Convertible Tops May Soon Be More Stylish Thanks to Haartz

Leave it to one of the America's oldest automotive suppliers to come up with one of the newest ideas in convertibles. Haartz Corporation has been making textiles and convertible tops since the early 1900s. You may not know the name, but you know Haartz' products. Haartz components are likely in your car's interior, and if you own a Mazda Miata, Fiat 124 Spider, or pretty much any popular convertible, Haartz made your soft-top. Now things are about to get interesting.

Haartz has developed a jaquard weaving technology that allows the company to manufacture tops with designs. The design is not printed, but actually different color threads in the weave. The image above is one example, a Union Jack top for MINI. The first commercial application of the technology is the European Citroen DS3 Cabrio.

We can imagine automakers jumping at the chance to offer convertibles with something other than just tan, blue, or black cloth tops on their cars. After all, convertibles are all about fun.

Our first thought was a Miata with the words "Zoom Zoom" or "Roadster" on the top. Another idea might be a FIat 124 Spider with "Abarth" on the top. Perhaps a Mustang with the pony logo or a Camaro with "ZL1" or "SS" on the roof in large print. Jeep loves to hide Easter eggs in its vehicles and a soft-top with tiny, barely-visible Jeeps running around an off-road scene would be very interesting. What would be your idea?

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