The Problem of the Automobile Top 



It may be made self-effacing and self-adjusting 



UP POSITION, 



HALF UP. POSITION 



CABLE DRAWN THROUGH 

 HOLLOW WINDSHIELD POST 



The automatic top is not only raised and lowered by the power of the 

 engine but it is stored away out of sight in the extended rear end 



Cable in position when 

 top is down 



hinged door 



Reel 



ONE of the most conspicuous and ugly 

 parts of the average automobile is the 

 top. Folded, it is 

 an overhanging object at 

 the rear out of harmony 

 with the pleasing lines of 

 the body. 



To eliminate this un- 

 sightliness, the engineers 

 of two large companies 

 have designed two types 

 of disappearing tops 

 which are entirely hidden 

 when not in use. Both 

 of these are shown here. 

 One is raised by hand. 

 The other differs from 

 all other types of tops in 

 that it is automatically 

 raised and taken down 

 not by hand but by 

 power secured from the 

 vehicle's engine, a convenience especially 

 attractive to thousands of women drivers. 



When not in use the hand-raised and 

 lowered disappearing top is stowed away 

 out of sight in a turtle-backed compart- 

 ment at the extreme rear of the car behind 

 the rear seat. This turtle back serves as a 

 cover but also gives the body the lines of a 

 yacht. The top is inserted in the rear 

 compartment through a large U-shaped 

 door in the top and two smaller doors on the 

 sides of the rear seat, all three doors forming U<^s fwwu;L! 

 one large U-shaped opening when they are 

 revolved up about their respective hinges. 

 The side arms supporting the top, when up, 



Bring back \ Note position of levers 



5 P nn 9 whentopisdown 



The automatically adjusted 

 top wound round the roll- 

 er in the rear compartment 



are pivoted at opposite points inside the 

 compartment. Suppose the top is to be 

 lowered. The chauffeur 

 walks to the rear of the 

 car through the divided 

 front seats and folds the 

 top away in the con- 

 ventional manner. When 

 the three doors are closed 

 it is entirely hidden from 

 view. An eave trough is 

 provided in front of the 

 doors so that water can- 

 not leak through the 

 door joints and down 

 into the compartment' 

 where it might rot the 



revolving tire boi 



.6 tires! 



The hand-operated top is folded back in 

 the usual way and then stowed away out 

 of sight in a turtle-backed compartment 



102 



