Wow... what a pregnant pause leading up to "landau vinyl roof". I thought something special was coming up!

1973 was the best year for the Charger, and then this was introduced in 1975....

And sales were less than half!

Guess they had more vinyl than paint or maybe the factory just made a bad batch of roofs that needed to be covered up. Remember reading that the Penske Trans-Am Camaro had a vinyl roof because the roof looked like crap after the acid dipping and it was easier than painting.

Hubcaps? For real? Where do I sign?!

When I was probably 5 years old (late malaise era), I remember a friend of my parents telling them about how he was buying a car, and the salesman was going through the options, and he noticed a line item on the bill that listed the back seat as optional equipment. He just walked out of the dealership at that point.

I'm still waiting for some ambitious carmaker to bring back the whitewalls.

That 70's ad style, where the announcer kind of browbeats the customer. That's good stuff.

As a life-long Mopar nut of 31 who watched the Dukes religiously, and had dozens of examples of product tie-in swag (bedspread, iron-on tees, remote-control General Lee, on and on), I'll go on record as saying I don't care if I ever see another '68-'70 Charger again.. The first-gen Chargers kick the General's ass, and yes, I prefer the '71-'74 Chargers too.

Landau vinyl roofs are awesome- end of discussion.

"Charger Tupper at your Dodge dealers"?

For when a dragon meets a ram?

Nasty.

You know, the current Charger really needs a vinyl roof to live up to its heritage. Also, we should choke that Hemi down to about the same levels as the 2.7L V6.

Hey, that actor was Paul Carr. Although he wore a Gold Shirt, he was the original "Red Shirt" to be killed in the second pilot for Star Trek on the episode titled Where No Man has Gone Before.

I know, that episode was not the first shown. It was a pilot.

I had a Nerd moment.

A vinyl top was a styling "must have" back then, just like chrome rims are now. Thank god the chrome rims fad is finally starting to die off.

And there were very few cars that full hubcaps were standard equipment on, maybe Cadillacs and Lincolns. The smaller "half moons" were usually included just to hide the ugly lug nuts and greasy hubs.

@P161911:

You know, funny thing. Remember the old, very handsome, Jaguar XJ6/12C? They all came with a full vinyl roof-not because it was fashionable, but because they had quality issues with the roof and needed a little cover up. That car also had issues with low-pressure zones on the sides at speed where the windows would pull outward like an '82 camaro. But I digress.

@4_Chan!!!!!11!one: Was the car in question a Chevette by chance? The back seat on the Scooter model was optional. The first Gremlins were sold that way, too.

@DannyBN: AMX don't need no back seat, either.

My Duster has the "no extra charge" canopy roof.
At least it used to.
The rust underneath was no extra charge too.

@AlfaCharger:That's Kelso???

(Yes, I've kissed girls...)

@4_Chan!!!!!11!one: The dealer that sold my wife her first car (a Focus hatchback) wanted to charge $4000 for the "optional third door".

@graverobber: great vinyl roof moment. Remember the Chrysler Fifth Avenue, circa 1983? It was the evolutionary end of the Aspen/Volare, via the Diplomat. They wanted a "formal" roof (i.e. upright rear window) so they cut off the sloping back window and replaced it with a smaller upright one and swathed the back of the roof with a HUGE padded landaulet with fabulous electro-luminescent opera lamps.

My folks had one and I recall cutting my fingers when as a teenager I stretch and found the headliner seam, and being an idiot, I stuck my hand back to where the ragged roof line was hidden under there.

I always wanted to take that vinyl off to see just how bad that cutline was.

You forget how huge those cars were.
I found an ad for my 66 Plymouth that listed all the special options like "turn signals"--oooh! I'll take it.

