History Main / InstantConvertible

* Averted in ''Film/AClockworkOrange''. They're already ''in'' a convertible, and it suffers no damage whatsoever when it goes under a truck.

* Mr. Lahey's car in ''Series/TrailerParkBoys''.

** ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'': When the T-1000, driving a semi, crashes into a demolished bridge, destroying the roof of the truck, the T-1000, being made of liquid metal, is able to reconstruct itself and continue the chase.

* The Norfolk Southern–Gregson Street Overpass in Durham, North Carolina. This is a railroad bridge you're more likely to know of by its alternate nickname, the 11 foot 8 Bridge, owing to its low vertical clearance of 11 feet 8 inches (3.56 m). It cannot be raised, because nearby grade crossings would also have to be raised, and the street cannot be lowered, because a major sewer line runs right under the street. [[FailedASpotCheck Despite numerous big yellow warning signs and warning lights]], there's always at least one overheight truck per month that ends up getting its roof sheared off in spectacular fashion. Jürgen Henn, who runs a nearby office, [[InstantHumiliationJustAddYouTube mounted two video cameras to record the crashes]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzkWTcDZFH0 post every]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2QW9CiHpZA instance of this]] to Website/YouTube. The frequency of overheight trucks trying to go under the bridge much so that the locals have nicknamed it the "Can Opener Bridge" and gained it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS7WYn0qxzM international attention]]. There is even [[http://11foot8.com/ a website]] dedicated to hosting the videos of these crashes, [[InstantHumiliationJustAddYouTube guaranteeing that these unlucky drivers will never forget]]. Near the end of 2019, they were finally able to raise it eight inches... and overheight trucks ''still'' continue to lose chunks of roof to it.
** Similar "can-openers" with low clearances exist in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3-UugI0JoA&ab_channel=WillemHebbe Westwood, Massachusetts]], South Melbourne, Australia, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsH2-ThvOFU&ab_channel=CTVNews Victoria, British Columbia]], and Saint Petersburg, Russia that see the occasional truck getting wedged under and/or having its roof sheared off despite the obvious warning signs urging drivers to take detours.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3-UugI0JoA&ab_channel=WillemHebbe A "can-opener" bridge exists in Westwood, Massachusetts]]. It has a lower clearance than the Gregson Street Can-Opener.
** Another "can-opener" bridge exists in South Melbourne, Australia and has a ''much lower'' clearance than the Gregson Street Guillotine. The bridge can't be raised as the nearby grade crossings would have to be raised.
** Another "can-opener" exists in Saint Petersburg, Russia that sees the occasional truck getting wedged under it despite the obvious warning signs. It even has its own Twitter account.

** A similar "can-opener" bridge exists in South Melbourne, Australia and has a ''much lower'' clearance than the Gregson Street Guillotine. The bridge can't be raised as the nearby grade crossings would have to be raised.

* Slight variation in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'' when Jon drives under a billboard and Garfield makes the comment. And to make it worse, the episode closes with rain (though Garfield and Odie have an umbrella to cover themselves).

* The 1996 movie ''Film/TheSweeper'' has this when Mark drives under the trailer of a gasoline tanker, prompting an obvious "convertible" remark from him after driving under it.

* ''Film/LeGendarmeDeSaintTropez'': One of the earliest known examples on film was done by [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhTw0zGbkwI Sister Clotilde]] with a wooden barrier, during one of her DrivesLikeCrazy moments. It's only part of the complete trashing she proceeds to inflict on her poor 2CV.

** A similar "can-opener" bridge exists in South Melbourne, Australia and has a ''much lower'' clearance than the Gregson Street Guillotine. As with the above example, the bridge can't be raised as the nearby grade crossings would have to be raised.
** Another "can-opener" exists in Saint Petersburg, Russia, that sees the occasional truck getting wedged under it despite the numerous low clearance signs. It even has its own Twitter account.

