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Detroit couple Daphne and Eric Boone's Cadillac SRX features the $1,800 UltraView option, a sliding glass roof. "At night, it's nice to be able to look up at the clear sky," says Eric Boone.Feeling blue? Carmakers devise futuristic sunroofs
More drivers opt to pay for the extra option that may have health benefits, boosts cars' resale values.
For $1,500, Nissan's SkyView option is most dramatic on the Quest minivan.
Pontiac's new G6 midsize car features four glass panels that open in sequence.
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Feeling down or looking to stand out? More car buyers -- seeking a new fix -- are springing for a sunroof.
And auto companies are trying to satisfy this yen for open or glass-covered auto roofs with designs that have turned the simple hole-in-the-roof concept of the past into avant garde expressions of style and innovation.
Just over 35 percent of all vehicles built in North America this year will have roofs that feature glass -- up more than 10 percentage points since 2000, according to CSM Worldwide, an auto industry research firm in Farmington Hills.
The trend is a money maker for automakers -- sunroofs can add as much to $1,800 to a sticker price. And as quality improves and the reliability gap between automakers narrows, sunroofs have emerged as a way to differentiate a new car or truck in a crowded field.
New vehicles on the market feature panoramic sunroofs often with multiple glass panes that transform closed cabins into moving observatories.
The trendsetting vehicle was the 2004 Cadillac SRX a crossover wagon. The SRX's sliding glass roof was a radical departure from the past.
"The guys at Cadillac really stuck their necks out," said Brett Healy, vice president of business development for Webasto Roof Systems, which supplies the SRX roof to Cadillac.
Cadillac expected 30 percent of SRX buyers to add the "UltraView" option, which sells for $1,800 as a stand-alone item. But the take rate has been closer to 80 percent.
Eric Boone is among the takers. The 42-year-old Detroit resident saw the giant sunroof as a way to add enjoyment for his three young daughters.
Traditional sunroofs are fun only for the driver and front-seat passenger, said Boone, who runs Blessed by God Fine Brokerage Co. -- a consulting firm for car buyers -- with his wife, Daphne.
"The UltraView lets light in for everyone," he said. "At night, it's nice to be able to look up at the clear sky."
While the yearning to see the sky is a simple and compelling reason to have a sunroof, the psychology goes a little deeper.
Some industry experts contend a glass roof in the SUV or minivan can actually offer health benefits to overstressed workers and fatigued parents.
Franklin psychologist Terrence Daryl Shulman has prescribed sunroofs to patients who displayed symptoms of malaise.
"Some people might say it's mind over matter," Shulman said. "But there are enough studies to show that people do have some improvement in mood and energy with more light."
Oh, and today's sunroof also have a practical advantage.
Boone said his glass roof comes in handy at the drive-in theater, where he positions the 2005 SRX so his daughters can watch a movie through the open roof.
"They don't have to try to squeeze in to look through the windshield," he said.
"They just look up and they've got a 200-foot screen flashing down on them."
Paul Wilbur, president and CEO of Southgate-based ASC Inc., a pioneer among roof system suppliers, is surprised that open-air roof systems didn't catch on sooner.
"It's taken a long time for the industry to learn that people really do like sunroofs -- and not just when they're open," he said. "Even when they're closed, they let light into the car. All of us, as human beings, we do like the light."
The benefits of natural light inspired Nissan Motor Co. to develop its SkyView feature -- fixed panes of long, rectangular-shaped glass running from the vehicle's front to back. The $1,500 option is most dramatic on the Quest minivan.
"People really like it because it opens up what's otherwise a very cavernous kind of space -- a very dark, enclosed space," said Robert Bauer, a designer at Nissan Design America in La Jolla, Calif. "It doesn't make the passenger back there feel like cargo."
Also available on the Maxima sedan, Nissan's SkyView was almost an afterthought on the Quest.
"We just threw it in our top model as something cool," Bauer said. "But people really found it valuable. From the research that we've done with families and their children ... mothers always comment on how kids feel they have their own space with their own window. And a happy kid is a happy mom."
Light isn't the only important contributor to driving enjoyment. Webasto conducted research in a bid to pinpoint the appeal of sunroofs. "The open-air feeling wins by a wide margin," Healy said.
The desire for open air motoring is challenging automakers and suppliers to develop more innovative ways to let the sun shine in. The panoramic roof on Pontiac's new G6 midsize car is one of the latest approaches.
"What struck me about it was the way it opened," said Jody Smith, assistant sales manager of Rowan Pontiac in Southgate.
The G6 roof -- also a Webasto product -- features four glass panels that open in sequence.
What's next on the horizon for see-through roofs? The sky's the limit.
Polycarbonate material may replace glass because it's lighter -- an important safety feature because adding weight to the top of a vehicle increases rollover risk.
"In a vehicle like an SUV," Wilbur said, "you really want things like polycarbonate."
In Europe, Fiat has a car that features a fabric sunroof.
"Retractables are going to become incredibly popular in the next five to 10 years," Wilbur said, adding a manually operated retractable roof is available in Korea on cars that sell for under $10,000. "It's counterbalanced in such a way that, with one hand, you can move it up and down."
In the United States, Scion, Toyota Motor Corp.'s youth-oriented brand, offers a glass roof as standard equipment on the tC coupe.
"Prices are going down, but that's not the driver," Wilbur said. "The real drivers are things like resale value and customer satisfaction."
You can reach Eric Mayne at (313) 222-2443 or emayne@detnews.com.
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The Detroit News.
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