Why the lack of "Convertible, Cabriolet, Drop-Head, Soft-Top" cars in LOS?

[Jib Teenuc]

So many great (as well as amusing) responses (too many to "multi-quote").

Thanks to all for your thoughts.

I can't help but wonder though "what did we do before in-car air con?".

Plus, soft-tops are almost de rigeur in places like Australia, California, Florida (particularly Miami), southern Europe etc., etc.

Don't tell me THEY don't also suffer from skin-cancer and exhaust fumes.

Also, I LIKE the smell of Bangkok traffic (tuk-tuk travel is such an assault on the senses) as can be a baht-bus journey in the likes of Pattaya.

Bangkok has a smell all of it's own (much as Manhattan does......I have eventually surmised that the Manhattan smell is down to the air-duct system from its subway system).

If you blindfolded me and transported me to anywhere, I can't hope to brag that I would know where I was. But I would know where I WASN'T. I could tell you in the flick of a nostril whether or not I was in either Bangkok or Manhattan, blindfold or not.

Maybe, as pets become like their owners (and/or vice-versa) we become like the people with whom we mix. Perhaps we turn into a bunch of whimps when we relocate to LOS and run scared of the sun and traffic fumes etc. (I consider myself way too far down the road of life, having sucked on 40 ciggies a day since I was around 12 years of age, to be worried about a few carcinogens that are belched out by a Bangkok rush-hour).

The motorcycle brigade being an obvious exception to the above observation. They don't seem to worry too much about a few solar rays and exhaust-pipe output. Certainly not if such might curtail their preferred mode of transport.

That's how I feel about open-top cars.

Life's just too ruddy well short!!

Edited November 11, 2013 by Jib Teenuc

[lemoncake]

Probably the dubious amount of tax that will be placed on them if its only falang that would buy them.....

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

Agree, the price. All would be imported and classified as luxury or sports car so price would be somewhat ridiculous.

Peugeot 207 and 307 are hard top convertibles and reasonably priced but in Thailand it's double if not triple

Odd that and the difference in price http://www.one2car.com/PEUGEOT_207/K07130366

against the old model with a soft top http://www.one2car.com/PEUGEOT_306/K06120258

Not same models, 2 different models. The 207 is more like a coupe

[BKKdreaming]

are TuK Tuks soft tops

[Jib Teenuc]

are TuK Tuks soft tops

No (but their average driver probably is and their average passenger, I include myself, most deffinately is)

I was referring the tuk-tuk comparison to a cabriolet with regard to the nostril assaulting smells of Thai traffic, street-food stalls etc.

[ignis]

Probably the dubious amount of tax that will be placed on them if its only falang that would buy them.....

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

Agree, the price. All would be imported and classified as luxury or sports car so price would be somewhat ridiculous.

Peugeot 207 and 307 are hard top convertibles and reasonably priced but in Thailand it's double if not triple

Odd that and the difference in price http://www.one2car.com/PEUGEOT_207/K07130366

against the old model with a soft top http://www.one2car.com/PEUGEOT_306/K06120258

Not same models, 2 different models. The 207 is more like a coupe

Yes of course but I did say price, the 207 is not that bad of a price when looking at the canvas top 13 year old 306.... a 306 with a roof around the same year is less then 100,000 baht.

[falconsforge]

I own a MX5 here in Australia. The first time I took my TG for a spin she was quite nervous. i asked her what was wrong. She points at the open top and says in Thailand never do. I asked her why. She say Thai like to spit to mutt.

[dave2]

re

are TuK Tuks soft tops

not for songkran

dave2

[wilcopops]

"I can't help but wonder though "what did we do before in-car air con?"." - have you ever driven in a hot country?

​without air on a hot day the LAST thing you want is an open car...it just gets hotter. (Not to mention the amount of UV you'll be exposed to)

​In really hot weather with no air, you need a ROOF for shade and a limited amount of airflow to give a breeze inside the car. Too much air coming in from outside and the car heats up.

BTW - I used to have a 67 Firebird convertible with no air.

and there's always the safety and handling aspects - particularly on older models.

Edited November 12, 2013 by wilcopops

[I knew this would happen]

I have seen some open E classes, Z4, MR2, MX5 in BKK during the evening. Mostly younger Thai/Chinese. Back home i used to live in the countryside and you could see me any day in nearly any weather with the roof down. Missed that feeling so much that i got myself an additional roadster here. It´s doens´t come close to the fun i had back there but at least i have some nice moments others cannot have with their cars. But i guess that decission was merely based on good old memories. Crusing down a lonely B-road in a lovely summer night with the smell of grass in the air is just awesome, or driving some curvey mountain road in the alps......omg.

Well, the downsides have been mentioned already (BKK). For a Thai it really doesn´t make much sense and in his mind having sun and dust in the face is not very appealing, very understandable.

