The End Of Convertible Hair: Mercedes Unveils Perpetual Doldrums Rag Top

Paul Niedermeyer
by Paul Niedermeyer

It’s good to see an occasional glimpse of the good old Mercedes, solving the great unsolved automotive engineering challenges through sheer triumph of the will. Yes, today’s convertibles are already dramatically calmer than the ’65 Fury that tried to give me a head start on dread locks. But good enough is not good enough at Mercedes. For over a decade, their engineers have been toiling on the challenge of the truly turbulent-free convertible. Their efforts have paid off in the form of the new 2011 E-Class convertible, due this May in the US. All the (un) hair-raising details and more pics of Aircap in action follow:

The new Mercedes E-Class cabriolet features an innovative retractable wind deflector that sits at the top of the windshield. Called Aircap, the driver-operated system raises a wind deflector on the tip of the windshield to direct wind 8 inches (20cm) higher, over the top of the passenger compartment. It works in tandem with the rear deflector to eliminate buffeting and reduce noise with the roof down. And Aircap is the perfect accessory to Airscarf, MB’s heat-blowing head rests. What’s next: Air Shirt? Topless motoring in the chill of a crisp German spring day is only another Mercedes invention away.

Paul Niedermeyer
Paul Niedermeyer

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  • JohnSmithFL JohnSmithFL on Apr 01, 2017

    The AirCap is quite efficient in warding off wind turbulence and noise in Merc roadsters, which is a must-have in modest not-so-premium Verts. But ordinary convertibles still have the option of good wind deflectors like the Windblox wind restrictor and so on to rein in these bogeys.

    • AndyWill76 AndyWill76 on May 07, 2017

      Yeah, Windblox windblocker is a good wind deflector. I too have mounted it on my ride. Now my hairdo is in form and I don’t have that beat-up feeling after a long top down drive.

  • JaneWill JaneWill on Jul 17, 2017

    The wind deflectors take open top motoring to the next level by providing noise- and turbulence-free ride even at motorway speeds. Thanks to the Backblade windblocker now my hairdo stays in form and I need not yell for conversing with my co-passenger.

  • Oberkanone My grid hurts!Good luck with installing charger locations at leased locations with aging infrastructure. Perhaps USPS would have better start modernizing it's Post offices to meet future needs. Of course, USPS has no money for anything.
  • Dukeisduke If it's going to be a turbo 4-cylinder like the new Tacoma, I'll pass.BTW, I see lots of Tacomas on the road (mine is a 2013), but I haven't seen any 4th-gen trucks yet.
  • Oberkanone Expect 4Runner to combine best aspects of new Land Cruiser and new Tacoma and this is what I expect from 2025 4Runner.Toyota is REALLY on it's best game recently. Tacoma and Land Cruiser are examples of this.
  • ArialATOMV8 All I hope is that the 4Runner stays rugged and reliable.
  • Arthur Dailey Good. Whatever upsets the Chinese government is fine with me. And yes they are probably monitoring this thread/site.
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