The forgotten convertible greeting
07/16/2013
When I bought my first convertible a good thirty years ago, this type of vehicle was a small minority. Convertibles were not "en vogue", at best you bought a Targa, because safety was important. This didn't necessarily bother me, and I noticed that others had obviously also discovered the fun of open-top driving. And they were happy to share this joy, so the convertible drivers waved to each other, just as motorcyclists still do today. The Fiat 850 driver greeted the Mercedes SL owner without pretension, the Alfa Spider driver greeted the Triumph Spitfire occupants. People raised their hands when they met and the roof was open.
Towards the end of the 1980s, the convertible began to celebrate its renaissance. With the BMW 3-series convertible, but above all with the Mazda MX-5, a new boom began that continues unabated to this day. At some point, the custom of greeting each other was forgotten, perhaps also because there were now so many convertibles on the road and encounters between two open-top cars were no longer the exception. Now perhaps brand colleagues still greet each other when they are in a good mood ...
