It's spring again and the sun is due to Shine almost any day. Perhaps every day for us light-starved northerners. Which gave Ford an opportunity to remind me that sunny weather and the American road have long been synonymous with top-down driving. In the early years open-top (or touring) cars were the norm and enclosed cars were the premium option. Today you'll pay a handsome bonus for a convertible. Ford asks us to celebrate the Fairlane 500 Skyliner retractable hardtop; a reasonable request, considering that many of today's convertibles follow the retractable hardtop theme. But if I may, I'd like to remind Ford that Peugeot was there first, way back in 1938. As always, it's the mass-production item that gets the glory.