Patent ID: 7377574

Claim:
A vehicle provided with either a retractable hard top or a retractable soft top during manufacture, the vehicle having a windshield, a storage area and a passenger compartment therebetween, the vehicle comprising: one of: a retractable soft top movable between an extended position to define a roof over the passenger compartment and a retracted position wherein at least a portion of the soft top version is disposed in the storage area, the soft top version comprising: a rear section having opposite forward and rearward edges, the rear section having opposite inner and outer surfaces, the rear section having opposite side edges, the inner surface facing the passenger compartment when the soft top version is in the extended position, the rear section being a rigid panel extending between the side edges and between the forward and rearward edges; a front section disposed forwardly of the rear section when the top is in the extended position, the front section having opposite inner and outer surfaces, the inner surface facing the passenger compartment when the soft top version is in the extended position; and a flexible roof membrane covering at least the outer surface of the front section when the soft top version is in the extended position; and a retractable hard top movable between an extended position to define a roof over the passenger compartment and a retracted position wherein at least a portion of the hard top version is disposed in the storage area, the hard top version comprising: a plurality of roof sections including at least a front section and a rear section, each of the roof sections having opposite forward and rearward edges, each of the roof sections having a pair of opposite side edges extending between the forward and rearward edges, each roof section being a rigid panel extending between the respective forward and rearward edges and side edges; a linkage for articulating the top between the extended and retracted positions, the linkage being substantially the same for the hard top and the soft top.