Hooniverse Concept Clinic: Proposal #3

February 16, 2015

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Welcome to, as far as I know, the only live-action online theoretical product design test clinic in the entire universe, and it’s got the Hooniverse name stamped all over it.
Last week we decided that the world definitely does have space for a back-to-basics, e-z customised four-wheel-drive vehicle. In fact, it’s a heinous crime that the major manufacturers have all abandoned this somewhat specialist sector of the market, and the smart money is on even the Land Rover Defender turning into some kind of lifestyle replacement accessory for the well heeled. So there we have it. The design, the concept, all up for grabs. Somebody please build it (or something better looking that does the same job).
This week’s pencil and biro fantasy is, well, just a car, really. It’s a wagon with two side doors, possibly four-wheel-drive with mild off-highway trips workable. The car itself won’t rewrite history. What we’re interested in is the roof. Take the jump to say Yay or Nay.

GIANTIZE BY CLICKING THE PICTURE. If you like.

Yes, T-Tops! Once the preserve of the elite, such distinguished cars as the Chevrolet Corvette, the Mustang II, the Nissan 300ZX and the Suzuki X-90, I want to see whether the world would welcome their return or whether they should remain dead and buried along with three-spoke alloy wheels and window louvres.
Panoramic roofs are where it’s at these days. Air conditioning stands in for actual fresh air, and nobody wants the hassle of removing and storing the removable panels that are the whole point of T-Tops in the first place. Bollocks, I say. T-Tops are fun, and what better vehicle to have them on than a practical, everyday car? T-Bar Sports Cars are one thing, but what about having some fun on the way to Home Depot, or when returning from IKEA with a trunkload of shit you didn’t realise you needed?
So, is this nonsense? Should T-Tops come back as part of the structure of your average daily driver? And, if they should, which brand should be first to remind the world of what it’s been missing?
(All drawings by Chris Haining for Hooniverse, Copyright 2015)

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RoadworkUK

RoadworkUK is the online persona of Gianni Hirsch, a tall, awkward gentleman with a home office full of gently decomposing paper and a garage full of worthless scrap metal. He lives in the village of Moistly, which is a safe distance from London and is surrounded by enough water and scenery to be interesting. In another life, he has designed, sold, worked on and written about cars in exchange for small quantities of money.