You may remember the 2020 Jeep Gladiator
, which was the only open-air pickup and soft-top convertible—at the time. Dating back to the late 1800s, open-roof designs on pickup trucks tried to make a splash in the mainstream market. Though we’ve long been obsessed with freedom, power, and trucks here in the U.S., why did convertible trucks
never catch on? Convertible trucks had German beginnings
The first convertible truck is said to be the Daimler Motor-Lastwagen. The initial version had a 1.06-liter two-cylinder engine with only 4 hp! Luckily, the styling was later improved, and the car upgraded to a 2.2-liter mill.
And as we would expect with a German automaker
, it was the local beer companies that first experimented with these unique creations. In fact, about “43 percent of all trucks in the German Reich were operated by breweries,” according to MotorTrend
. In 1925, Ford jumped on the consumer-friendly train and built the Ford Model T Runabout. The company paired the two-seat Runabout body style with an open stake bed. Before being replaced by the Model A, the Model T truck sold for about two years.
With an affordable starting price of $281, about 135,000 models could be seen cruising around the country. If a fully-loaded truck was more your style (with demountable wheel rims and an electric starter) it would only set you back $366.
The highly coveted Ford Bronco
introduced a rare “Sports Utility” pickup in 1966. According to MotorTrend, “A steel bulkhead and removable hardtop separate the front row of seats from the small bed, which features about 32 cubic feet of storage and measures less than 4 feet long.” The Bronco was produced until 1972.
Though not technically a convertible, the 1983 Subaru BRAT is worth a mention. According to MotorTrend, “Weird styling, optional (and undoubtedly unsafe) bed-mounted jump seats, and a two-speed transfer case gave the BRAT an identity crisis. Was it a truck? A family wagon in drag? A surprising off-roader? All of the above?”
While hard to classify, one thing everyone agrees on about the Subaru BRAT is that it's fun.
In 1989, the Dodge Dakota Convertible was born. Business for Chrysler was booming, with its minivans and K-cars flying off the shelves—or dealerships, we should say. The Dodge Dakota Sport convertible was built by the creative geniuses at the American Sunroof Corporation (ASC).
“Exclusively built on the Sport trim level, finished Dakotas were shipped to ASC, which would lop off the steel roof, add a roll bar with seatbelt and convertible mounting points, and finish the job with a folding vinyl roof,” notes MotorTrend.
However, only 4,000 sold until production was halted in 1991. Also, the convertible truck didn’t house a V8 engine as we expected. Instead, it featured a 3.9-liter V6 with 125 hp and 195 lb-ft of torque.
Unique open-air pickups from the 1990s to 2000s
It’s hard to forget the 1992 AM General Hummer and the 1999 Hummer H1. Known as a “civilian version of the HMMWV (Humvee) military vehicle, [the truck was] available in three body styles: a four-door wagon, two-door pickup, and four-door soft-top,” according to MotorTrend.
In need of greater reliability and performance, the Hummer H1 eventually got a much-needed upgrade in 2006. The Hummer H1 received a Duramax 6.6-liter turbodiesel V-8 during its final year of production, as well as an Allison automatic transmission.
We love the sleek 2003 Chevrolet SSR (Super Sport Roadster) that was inspired by cars like the Volkswagen New Beetle and the Plymouth Prowler. A hard tonneau clever came standard, and a “cargo compartment trim package” was available if you wanted to get fancy. The package came with an aluminum-look trim to the truck bed and more luxurious carpeting.
The SSR’s 5.3-liter V8 four-speed manual gearbox was soon upgraded to a 6-liter V8 with an optional six-speed manual transmission. Because the cargo box was a flop with buyers and was pretty much useless, we can agree that the retractable hardtop convertible is more fun to look at than actually drive.
Is there really a Ford F-150 going for $80,000?
Have you heard of the 2022 Ford F-150
Convertible? According to HotCars
, Ford Authority reported that “Ford released a render for their all-new 2021+ convertible option on the F-150 model.” Ironically, the release for the convertible was set for Christmas 2021. Not so sure we’d be interested in letting the top down in the middle of winter. Regardless, die-hard fanatics paid a nonrefundable $3,000 to get on the exclusive waitlist for the truck. There was even a fake quote by Ford CEO Tim Barley included in this April Fools’ joke: “By 2022, Ford customers will have the ability to pick up one of the most versatile trucks in Blue Oval history.”
The outlandish rendering promises 2,000-lb payload capacity, a drop-top, massaging seats, and the ability to tow up to 10,500 lbs. Consumers were teased with a waterproof Ford SYNC 4 system and a voice-command-controlled soft top. The ad also took a stab at Broncos, encouraging owners to ditch their sub-par vehicles for this F-150 with a removable top.
Don’t worry, Ford Authority made this April Fools’ Day joke pretty obvious that it was a fun prank. There may even be more parodies to come, as American auto companies strive to be the first to produce a best-selling convertible truck.
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