Joseph asked:
OK. I cannot get this straight in my head (and my father-in-law who was in
the body shop business tried to explain this to me several times), how can
one tell the difference between a hardtop and a sedan?
My reply:
Well, lets start with what we know a sedan is. It has four doors. It has
three pillars holding up the roof on each side. One at the windshield, one
at the rear window, and one in the middle, between the doors. The doors are
fully framed, which is to say the glass moves within the frame and their is
a seal all around it when the window is closed.
A four door hardtop does not have the middle pillar. With the windows open
there is no obstruction between the windshield and rear window. The doors
are not fully framed. When closed the windows seal against the roof of the
car, the front and rear pillars and with each other in the middle.
The name hardtop is confusing. It is an abbreviation of the phrase 'hardtop
convertible, which is almost an oxymoron, or 'fixed hardtop convertible,'
which definitely is. The idea is to give the impression that the car is a
convertible without actually having a roof that opens and closes. In some
sports cars, they do indeed have a canvas roof for the summer and a hardtop
roof for the winter. The hardtop obviously cannot be folded away but can be
removed. No Imperial had a removable hardtop. Also, many Imperial coupes
are really two door hardtops and not coupes at all.
Hope this helps.
Hugh
58 4 door hardtop.
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