More automakers are turning to retractable hardtops as replacements for conventional folding fabric tops on convertibles. Car companies hope to attract buyers to profitable convertibles by offering the allure of open-air motoring and the buttoned-up security and weather resistance of solid tops.
The latest example: Mazda's MX-5 Miata. Long regarded as a simple, affordable, perky roadster with a soft top that could be operated with one hand, it just got a power retractable hardtop. Mazda spokesman Jay Amestoy figures the RHT — industry jargon for retractable hardtop — could become a hefty 30% of all U.S. Miata sales.
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