** Another "can-opener" exists in Saint Petersburg, Russia, that sees the occasional truck getting wedged under it despite the low clearance signs urging drivers to take a detour. It even has its own Twitter account.

** Another "can-opener" exists in Saint Petersburg, Russia, that sees the occasional truck getting stuck under it despite the low clearance warning signs and boom barriers urging drivers to take a detour. It even has its own Twitter account.

* The Norfolk Southern–Gregson Street Overpass in Durham, North Carolina. This is a railroad bridge you're more likely to know of by its alternate nickname, the [[https://maps.google.com/maps?q=gregson+street&hl=en&ll=35.999059,-78.909899&spn=0.000931,0.002064&sll=35.98773,-78.891106&sspn=0.118619,0.264187&t=h&hnear=N+Gregson+St,+Durham,+North+Carolina+27701&z=20 11 foot 8 Bridge]], owing to its low vertical clearance of 11 feet 8 inches (3.56 m) It cannot be raised, because nearby grade crossings would also have to be raised, and the street cannot be lowered, because a major sewer line runs right under the street. [[FailedASpotCheck Despite numerous big yellow warning signs and warning lights]], there's always at least one overheight truck per month that ends up getting its roof sheared off in spectacular fashion. Jürgen Henn, who runs a nearby office, [[InstantHumiliationJustAddYouTube mounted two video cameras to record the crashes]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzkWTcDZFH0 post every]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2QW9CiHpZA instance of this]] to Website/YouTube. The frequency of overheight trucks trying to go under the bridge much so that the locals have nicknamed it the "Can Opener Bridge" and gained it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS7WYn0qxzM international attention]]. There is even [[http://11foot8.com/ a website]] dedicated to hosting the videos of these crashes, [[InstantHumiliationJustAddYouTube guaranteeing that these unlucky drivers will never forget]]. Near the end of 2019, they were finally able to raise it eight inches... and overheight trucks ''still'' continue to lose chunks of roof to it.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* In ''Manga/SoulEater'' [[TheDragon Giriko]] complains the limousine Arachne's Butler arranged to pick them up with after she was resurrected was too cramped and invoked this trope while it was still stationary. Being an AxCrazy guy [[EquippableAlly with the ability]] to turn into a [[ChainsawGood chainsaw]] does that.

* Happens to an Opel Admiral driven by a henchman through a crossing bar, during the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBxVMV3C5JQ chase scene]] in 1972's ''The Master Touch''.

* The long chase scene in ''Film/TheSevenUps'' ends with one of these. Only the front half of Roy Scheider's car gets sliced off, though.
* In ''Film/TheToxicAvengerPartII'', during the final chase scene Toxi's cab driver is unable to avoid this fate. After a moment of silence, everyone in the cab freaks out and when the driver starts ranting about how his cab's been ruined, Toxi tells him to chill out 'cause he now has a convertible and hands him a pair of sunglasses (and he does!). Oddly enough, the little Jesus statue in the back is unharmed.

* ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}''
** ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'': When the T-1000, driving a semi, crashes into a demolished bridge, destroying the roof of the truck, the T-1000, being made of liquid metal, is able to reconstruct itself and continue the chase.
** ''Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines'' does this with a hearse, badly damaging the Terminator trying to cut through the roof in the process.
* Averted in ''Film/AClockworkOrange''. They're already ''in'' a convertible, and it suffers no damage whatsoever when it goes under a truck.

* In the 1987 film ''Film/{{Cyclone}}'' the scene is shown [[ShootTheMoney four times in rapid succession]]. [[http://youtu.be/ChD6xK4EHWQ?t=46m49s Watch here]].
* The 1996 movie ''Film/{{TheSweeper}}'' has this when Mark drives under the trailer of a gasoline tanker, prompting an obvious "convertible" remark from him after driving under it.
* Averted in ''Film/Red2'' when the protagonists are driving a Lotus Exige S with such a low profile they can literally drive sideways under a truck, coming out behind the vehicle that's chasing them.
* A particularly comedic example occurs in ''Film/TheNakedGun'' when the car in question broadsides into a tanker truck, provoking a large explosion. When it emerges from the other side of the conflagration, the top of the burning vehicle is indeed sheared off, and the unfortunate driver is sprawled on the hood, still holding the severed steering wheel. Things [[StuffBlowingUp only get worse]] for him after that.

