CRUISIN'
At The Village Shops at Birch Run,
you'll find 34 manufacturers' shops offering 20-
75% off regular retail prices.
Open 7 days a week at Exit 136 on
Interstate 75 in Birch Run, MI. Call for a listing
of our brand name stores at 517-624-4846.
tuAtIE Mops
A IRc HA I N
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EXQUISITE FASHIONS
CROSSWINDS MALL
WEST BLOOMFIELD
(313) 851-7633
12 STYLE
Worldwide, convertible sales are ris-
ing by approximately 20 percent each
year, according to Kyle Chura, adver-
tising and press relations supervisor
for ASC, Inc., a Southgate, Mi. special-
ty vehicle supplier. "Everybody wants
something that nobody else has," he
says.
Or, as Lloyd Reuss, president of
General Motors Corporation, puts it,
"People want exciting and unique
vehicles."
ASC chops off the tops or supplies
convertible parts for 15 newly-
manufactured vehicles, including
Buick Reattas, Saab 900's, Chevrolet
Corvettes, Porsche 94452, and
Nissan's new Infiniti M30.
Operations like ASC and its com-
petitor, Cars and Concepts, of
Brighton, Mi., make the modern con-
vertible possible. The last such vehi-
cle produced in an auto plant was the
Cadillac Eldorado. When General
Worldwide convertible
sales are rising
approximately 20 percent
each year.
Motors halted its production in 1976,
that was the end of the line for
American-made ragtops.
Still, there were small numbers of
exotic convertibles available, such as
the Aston Martin Volante and the Fer-
rari Quattrovalvole Spider. By 1979,
sales were brisk for the German-built
Volkswagen's Rabbit (now the VW
Cabriolet): in 1983, it was the top-
selling imported convertible, followed
by the Mercedes-Benz 280SL.
But in 1982, American-built conver-
tibles came back to life. Buyers were
paying $5,000 and more to have cus-
tomizers like ASC glamorize their cars
by chopping off the tops. That fact
convinced Chrysler Chairman Lee
Iacocca there must be a market for
ragtops. He introduced the 1982
LeBaron convertible, customized by
Cars and Concepts. The car has been
a winner ever since.
The customizers are credited with
reviving the convertible, says Mr.
Chura. "Manufacturers could not af-
ford to build 2,000 convertibles on