Seldom seen in Minnesota, the driver of the open-air convertible feels closer to the street than a driver enclosed in a climate-controlled hardtop. While it may make little sense at 60 MPH, on the slow street, the convertible can actually interact with the population.
As Matty Lang showed in the opening of Touch of Evil, the occupants of the convertible could interact with the pedestrians and others around them in a shared space with the occasional border control officer or traffic cop (well before being blown up).
Similarly, Randy Newman can have a musical conversation about the merits of Los Angeles while cruising its many boulevards. He does not get blown up, and instead goes on to become Pixar’s preferred songwriter. (cf: the less musical Reyner Banham who also loves LA).