-->'''Sonic:''' Aww, this one is cute. [[TemptingFate Let's keep him!]] ''[tiny robot activates its laser cutter, and begins burning its way around the top of the car]'' [[OhCrap WHOA!]]
-->'''Tom:''' [[YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe OH, COME ON!]]
-->'''Sonic:''' How can something so adorable be so ''terrible?!'' [[ThisIsGonnaSuck ...You've got car insurance, right?]]
* In ''Film/JurassicPark'', a small version of this happens to the Jeep when Muldoon, Sattler, and Malcolm are fleeing from the T. rex and hit a tree limb that has fallen across the road. The Jeep was already a convertible and had the roll bars and roof removed, but the branch still breaks the windshield off and would have decapitated everybody if they didn't duck to avoid it.

* This happens in the final episode of ''Series/PerfectStrangers''.

* Averted in the ''Series/{{Bugs}}'' episode "All Under Control". The villain attempts to drive under a truck, only for the car to come to a complete stop.
* The Mythbusters clip mentioned above begins with footage from the ''Series/{{CHiPs}}'' episode "MAIT Team".
* This happens in the ''Series/MiamiVice'' episode "Stone's War" to a car driven by the CIA which is chasing Crockett and Stone.

* Defied in VideoGame/BeamNG according to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZ4qZ-eFRRw videos like this]], as the physics engine doesn't distinguish between roof and body stiffness.

* Slight variation in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'' when Jon drives under a billboard and Garfield makes the comment. And to make it worse, the episode closes with rain (though Garfield and Odie have an umbrella to cover themselves).

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/ExtremeGhostbusters'', the gang is being chased by the metal-eating JerseyDevil, who blasts the roof of Roland's car. Eduardo then makes the comment.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' episode [[Recap/TheAmazingWorldOfGumballS2E19TheAuthority "The Authority"]], the Watterson family car gets its hood torn off when Richard drives it under a semi-truck. The same thing happens in [[Recap/TheAmazingWorldOfGumballS3E7TheName "The Name"]], this time because Gumball's SplitPersonality Zach [[MagicBrakes cut the brakes]].
* In the ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' episode "Dungeons and Wagons", when Stan, Francine, and Roger are fleeing the street racing kidnappers, Roger dumps everything to reduce the car's weight leading to one of the kidnappers driving under the tanker truck and becoming a convertible.
* Happens to Cruella de Vil's car at the end of ''WesternAnimation/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians'', while she is chasing the moving van the titular dogs were travelling in. Her car was ''already'' a convertible, though the top was up at the time.

* The Double-Decker Bus vs Low Bridge variant happens frequently in Britain.

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** This is one of many mishaps that happens to Bond's Renault in ''Film/AViewToAKill''.

* Slight variation in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'' when Jon drives under a billboard and Garfield makes the comment.

* One of the earliest known examples on film was an Opel Admiral driven by a henchman through a crossing bar, during the chase scene in 1972's ''The Master Touch''.

* ''Film/LeGendarmeDeSaintTropez'': Done by [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhTw0zGbkwI Sister Clotilde]] with a wooden barrier, during one of her DrivesLikeCrazy moments. It's only part of the complete trashing she proceeds to inflict on her poor 2CV.

* Happens to Cruella de Vil's car at the end of ''Disney/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians'', while she is chasing the moving van the titular dogs were travelling in. Her car was ''already'' a convertible, though the top was up at the time.

