Autoblog

Click above for Chery Eastar convertible gallery

In case you were jonesing for a dose of weirdness from the Chinese auto industry today, Chery has complied. Behold the Chery Eastar convertible. China Car Times' headline asks, "The thinking man's Bentley?" Perhaps, if said man is doing his thinking after hitting the all-you-can-eat peyote buffet. Note the deftly-removed B-pillar and beautifully integrated extension between the front and rear doors, complete with a gap in the weatherstripping along the sills. Listen, we have no idea if this is some one-off novelty or something that's actually being considered. What we do know is that a Saabish-bodied 4-door luxo-vert with a Lexus-y nose and Mitsubishi Mirage rear end is exactly the kind of thing that makes following the Chinese auto industry so entertaining.


[Source: China Car Times]

Mini is readying its R56-based replacement for the current Cooper droptop, and it will retain its cloth roof. While there's been widespread adoption of retractable hardtops, the Coop is staying soft. That's good for weight and center of gravity, so the 'vert will still handle charmingly. True to the Cooper's retro mission, Senior VP of Brand Management, Kay Segler contends that the cloth roof offers an experience more true to classic alfresco motoring. The reasoning is that traditional convertible tops open wider than hardtops, so the skyward vistas are less impeded in the Cooper, which is why they pledge to never luxe up their car with metal origami. It could also be that there's no place to put the larger roof stack of a folding hardtop.

[Source: Inside Line]

While the new Volkswagen Eos may have filled a hole left by the recently discontinued Cabrio, there is likely a market for a smaller drop-top in Volkswagen's lineup. A convertible version of the Polo may appeal to buyers looking at the Peugeot 206 CC or the Opel Tigra TwinTop, so Bild.de commissioned an artist to lop the roof off the Polo GTI, giving us an idea of what to expect.

While Volkswagen hasn't mentioned the possibility of a cabrio Polo, it wouldn't be hard to make a case for it, particularly if if cost was kept down by utilizing a canvas roof instead of a more complex, and expensive, folding hard-top.

Bild.de predicts that the VW Polo GTI Cabriolet could come to market as early as 2009, with a price of around 16,000 to 18,000 euro.

[Source: Bild.de via German Car Blog]

Winding Road's adding credence to the belief that the new M3 convertible coming from BMW will be a ragtop. As in cloth instead of a retractable hardtop, which seems to be de rigueur these days. Even though the 330i and 335i E92 platform mates have a retractable hardtop, the extra weight is considered anathema to the M Group philosophy. The extra 440 pounds of that folding top is a big sacrifice for the noise and safety benefits. So a soft top seems to be plausible. If a soft top is used, however, it will need to be pretty strong. The added speed promised from that new V8 is going to require extra work from the Bavarian engineers. If the cloth can't stay quiet and sealed at speed, another option apparently being considered is a carbon fiber version of the hardtop. Sounds expensive. But cool.

[Source: Winding Road]

We came across Newport Convertible Engineering at the SEMA show a couple of weeks ago, and the company's FJ Cruiser Convertible immediately caught our eye. Not only does this $10,000 conversion give FJ Cruiser owners a power-operated soft top in place of the standard steel roof, but it also eliminates the FJ's giant C-pillar that creates a huge blindspot for the driver and makes back seat passengers feel claustrophobic. Of course, the sight lines are still pretty bad with the top up on the FJ Cruiser Convertible, but we would hope after spending 10 large on such a conversion that you'd want the top down as often as possible. You're also forced to sacrifice some cargo space, as the soft top's roofline slopes down immediately after the roll cage's cross bar located just behind the rear seats. It almost looks like a four-door coupe.

Newport also has experience shaving the domes off of such cars as the Scion xB (!), Dodge Charger (!!), Cadillac CTS (!!!), Cadillac Escalade (!!!!), HUMMER H3 (!!!!!) and Ford Excursion (!!!!!!).

Follow the jump for plenty more pics of the FJ Cruiser Convertible with top up and down.

Auto Motor und Sport is reporting that Mercedes-Benz may be developing a four-door convertible version of its flagship luxury sedan, the S-Class. It will reportedly sport the longest soft top every produced and be powered by an equally large 6.0L V12 engine. We can expect the interior to be trimmed out in even more opulent luxury than a standard S-Class, as well. The S-Class convertible will surface in early 2007 as a concept at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

[Source: Auto Motor und Sport]