My wife and I take the Crossfire out for a few miles (lunch, shopping, whatever) on Thursday mornings while both our kids are in school/daycare. It was brutally cold here yesterday, so we couldn't put the top down. It was still a good time, but having the top up definitely cuts down on the enjoyment of the car. No offense to coupe owners of course, but I don't believe we'd keep this car if it wasn't a droptop. We've only put 60 miles on it in over two months, but the 54 miles with the top down were the best by far!

Mike

 

None taken. Having a roadster offers a lot to the driving experience. Wind in the hair, better visibility, greater sence of speed, being one with the elements, stimulating all the sences just a little more than being confined inside.
The only thing I like better about the coupes is the styling. And as we all know, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
You and your wife really need to take it out more often though, and put some miles on it. (But with no back seat for the kiddies, it's understandable).

 

I know exactly what you mean. My Crossfire is really just my weekend toy and as such the 6 speed manual and convertible top were must haves for me. Of course the weather is much nicer here in SoCal (except for the rain today but, hey, it's the first real rain in about 9 months so who's to complain???) so I've put about 3,500 miles on mine in 4 months. Probably 3,400 of those have been top down.

 

I think that if I lived in the South I would own one, too. However, it is not unusual for temps here in the winter sometimes to drop to -35. That is to damn cold for any cloth convertible. I will have to wait until I retire to the South I guess.

 

When we bought our coupe we drove both the convertible and coupe. The convertible has limited visiabilty with the top up and when the rear spolier came up it cut off 1/3 of the rear visibilty. My wife wanted a convertible at first but after driving both we opted for the SRT coupe. Would be nice to have both so you wouldn't have to put the top up, ever!

 

I definitely wouldn't argue that visibility suffers with that top up. I've never been in a coupe model, so I can't compare one to the other. But I was surprised just how little I could see out the back, whether driving straight-ahead or turning to back the car in parking lots.

Off topic now, I thought my Viper GTS had poor rear visibility, but it's an aquarium compared to the Crossfire with the droptop raised. For you Viper fans, here's a link to the GTS pics just for a goof >> http://mohotcars.com/viper.html

Mike

 

When the top is up, the look reminds me of the roadsters from the 20s and 30s. It has it's own unique style. The Crossfire looks great in any configuration, be it top up, top down or coupe!

 

I love 'em All!

SF

 

Every time I see a convertible, I long for that driving experience. The exhiliration of the senses is why I bought my crossfire. I would have bought the convertable if my golf clubs were able to squeeze in.

 

Ditto on the golf club issue.

 

I'll add this here instead of starting a new thread >>

My wife bought a book the other day called "Ultimate Convertibles". I've not really looked at it enough to know how good it is, but she bought it because of page 62-63. Yep, the Crossfire Roadster is there!

Mike

 

I have no problem at all with visibility with the top up. Matter of fact, I haven't driven mine with the top down yet since I got the car in October but I have no problem seeing wing up or down. Put on just over 2,000 miles in 7 weeks.

 

And you've backed up? It wasn't so much a complaint as it was an observation. There's just so much you can't see when you're backing up, all the more reason to put the top down!

Mike

 

OK, I must chime in on the visibility issue. Guess I'm lucky enough to have a coupe and roadster in the garage. The coupe is the wife's daily driver and the roadster is my weekend toy. The top up on the roadster does make it harder to see out the back...more so than the coupe. I also prefer to drive with the top down. Even with the top up the roadster is very noisey.

 

That's one sexy snake you got there, but one question.

What's it doing next to a 5 mph speed limit sign???

 

I agree, it's not enough to complain about but I have to be more careful backing out of parking spaces since it is hard to see if a car is coming at you from the side or not. Can't wait for summer when the top will be down all the time.

 

I agree that with the top up, visibility out of the roadster is limited. But why own one and drive with the top up. In the last three summers it's been top up probably 20 days. It's garaged with the top down (to save on wear and tear) under a car cover. Just back it out, and go for a ride. This October I took it from SW Michigan to NYC in one shot across MI, PA, and NJ, top down all the way and cruising at 80-100 with the radar detector on.

I've had it out at <32o with the windows up and heater blasting.

The wing doesn't so much block visibility as it is a distraction. I just lock mine "up" and ignore it. Besides, why look behind you when you're outrunning everything on the road!

But right now the poor baby is sitting under a couple moving blankets in the corner of the garage waiting for spring.

 

We had to put the top up when it started drizzling raining on one of our rare "Crossfire" days. According to my wife, rainwater makes her hair frizz and wet shirts aren't all that welcomed at nice restaurants ... Hmmm, I welcome them!

Anyway, another point >> You mention that you store your car with the top down? Everything I've read about droptops suggests the opposite, but I don't know a ton about Crossfires. I know my '68 GTO top didn't take kindly to being stored down, but it wasn't a nice fabric like the Crossfire.

Mike

 

This is my first convertible so i know very little about caring for the top, but a couple of friends that have owned several convertibles over the years has told me the same thing....that there is more wear and tear when the top is stored in the down position. I think it has something to do with dirt rubbing against the fabric from the vibration when car is running. For now I'm keeping the top up when parked in the garage until I learn more about convertibles.

 

Clarification: During the summer, I leave the top down with the Xfire parked in the garage. If it's going to be more than a few days between drives, I throw a car cover over it to keep the dust off. For the winter, it's stored with the top up and the windows open about 2". I also add Sta-Bil, park it on cardboard, and try to run it every 2-4 weeks.

When I first saw the soft top mechanism at work, I said to myself that I had to minimize using it to minimize problems. I plan to keep this car for a long long time. I also purchased the ESP which I probably should have foregone in retrospect. The car is still within warranty and the only problem has been a loose window bracket in the driver's door.