SolaraGuy.com

first of all i took these in burst mode on my cellphone so yea this person goes to my college so this is the second time i've seen it in the parking lot if i see it agian i'll take better pics.

i've walked by and its actually looks like it can flip back into a convertable but it looked crapy put together

An ex neighbor of mine owns a Camry with a top like that, its not a convertible.

LOL... it's just a Camry with canvas covering the roof. I see them a lot here, almost always driven by old farts.

wat the heck is it i've never seen one "ever" untill this semester

what is the canvas top suppose to represent?

I've wondered that myself, and after a brief jaunt around the internet, it seems like it's supposed to simulate a convertible or 'landau' style top. The term 'landau' refers to a style of horse drawn carriage that was one of the first fashionable convertibles back in the 1740s.

I've often heard the term 'landau top/roof', usually in reference to this sort of roof done in vinyl on many older and some current Lincolns, Cadillacs, etc. but I've never understood why people do it to cars like the Camry.

You see it all the time in Central Florida, where we're surrounded by the "nearly dead" - the only generation of people who would custom order such a thing on their vehicles because they were around to see simulated landau-roof cars become popular, first in the 20s/30s and again in the 50s/60s, carrying well into the 80s.

I guess it's supposed to be classy - but after it bakes in the Florida sun for a decade and starts to peel off, it's not so nice.

I've seen one around here. White with a navy top. It's ugly.

Wow, that car looks like its straight outta the 70's....very retro.

EMBSikorsky wrote:
You see it all the time in Central Florida, where we're surrounded by the "nearly dead" - the only generation of people who would custom order such a thing on their vehicles because they were around to see simulated landau-roof cars become popular, first in the 20s/30s and again in the 50s/60s, carrying well into the 80s.

I guess it's supposed to be classy - but after it bakes in the Florida sun for a decade and starts to peel off, it's not so nice.

LOFL!

^lol

I've seen that once or twice around here, but that'll actually be cool if it was an operable convertible top, but ironically it just makes the car look like something that's supposed to be classier-looking but just ghey in the views of our generation.

A good giveaway on most landau-tops vs. a real convertible is if there's beams going horizontally across the vehicle and having a good amount of give when you press down on the top... I'm just giving this guy a little bit of the benefit of the doubt since I've actually seen a late-90's Cadillac that was actually converted into a drop-top (and mind you that there hasn't been any production 4-door convertibles since the suicide-door Lincoln Continentals of the 60's).

Good GAWD that's nasty!!

My Grandad told me about the history of vinyl tops out of Detroit where he worked for GM for over 40 years... he said back when they didn't use plastic filler to smooth out the seams in the tops, they found it cheaper to glue a vinyl top on and actually charge MORE for it at the dealership! This practice started in the 60's but was pretty much abandoned by the late 80's with the exception of certain Cadillacs.

Anything you see today on a newer model car is aftermarket. And nasty!

Haha... Hmm... I wonder why it seems that all the FL SGs Know about this... I've even seen it on Avalons down here.

Finally saw one of these the other day. White Camry, gold stripe, taupe top - can't say I really think it's a good look.

It looked like a prepubescent Lincoln Town Car.

It's because of all the old farts here in God's Waiting Room.

There's a TON of cars with tops like those around here. I think I know why seniors love them. They make great cup holders! Let me explain. As I was leaving Dunkin Doughnuts, I saw a lady (she had to be at least142 years old) place her coffee and box of doughnuts on top of her Altima with the rag top. She opened her door, got in her car, and took off like a bat outa hell! I followed her for at least a mile before we were stopped by a train. I'll be doggone if that box and cup did not move an inch! I got out and told her that she forgot her coffee and doughnuts. She looked at me and smiled a toothless smile and said "Thank you young man." I'm 47 so that alone shows you how old she was! I dunno, maybe she just wanted to cool her coffee off.