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This is Why I Think Convertibles Suck | WheelHouse - YouTube
Channel: Donut Media
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- They're cool, you say,
they're fun and sexy.
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You try to talk yourself into it,
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but deep down inside you know the truth.
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You know, in your heart of hearts,
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they're a pain in the ass.
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It's all right, though.
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Breathe in through your
nose and repeat after me.
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Convertibles suck.
[17]
A big thanks to this week's sponsor,
[18]
the Kove Commuter Portable
Wireless Bluetooth Speaker.
[22]
This thing is cool for a lot of reasons.
[24]
It connects to Smartphones,
tablets, computers,
[26]
basically any device with
a Bluetooth connection.
[29]
It operates for up to eight
hours on a single charge,
[32]
and the powerful X bass subwoofer
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makes my beats slap.
[36]
Even if my device is up to 30 feet away,
[38]
my beats slap.
[39]
The Commuter is super
convenient for road trips
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because it fits in your cupholder,
[44]
and once you get out of the car
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you can just grab it and go.
[46]
I might actually take this
down to Venice Beach later
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and try to sell some of my beats.
[49]
You know, they're more of like
a lo-fi chill vibe, you know?
[52]
Like...
(slow-tempo music)
[54]
Oh yeah, you can totally like
[57]
study or chill, or whatever to this song.
[61]
Kove is cool, the Commuter is cool.
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Check this thing out,
support the companies
[65]
that support Donut by hitting the link
[67]
in the description below.
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Why do people get convertibles?
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Is it to look cool and rich?
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Is it the status?
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Is it because you're James
and you're always sweating
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and need something more
powerful than air conditioning?
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I'll admit there are a lot of cars
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that look sick in convertible form,
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the Miata, the S2000, and even my
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favorite car of all time, the Dodge Viper,
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although that kinda falls
into the Targa top category.
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But there are a lot of
reasons that convertibles
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are worse than hardtops.
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We're gonna go through a
few of them in this video,
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and before you bemoan and complain
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that it's just our opinion, which is true,
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some of these have a lot
to do with personal taste,
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but some of the reasons are based
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on actual science, and you
can't argue with science.
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Let's start with something benign, noise.
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Hardtops have a lot of sound
deadening material in the roof
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that you probably don't even notice.
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I mean, why would you,
that's the whole point.
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When the top is down in
the convertible, though,
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wind, engine, and road
noise is a lot louder,
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which can make things
like a simple conversation
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with your bro impossible.
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Want to listen to music?
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You're going to have to
crank it up much louder,
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and you'll lose that
sweet, sweet audio quality.
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Plus you'll be that guy
blasting Hollywood Undead
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while driving down the PCH.
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If you're cool with
that, more power to you,
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just don't ask me to ride with you.
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Even if you have the top
up on your convertible,
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ragtops create much more
noise than a traditional roof.
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At high speed, the flutter of the canvas
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basically asks like a speaker.
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Plus, they're prone to rips and tears,
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which can create even more noise.
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You could get a folding hardtop,
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like the AMG SL65, but say
goodbye to trunk space.
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I guess you don't really buy a convertible
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for trunk space, though,
but that's beyond the point.
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Having the top down can have its upsides,
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like being out in the sun
with the wind in your hair,
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footloose and fancy free.
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Convertibles definitely
have their own hashtag mood,
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but admitting to that hashtag
mood can be exhausting.
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It's not always gonna
be sunny and 72 degrees.
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Sunburn sucks, windburn sucks,
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and if you're thinking
about buying a convertible,
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be prepared to dry out
like a teriyaki Slim Jim.
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(yelling)
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Being exposed to the elements
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doesn't just mean sun and wind.
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Fabric and leather seats
will degrade much faster,
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moisture can mean mold in your carpet,
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and undiscerning birds will
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(bleeped) in your mouth as you drive.
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They (bleeped) right in your mouth.
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These things can be
inconvenient to say the least
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in the long run.
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Reupholstering interiors
is really expensive
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and moisture can cause rust
and degrade your chassis.
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But the ins and outs of everyday driving
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in the convertible can be
tedious as hell as well.
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Putting the top up and down
every time you get in your car
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gets old after awhile.
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Some people just leave
the top up all the time
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in their convertibles, which is kind of
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defeating the purpose.
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All of that can be annoying,
but how do convertibles
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compare to hardtops, when
it comes to performance?
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Well, pretty bad, actually.
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Here's why.
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(upbeat music)
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One of the reasons is rigidity.
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Stiffer cars handle better.
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Hardtops derive a lot of their rigidity
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from the roof, floor pan
and the rocker panels.