* The Norfolk Southern–Gregson Street Overpass in Durham, North Carolina. This is a railroad bridge you're more likely to know of by its alternate nickname, the [[https://maps.google.com/maps?q=gregson+street&hl=en&ll=35.999059,-78.909899&spn=0.000931,0.002064&sll=35.98773,-78.891106&sspn=0.118619,0.264187&t=h&hnear=N+Gregson+St,+Durham,+North+Carolina+27701&z=20 11 foot 8 Bridge]], owing to its low vertical clearance of 11 feet 8 inches (3.56 m) It cannot be raised, because nearby grade crossings would also have to be raised, and the street cannot be lowered, because a major sewer line runs right under the street. [[FailedASpotCheck Despite numerous big yellow warning signs and warning lights]], there's always at least one overheight truck per month that ends up getting its roof sheared off in spectacular fashion. Jürgen Henn, who runs a nearby office, [[InstantHumiliationJustAddYouTube mounted two video cameras to record the crashes]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzkWTcDZFH0 post every]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2QW9CiHpZA instance of this]] to Website/YouTube. The frequency of overheight trucks trying to go under the bridge much so that the locals have nicknamed it the "Can Opener Bridge" and gained it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS7WYn0qxzM international attention]]. There is even [[http://11foot8.com/ a website]] dedicated to hosting the videos of these crashes, [[InstantHumiliationJustAddYouTube guaranteeing that these unlucky drivers will never forget]].

If the car is low enough and/or the trailer high enough, most of the car will pass under it safely. Except the roof and windows. The car is perfectly drivable afterward. The driver may even remark, "I've always wanted a convertible." Hence, the name of the trope.

* In ''Film/TheMummyReturns'' they do this to the second floor of a double decker bus.

** ''Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines'' does this with a hearse, badly damaging the Terminator trying to cut though the roof in the process.

* The Norfolk Southern–Gregson Street Overpass in Durham, North Carolina. This is a railroad bridge you're more likely to know of by its alternate nickname, the [[https://maps.google.com/maps?q=gregson+street&hl=en&ll=35.999059,-78.909899&spn=0.000931,0.002064&sll=35.98773,-78.891106&sspn=0.118619,0.264187&t=h&hnear=N+Gregson+St,+Durham,+North+Carolina+27701&z=20 11 foot 8 Bridge]], owing to its low vertical clearance of 11 feet 8 inches (3.56 m) It cannot be raised, because nearby grade crossings would also have to be raised, and the street cannot be lowered, because a major sewer line runs right under the street. [[FailedASpotCheck Despite numerous big yellow warning signs and warning lights]], there's always at least one overheight truck per month that ends up getting its roof sheared off in spectacular fashion. Jürgen Henn, who runs a nearby office, mounted two video cameras to record the crashes and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzkWTcDZFH0 post every]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2QW9CiHpZA instance of this]] to Website/YouTube. The frequency of overheight trucks trying to go under the bridge much so that the locals have nicknamed it the "Can Opener Bridge" and gained it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS7WYn0qxzM international attention]]. There is even [[http://11foot8.com/ a website]] dedicated to hosting the videos of these crashes, [[InstantHumiliationJustAddYouTube guaranteeing that these unlucky drivers will never forget]].

* Austrian Heinz Meixner smuggled his German bride Margarete Thurau (along with her mother) from East Berlin that way. He modified the rented car so that it's windshield (the car was a convertible already) would easily detach, and let some air from the tires to make the car even lower. Then he simply drove under the checkpoint bar. Although, according to some accounts, he did remove the windshield himself just before it would collide with the bar by punching it. After this trick was repeated by some other escapees, East Germans modified their checkpoints, adding vertical bars under the checkpoint bar and making the path after the checkpoint zigzagged.

* Defied in VideoGame/BeamNG according to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrisa8Iyc9g this video]], as the physics engine doesn't distinguish between roof and body stiffness.

* There's a story of people trying to get out of East Germany through the border check at the Berlin Wall by modifying their car's roof to pop off, invoking the trope. They simply drive straight at the low clearance checkpoint bar, straight through to the other side. Afterwards, the path was made zigzagging to prevent similar attempts.
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