Ragtop-SUV Rivalry Picking Up Speed.

When Lexus unveiled its new high-end SC430 convertible earlier this year, Bill Legg, sales manager of Lexus of Santa Monica, knew he would have no trouble selling his dealership's allotment of 10 cars per month. There was a waiting list more than a year long.

"We had people standing in line," Legg said.

The SC430, which has a retail price of about $62,000, is one of several convertible models that are in high demand throughout L.A. showrooms these days. Others include Mercedes-Benz's CLK and SLK, BMW's 3-Series, Porsche's Boxster and 911, the Audi TT and the Volvo C70. These high-end models are sold in limited numbers nationally -- Lexus only releases 1,000 SC430s each month.

But the expensive convertibles have plenty of company. More drivers in Los Angeles are being caught with their tops down as the convertible begins to give the sport utility vehicle a run for its money on the hip meter.

"Convertibles are definitely hot," said John Osterman, a sales manager with Santa Monica Ford, where over the past few months the dealership has sold almost every Mustang convertible in stock. "Two years ago, we'd sell two or three a month, maybe. Now, we're selling two or three a week. We're having a hard time keeping them on the lot."

Osterman said customers who in years past might have considered a smaller SUV like a Ford Escape or a Honda CPV now are looking at convertibles.

"Not everyone who buys an SUV is doing it because they have kids to carry around," Osterman said. "There has been a hipness to owning an SUV, too. To some people, convertibles are becoming hip.

"Face it, California is a fun in the sun kind of place, and right now, convertibles are just a cool thing to have," he said.

National trend

Through May 2001, convertible sales across the U.S. had risen to 2.7 percent of the overall car and truck market, or 191,000 vehicles nationwide. That's up 10 percent from the like period in 1999, said analyst Tom Libby of Agoura Hills-based J.D. Power & Associates. Although sales of Mustangs overall are down about 8 percent from the same period in 1999, sales of Mustang convertibles are up almost 4 percent during the past two years.

"I bought a convertible because I live in L.A.," said Susan Milenko, of West Hollywood, who drives a new Mazda Miata convertible. "I said, 'What the heck, why not?' Almost every day is beautiful here, the sun is shining and the mood is good when I drive. I was expecting that it would be windy when I drive, but that is not as bad as I thought it would be. I don't even wear a hat.

"Even when it's a little cold, I drive with the top down and turn on the heater and it's fine," Milenko said.

Osterman said that a Mustang convertible costs about $25,000-$26,000 compared to the more than $30,000 most SUVs cost. And convertibles generally get better gas mileage.

"People are taking the gas costs of an SUV into consideration," he said.

This is not to say that SUVs are being put out to pasture.

Despite safety concerns stemming from the Ford Explorer-Firestone tire debate over who's to blame for the vehicle's rollover problems and skyrocketing gasoline prices, SUV sales are expected to at least match last year's national sales of 3.35 million units sold, said J.D. Power analyst Derek Humphrey.

The convertible almost became extinct in the 1970s and early '80s because of safety concerns -- only to slowly reemerge in the late '80s after breakthroughs in design. "Convertibles are a defined segment of the industry," Libby said. "They're established as an extension of product lines that a certain number of people are interested in. I think they're here to stay."

The renewed interest has prompted automakers to offer convertibles throughout their model lines. In addition to the high-end Lexus, convertible versions of the Mustang and Chrysler Sebring are popular.

"The thing about the convertible is that it is not a homogeneous market," Libby said. "It's a market with a pretty broad spectrum that is performing well in a couple of different places."