{"id":27788,"date":"2019-09-21T09:00:49","date_gmt":"2019-09-21T13:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dodgegarage.com\/news-api\/?p=27788"},"modified":"2024-03-25T11:24:16","modified_gmt":"2024-03-25T15:24:16","slug":"open-air","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/heritage\/2019\/09\/open-air.html","title":{"rendered":"Open Air"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A History of\nthe FCA US LLC Convertible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The guilty\npleasure that tops the open road is the open air. And FCA US LLC utilized the\nlove of the convertible to showcase the most daring design, engineering,\nimaginative marketing and innovative leadership ever rolled out on four wheels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201939 Plymouth Convertible was the first to feature a power-assisted top. It was swiftly followed by the \u201ccar of the future,\u201d the art deco-inspired \u201941 Chrysler Thunderbolt, the country\u2019s first fully retractable hardtop. Unlike modern drop tops, the retractable hardtop mechanism took up the entire rear end, relegating three passengers (at the most) to the bench seat in the cockpit. The Thunderbolt\u2019s aerodynamic design was a tribute to Budd streamliner trains, and boasted push-button-controlled hidden headlights, windows, rear deck and top. Its curved-glass windshield was also the largest attempted at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"1939
1939 Plymouth Deluxe Convertible
Sedan (Left) and 1940 Chrysler Thunderbolt (Right)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The first\nAmerican muscle car was the \u201955 Chrysler hardtop, with a 331-c.i. HEMI\u00ae<\/sup> V8\nengine churning out a massive 300 hp. It really hit its stride in \u201957, when it\nwas outfitted with huge fins, cathedral window taillights, a 375-hp, 392-c.i.\nHEMI V8 engine, and a convertible top. Raw power singed the open air and there\nwas nothing else like it. It defined the \u201cjet age\u201d of American cars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"1967
1967 Jeepster<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The most\nuniquely versatile convertible in history was the Jeepster Commando produced by\nKasier Jeep\u00ae<\/sub>. The 1966 Jeepster Commando was configured as a pickup truck, a\nwagon and a roadster, as well as a convertible. It was built on the CJ-6\nplatform and was offered with either a manual or power convertible top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201970s saw some very iconic iron, with convertible versions of both the coveted Challenger R\/T and Barracuda. These rare beasts command top dollar today, with the \u201970 Dodge Challenger R\/T HEMI engine convertible fetching the world-record price of $1,815,000 in 2016. The only known numbers-matching 426 HEMI engine-powered four-speed convertible \u2019Cuda in existence brought down an amazing $3,500,000 at auction. FCA US convertibles are almost priceless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"1970
1970 Dodge Challenger R\/T Convertible (Left) and 1970 Plymouth Barracuda Convertible (Right)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A decade\npasses before another historic convertible makes the scene. In 1980, Chrysler\nCorporation introduced the humble K-car. These unassuming cars gave Chrysler\nCorporation the ability to seek out niches in the market by nimbly mixing and\nmatching specific K-car models to buyers\u2019 desires. And while the convertible\nwas considered dead and forgotten, the 1982 Chrysler LeBaron convertible\nstarted an unimaginable rag top renaissance, along with being almost\ninconceivably affordable and practical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"1989
1989 Dodge Dakota Convertible<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In 1987,\nDodge created a mid-size truck segment with the Dakota Sport. Then in 1989, it\nliterally took the top off the truck segment with the Dakota Sport pickup\nconvertible \u2013 yes, pickup truck convertible \u2013 complete with four-wheel-drive\noption. This convertible is easily one of the most unique pickups ever offered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"1989
1989 Dodge Viper<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Chrysler\nCorporation design commanded the \u201989 North American International Auto Show\nwith the convertible Viper concept. This concept started getting orders before\nthe show even ended and was another \u201cproduct-market fit.\u201d Produced for five\ngenerations, this convertible had a massive amount of torque, horsepower and\ntop speed. It helped to revive the culture of the concept car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"1996
1996 Chrysler Sebring Convertible<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In a\ncategory almost by itself, the 1996 Chrysler Sebring convertible launched. The\nSebring convertible was one of only five passenger convertibles created by an\nAmerican brand. And in 2008, Chrysler Group LLC only reinforced its leadership\nas America\u2019s favorite convertible with the all-new Sebring convertible. The\nSebring offered an unmatched combo of design, performance, fuel efficiency,\nspacious interior and a category first\u2026three automatically latching convertible\ntop options, which could be retracted with the push of a key fob button. For\nChrysler Group, the convertible proved to be, once again, a way to showcase the\ndominance of its market savvy and maverick innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"2020
2020 Jeep Gladiator<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This year\nmarks another convertible first for FCA US. The introduction of the all-new\nJeep Gladiator \u2013 a convertible Jeep truck \u2013 is certain to keep those who love\nthe open air feeling open-minded and enthused about being one with nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, by now\nis should be obvious. For FCA US, the convertible has always been a way to\nbreathe fresh air into an uninspired marketplace. And it continues to be a\nvehicle to keep the car-buying public hungry for more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A History of the FCA US LLC Convertible. The guilty pleasure that tops the open road is the open air. And FCA US LLC utilized the love of the convertible to showcase the most daring design, engineering, imaginative marketing and innovative leadership ever rolled out on four wheels. The \u201939 Plymouth Convertible was the first to feature a power-assisted top. It was swiftly followed by the \u201ccar of the future,\u201d the art deco-inspired \u201941 Chrysler Thunderbolt, the country\u2019s first fully retractable hardtop. Unlike modern drop tops, the retractable hardtop mechanism […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":27790,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2622],"tags":[2011],"class_list":["post-27788","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-heritage","tag-hemi-engine"],"acf":[],"custom_fields":{"post_thumbnail_image":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/feature-38.jpg","icon_selection":"article","external_link":"","featured_article":[],"upload_background_image":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27788"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27788"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27788\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27875,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27788\/revisions\/27875"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}