Practical, shmactical. They're cool.

Byline: Matt Cooper The Register-Guard

For nine rainy months of the year, Dianna Paz said, her convertible is basically a four-wheeled furniture piece.

But when summer comes, watch out.

"The three months that I get to take it out, it's just awesome," Paz said. `People are always saying, `What, you own a convertible in Oregon?' I say, `Hey, the days it's nice, it really is the best.' '

In the rain-soaked Northwest, some might find the convertible about as functional as a poncho made from paper towels. But open-air auto enthusiasts say it's the rest of us who are all wet - especially for these precious months when cloudless skies cooperate.

Paz owns a lime-green '71 Oldsmobile Cutlass, and she likes nothing better than loading it up with fishing poles and an ice chest for a road trip along the McKenzie River.

Summers only, mind you.

"That car sits in the garage nine months out of the year, waiting for the sun to come up," Paz said. "I pretty much just insure it three months out of the year."

Not too practical - but convertibles aren't about being practical, said Justin Hadley, 31, a sales manager with AutoZone in west Eugene.

If Hadley wanted practical, he'd drive a minivan, he said. Instead, he fell in love with a soft-top '89 Mustang GT, in part because it provided a safer way to get that open-air effect without the risk of a motorcycle.

"It's nice to feel the sun beating down on you as you're driving to the coast," Hadley said.

"Climate-wise, Oregon is kind of depressing; when you have the three months of the sun, having the convertible makes the time go by faster."

But some in the convertible community refuse to be steered by the weather.

Mike Hanneson, 52, of Springfield, said that, except for downpours, he keeps the top down on his 2000 Miata all year long.

Hanneson is president of the 140-member Willamette Valley Miata Club, which converged at Armitage Park over the weekend to talk Miatas and cruise the valley.

Hanneson related the story of a diehard member who got caught in a rainstorm recently but refused to put the top up. He sped all the way back to town feeling nary a drop, thanks to the wonder of aerodynamics.

"The only time he got wet was when he had to stop at a stoplight back at Springfield," Hanneson said. "At 40 miles per hour and above, the rain goes right over the top of you."

The sun is out and convertibles are popping up like tulips, said 28-year-old Autumn Gallic. She's finally reaping the reward of the Nissan 350Z that she and her husband bought in March, when heavy rains suggested that a canoe was the better buy.

"We had discussions about the rainy season," Gallic said. "We just decided we really liked the car. It's a cool car."

Those two words - "cool car" - are a refrain in the convertible community.

Christine Emmes, 52, used them to describe her silver 2001 Miata. She and her husband, Ken, affectionately compare their compact convertible to the old mechanical-car ride at Disneyland - except with a lot more zip.

Emmes loves cruising the valley with the "lid down," as she put it. But she's no dummy, either. "I do carry an umbrella with me, all the time, in the trunk," she added. "It's Oregon."

POP THE TOP

With the rains receding, Eugene-Springfield's convertible community is on the road - and offering insights into open-air excitement:

Best place to cruise topless: Aufderheide Drive, near Blue River. Scenic and twisty, said Mike Hanneson of Springfield.

Fun in the sun: Hanneson's top-down trips always include two things - sunscreen and a hat.

Beware sudden showers: Rain isn't the only enemy - sprinklers occasionally douse the unsuspecting convertible lover, noted Christine Emmes of Eugene.

How to avoid that wind-blown look: "Have short hair," Emmes said.

Like an invisible umbrella: Highway speeds actually keep the rain off, convertible drivers say. "It was really fun to see the aerodynamics of it," said Autumn Gallic of Eugene. "We didn't get wet."

Best comeback when teased about the wet weather: "Just because it's a convertible, it doesn't mean I can't blow the doors off their car," said Justin Hadley, who drives a Mustang.

CAPTION(S):

Dianna Paz of Marcola takes her niece Amber Rider and friend Tiffany Thompson for a spin in her lime-green, '71 Oldsmobile Cutlass. INSIDE Hot time: Summer in the city arrives with temperatures in the 90s / B1