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      06-21-2007, 06:35 PM   #1
WolfsburgerMitFries
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Drives: BMW 3er
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Lexington, KY

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Wondering How the convertible is going to handle Antennas?

I've been wondering how the 1 series convertible is going to handle its antennas. There are specialty concerns with a convertible, so follow along with me and learn something.

First, observe the 1 series coupe uses a shark fin, as does the 3. Now the shark fin is not as fragile as a power antenna, fixed mast, or rubber ducky...but it does look like a tacky afterthought and its just simply screwing up the otherwise clean lines of the car. In short, the shark fin is uglier than homemade sin.



Now, We'll take the new Volvo C70 retractible hard top under consideration. Notice how it uses both a "shark fin" and a "rubber ducky" antenna. For a car that's almost as expensive as a 3 series retractible hard top, the C70s antenna solution is obviously a cheap afterthought and clearly underengineered. Its uglying the whole thing up. But that's fine, because the C70 is waaaaay overpriced and nobody in their right mind would purchase one anyway.


Lets move on to another convertible that has been discussed in this forum. The often misunderstood, underappreciated, and underestimated Volkswagen Eos. I would like everybody to witness that the Eos has no antennas visible anywhere on the car at all. The appearance of the Eos is very clean and well executed, its undeniably first rate. So by now, you're obviously asking yourself how'd Volkswagen pull off such a discreet and well executed feat?




Well the answer to that question is all the antennas in the Eos are embedded in the trunk lid. What a wonderfully witty and aesthetically pleasing solution. I have to wonder if BMW is going to present such an innovative solution as the Eos in the 1 series convertible, or if they are simply planning on tacking another shark fin onto the trunk.
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