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Without a roof to stiffen up the body,
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convertibles are prone
to twisting and flexing,
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and that can seriously
cut down on performance.
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Modern convertibles make up
for their lack of stiffness
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with extra support with
the help of box beams
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and other structural
pieces that add weight,
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sometimes more than 350
pounds to the frame.
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Even with that extra support,
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a convertible will never be as stiff
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or be able to handle as
well as a hardtop brother.
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Not to mention all that weight
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can make them sluggish as well.
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Another factor that
makes convertibles slow
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is aerodynamics.
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Fast moving air rushing
over the hood and windshield
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hits the slower air inside the cabin
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and creates low vortices.
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These air vortices make
driving uncomfortable
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because it's literally a
tiny tornado inside your car.
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These vortices also
create aerodynamic drag
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that slows the car down,
making it less efficient.
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One good example of how much airflow
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can affect a convertible
is the Shelby Cobra.
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This historic roadster
tore up the short courses.
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It was a beast, but when faced with longer
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stretches of track, it
didn't fare as well.
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The open top Cobra was
aerodynamically limited
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to 170 miles an hour.
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(upbeat music)
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Imagine going 170 in a
Cobra in the sixties.
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That would be terrifying.
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I'd write my will before I even get in it.
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Joe, you get my ferns,
Zach gets my glasses.
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Alex, you get all my money.
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I have a lot of ferns
now, for some reason.
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(beeping)
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So when the Cobra would enter straights,
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hardtop Ferraris and Porsches
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would easily pass by them.
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It wasn't until Pete Brock
and the team over at Shelby
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started designing the Daytona Coupe,
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that's when they started
beating the Ferraris.
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The Daytona could blaze past
the Cobra's top speed of 170,
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despite them being
identical under the hood.
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Sometimes it's not the performance
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or inconvenience of a
convertible that makes it dumb.
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Sometimes they just looks dumb.
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Have you ever seen the Nissan
Murano Cross Cabriolet?
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I mean, what is that word?
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Ugh, how about the PT Cruiser convertible?
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That crossbar is horrendous.
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How about the Range
Rover Evoque convertible?
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What the (bleeped) were they thinking?
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I mean, some cars are
meant to be convertibles,
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like the BMW Z3.
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The body lines flow, even
with the lack of a roof.
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But you put a roof on the Z4,
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that makes it an M Coupe,
and it looks freaking sick.
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And how could you forget the Miata?
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It's a classic.
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Oh, and the Mark 1 Cabrio.
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It might look weird, but
it's surprisingly sick.
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I would totally rock this thing.
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A little slow.
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But sometimes it looks
like the car companies
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design the cars and then
make them convertibles
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as an afterthought.
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Lexus SC430, anyone?
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Remember the 350Z Roadster?
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Ugh, what about the Solara,
with the chunky butt?
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That's what they called me in football.
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As far as safety is concerned, though,
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modern convertibles are just about as safe
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as non-convertibles,
which is very impressive.
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The biggest danger being
a rollover, of course.
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- Whoo.
(upbeat music)
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- But convertibles now
have automatic roll bars
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that pop up in the event of a rollover.
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They're extremely effective,
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and when paired with
a reinforced A pillar,
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they prevent serious injury.
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It's actually really impressive.
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Like if they didn't invent
these safety features,
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convertibles might be illegal today,
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like think about that.
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You may be safe in a convertible, but
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your stuff might not be.
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Unless you keep your car
completely empty of any valuables,
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a convertible is basically a free box
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for anyone daring to commit minor larceny.
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Even if you have your ragtop up,
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someone can easily cut
it with a small knife
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and there goes your book of CDs
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that you've had since middle school.
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I had Green Day, American Idiot.
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Didn't have any Slipknot at that time.
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(upbeat music)
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Here at Donut, we love all cars.
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That's kind of our thing,
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and every convertible
that we featured today
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has been an employee car.
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I think every car is cool,
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so I don't want to come
off as a giant dick,
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'cause I don't really hate convertibles.
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I actually like them.
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If you're looking for
a second or third car,
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I think they're a great choice.
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They're a lot of fun to drive and be in.
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But if you're looking to own a
convertible for daily driving
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I would definitely give it some thought.
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It's not gonna perform as well
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as a normal version of that car,
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and you're probably
gonna have to deal with
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a bunch of things like mold, rain,
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and maybe someone stealing your stuff,
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and of course, birds
(bleeped) in your mouth.
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Real quick, if you guys like this video,
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please give us a like and subscribe.
[483]
That really helps us out
[484]
through a long chain of
matrix type (bleeped)
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and we get to do more videos,
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so help us out.
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(upbeat music)
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