Look at all the SLKs for example, some richt daughter or mia noi with the shopping bag full of whitening cream, does she even know she can open the roof?

-

-far tooo hot in daytime

-so much pollution in the city that you´ll get instant lung cancer, the <deleted>*n* lorries and city buses can cover the whole road in black dust at a redlight.

-constant traffic jams, so no matter what car it is, driving is a pain

-so much dust and dirt in the air i have a black film on the interior after just a short drive in BKK.

+

+After watching a movie and getting home late there is no reason not to drive with the roof down, good conditions (mostly)

+Naam already mentioned early sunday morings, does work too.

+Take your ride to Hua Hin, Chiang Mai or any other place outside that trashbin called Bangkok and you can really enjoy some moments on the road with crisp air in the evening.

Edited November 12, 2013 by I knew this would happen

[Jib Teenuc]

Too much air coming in from outside and the car heats up.and there's always the safety and handling aspects - particularly on older models.

How does that work then? The physics of air movement generally dictates that flowing air will result in, at least the perception of, it being cooler than still air (try it, if you don't believe me. The air in your lungs, mouth and throat is warm but blow on your finger and it feels quite cool. The faster the air flows around your finger, the cooler it will feel. This is not merely a perception, either. We often blow on hot food and liquid in order to cool it down, prior to consuming it).

Safety aspects exist whether there's a hood or not. It could be argued that it is safer to be flung from an open vehicle than being smashed around inside it.

The question also remains "How on earth did we survive prior to air-conditioning?"

I personally detest air-con.

[billd766]

I came back up country on Monday and I saw a white MGB convertible (with the roof up of course) on the Bangkok / Suphan Buri road.

To go back to 1993 I saw a RR convertible (top up of course) with several Arab ladies in the back (I was in Qatar) and the chauffeur was putting their lunch in the boot to take home.

I was inside KFC at the time and theirs was a giant take away.

[ignis]

How does that work then? The physics of air movement generally dictates that flowing air will result in, at least the perception of, it being cooler than still air (try it, if you don't believe me. The air in your lungs, mouth and throat is warm but blow on your finger and it feels quite cool. The faster the air flows around your finger, the cooler it will feel. This is not merely a perception, either. We often blow on hot food and liquid in order to cool it down, prior to consuming it).

Safety aspects exist whether there's a hood or not. It could be argued that it is safer to be flung from an open vehicle than being smashed around inside it.

The question also remains "How on earth did we survive prior to air-conditioning?"

I personally detest air-con.

Easy

[wilcopops]

How does that work then? The physics of air movement generally dictates that flowing air will result in, at least the perception of, it being cooler than still air (try it, if you don't believe me. The air in your lungs, mouth and throat is warm but blow on your finger and it feels quite cool. The faster the air flows around your finger, the cooler it will feel. This is not merely a perception, either. We often blow on hot food and liquid in order to cool it down, prior to consuming it).

Safety aspects exist whether there's a hood or not. It could be argued that it is safer to be flung from an open vehicle than being smashed around inside it.

The question also remains "How on earth did we survive prior to air-conditioning?"

I personally detest air-con.

Ask an Aussie why he breathes through his teeth.

....or stand behind a jet engine......

Easy

P1020604.jpg

[Naam]

A Soft Top in Thailand:

1) Generally too expensive

2) Its usually too hot

3) Its always way too humid

4) The Sun is way to strong at this latitude

5) Extreme weather / storms

6) Pollution in the city, dust in the sticks

To date, I’ve only ever seen one soft top with the hood down… and that was a foreigner driving a Porsche 911 down Sathorn Rd.

But, it would be great to make a tour of north Thailand over December in a Soft Top…

ask my dogs how they love open air driving!

[Naam]

I think I saw 1 once.

on Sunday mornings 06.30 you can see me and my dogs in an open convertible.

Which one is usually behind the wheel ?

usually the female drives. the male and i are drinking alcohol.

[Naam]

I think I saw 1 once.

on Sunday mornings 06.30 you can see me and my dogs in an open convertible.

My dog as well smells so badly that I would only transport him a convertible

my dogs do not smell!

[lemoncake]

A Soft Top in Thailand:

1) Generally too expensive

2) Its usually too hot

3) Its always way too humid

4) The Sun is way to strong at this latitude

5) Extreme weather / storms

6) Pollution in the city, dust in the sticks

To date, I’ve only ever seen one soft top with the hood down… and that was a foreigner driving a Porsche 911 down Sathorn Rd.

But, it would be great to make a tour of north Thailand over December in a Soft Top…

ask my dogs how they love open air driving!

One of my dogs, loves being in the pick up in the back, but the boof head fell out the other day while i was driving on Sukhumvit Road.

Lucky for me and him, people in cars and bikes were just in much shock as the dog, so everybody stopped.