Spiffy new convertibles target new crop of Baby Boomers

— -- Nothing shouts midlife crisis like a convertible — and automakers are rolling out new models to appeal to Baby Boomers hitting prime time.

Who will buy them?

Many convertible buyers fit the midlife crisis profile: empty nesters hitting their peak buying-power years and craving a little reward.

"It's one of those urban myths that's not a myth," says Jack Nerad, analyst for Kelley Blue Book. "There's a romance associated with them."

The median buyer's age of one of the most popular convertibles, the Ford Mustang, is 44.

About 2% of car buyers will buy a convertible, says Tom Libby of Power Information Network. "It's small, but it's stable," he says of the market. And affluent. That's one reason some of the most prominent convertibles these days come from luxury brands, such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Cadillac. Most convertibles are variants of performance or specialty models.

Convertibles are steeped in automotive history. Whether it was a big Cadillac or Ford, many full-size family cars came as drop-tops through the carefree 1950s and 1960s.

Then came crime and safety concerns. In his autobiography, former Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca tells how Detroit automakers stopped offering convertibles after the 1976 Cadillac Eldorado. After getting notice with a test version of the Chrysler LeBaron in 1982, Iacocca writes, he saw the need to revive it.

Today's convertibles tout safety. Chrysler points to its Sebring as having a top five-star side-impact rating. Ford says its current Mustang is the first specialty sports car ever to earn five-star ratings in all categories from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It says the next-generation 2010 Mustang will come in a convertible version.

Chrysler Sebring comes in hard-top and soft-top versions. Volkswagen goes a step further with its Eos: an operable sunroof built into the convertible roof. "It's the best of both worlds," explains spokesman Tom Wegehaupt.