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Demand for Convertibles Has Dropped 50% Since 2006

We don’t know if you’ve noticed, but automakers are focusing less and less on rolling out wind-in-your-face vehicles, instead focusing on big sedans and SUV. There used to be a time when a regular 1990 Ford Mustang Convertible was all you’d need to look cool, but things have changed and you see less and less drop-tops on the road today.

The statistics specialists at Polk have come up with figures to back up the obvious decline in sales. According to their results, back in 2006, convertibles accounted for 2 percent of the overall market in the US. However, that figure has dropped to just 350,000 units per year and total sales have thus decreased by over 50 percent while market share dropped to just 1.2 percent.

Generally, the figure is supposed to be between 1.8% to 2.0% of the market depending on the number of convertible entries available, overall automotive market health and the freshness of some of the market-leading convertibles. During the downturn, the convertible segment fell to 1.4 to 1.2% of the market and it never really recovered.

So we have to ask ourselves: What is wrong with the models on offer and will they be able to bring back the market? The answer lies partially with the new-found craving for fuel-efficient engines in the US, making a big-V8 sound ridiculous.

Since the beginning of the year, the convertible market has improved 5 percent, but this figure lags badly behind the overall industry, which grew 15.6 percent.

If there’s any victor here, it has to be GM, as through the first part of the year, the 2011 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible has accounted for 12.4 percent of the drop-top market. Yet the mustang is close with 11 percent.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
Mihnea Radu profile photo

Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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