Ah Murilee, ever on the lookout for things hidden in the nooks and crannies of car culture. I winter in south Florida, where the VR (vinyl roof) is still popular among the Sansabelt set. Drive from Delray down through Boca on Route A1A and you find yourself sailing in a sea of vinyl. White Lincolns and Mercury Marquis sedans abound, all with their padded roofs each emblazoned on the sail panel with a "Presidential" or "Executive Series" escutcheon (and "gold package" trim, of course). I have a rule of thumb. If you want to be absolutely certain that a person is not nor never has been a president or executive of any kind, you will find them driving a car so emblazoned. Far more disturbing down here, are the numbers of Lexus LS430s and LS460s with expanses of vinyl ruining their once smooth rooflines. Camrys, too. At least, I haven't seen a 7-series Bimmer done up like that. These cars eventually fall into the hands of secondary and tertiary buyers, by which time the grim legacy of all that sun and the repeated automatic car washes is all too apparent. There's nothing quite so disconcerting as seeing a "flapper" at 70 mph on Interstate 95 -- yellow foam roof padding exposed to the light and great ribbons of vinyl flying in the wind. This is usually temporarily cured with about 30 yards of duct tape, which leads eventually to even more noisy and interesting aerodynamics. Yes, a padded leather roof, on, say a Derham bodied 1938 Cadillac limousine or a Brunn Lincoln, once evoked real class. But once you had to start selling them as "landau" or "opera" or whatever: Class dismissed.

My question is, how did they get Martin Landau to make ALL of those free tops??????

@Bento: Teehee.

@AlfaCharger: heh heh...ugly nuts. Thanks, you made my day.

"cut off the sloping back window and replaced it with a smaller upright one and swathed the back of the roof with a HUGE padded landaulet with fabulous electro-luminescent opera lamps."

Mmmmmm. Vinyl AND opera lamps.....
I'm taking my pickup to "Roman Chariot" tomorrow for some work.
Maybe a fake spare moulded in the tailgate too!

"Ah Murilee, ever on the lookout for things hidden in the nooks and crannies of car culture. I winter in south Florida, where the VR (vinyl roof) is still popular among the Sansabelt set."

Just think what babies born this year will be saying about their aging parents restoring & driving bubble shaped front wheel drive imports econoboxes with bizarre wheels.......

I'm no fan of vinyl roofs, but there was a time that it was "the thing" by far more than just retiree's, just like Member's only jackets & Trans-Am's had their time in the sun. Most Cutlass's, Chevelle's, Mustangs, Fairlanes, Torino's of that era had similar.

How soon we forget! Any styling which is carried to the extreme becomes fashion and by definition becomes dated.

Let's see what's already fading:
- Gold trim/emblems
- Fat short wheels on imports
- Giant wheels on non-imports
- Neon?
- Red/Blue aluminum fittings & wire sleeves
- wings on imports

the things we do to our cars!!!

Have fun,

Alan

@Bento: Damn! I was going to comment on how I thought that a Landau vinyl roof was slang for a cheap toupee for Barbara Bain's ex-husband, then you had to go and ruin it with your comment...!

Truly, he who hesitates is lost...

@commander205: Lordy yes. I remember in the 70s when friends' dads would buy cars without vinyl roofs, it was worth of major derision. And then, one day, America woke up and the long dark night was over.

@mobilene: Let me not be seen as an utter detractor re VRs. I had a black 1971 Cadillac Fleetwood 60 Special with black leather interior and black vinyl roof and it looked great. I was working in Washington then and that car really fit right in. I kept it in immaculate condition. For all its bulk, that car, in triple black looked fairly light on its feet and impressive. My wife had a 1970 Monte Carlo -- dark green with black vinyl top, rally wheels etc. and it was (and still is -- a friend bought it) a hell of a sharp looking car. Of course that first slab-sided model was and is the best looking of all Monte Carlos.

I had a '72 Charger, triple green and the vinyl top looked like alligator skin. I bet that thing was the king pimp ride back in the disco era. The look didn't age well, though.

@alfacharger: I thought it was kelso myself. But you win nerd of the day!

i would gladly put a landau roof on the liberty, i guess i will have to put up with brilliant handling and AWD traction instead (fyi. i would rather have a landau)

@teargas: I wanted to see the next ad, with David Janssen. DJ might threaten to kill your dog if you didn't buy.