top on that car a masterpiece of mechanics, luxury, and quality. The outer top was a thick and rugged vinyl. Under that was thick acoustic/ thermal padding. The inner surface was a light and well-fitted vinyl liner that made it look like a hard top from the inside. It was a great barrier from the noise and the cold of winter. No framework was visible at all. And it opened and closed with little effort.

I say this in preface of a quick story...

My prior car was a '68 Pontiac Firebird convertible. The top was a thin sheet of heavy-duty canvas or the like. It gave no insulation from the cold or noise outside. It also proved to be of little value from a security aspect. Someone sliced it open as easily as a hot knife through butter to get to my 8-track player. Twice.


On the other hand, in college, I used to park my VW laterally across a somewhat steep hill at my apt. complex. One night, vandals decided to lift my car's high side and rolled it onto its side and top down the hill causing considerable cosmetic damage. The upper part of the top on the driver's side had a good 6-8" tear. And even with that large tear, you could not get your hand past the dense matting and inner liner beneath it to reach in and unlock the door. That was one quality top.