ROOFs

An essential protection from the scorching hot sun and drenching rain.

Spot a similarity between these cars...

Could you spot any similarity apart from them all facing the left?

Anyhows, lets get back to roofs...
Most cars have their roofs fixed

Some can be taken off;convertibles (also called Cabriolets etc),

Porsche 911 Cabriolet

regardless of the number of doors

Cadillac Ciel

or vehicle type

.Chevrolet SSR

We have soft (fabric, cloth) top

and hard (metal) top

convertibles.

We also have Targa tops,which are semi-convertible with a full length targa bar over the back of the front seats with a glass panel extending from it to the rear of the vehicle to house the targa cover when the roof is let down.

Porsche 911 Targa 

(similar to the the cabriolet above but the Targa bar and panel differentiates it from its sibling).

"Targa" a registered trademark of the Porsche Company.

Some roofs have panels that are detachable

Lamborghini Aventador Roadster with a roof panel taken off

Not all cars can take their tops off, in replacement, some have the sun, moon, panoramic roofs (to name a few)

Sunroof:

This is any fixed or retractable panel in the a car's roof that maximizes the amount of light and/or air coming into the vehicle. It could be made of any of numerous materials (metal, glass, carbon etc).
Some can slide over the roof

Some can be opened upwards

.
We also have;
-Moonroofs:

This is a type of sunroof that the panels slide in between the vehicle's roof and headliner.

-Panoramic roofs:

These are sunroofs which offer a single large or multiple glass panels above both the front and rear seats. Some are fixed while some can be opened.

*About the "Quick Question" above, the similarity is that they have "Floating roofs".
These are roofs that look like they are floating as the connection between the roof and the pillars (especially at the rear) isn't a direct smooth one as found in other vehicles as seen below

Rather, their rear pillars are partitioned and further painted black

to "conjure" the illusion of the roof floating, especially in dark backgrounds.


You might have heard about the Maybach, there was a model named the 62s

that had an amazing roof that was called the "Electro-Transparent Panoramic Glass Roof" which could be made Transparent

, Opaque or frosted (translucent)

 at will of the passenger.


Landaulet:

 These are vehicles with the ability to let the roof portion behind the driver (above the rear seats) down as a convertible.

A not too recent example is the White Maybach Landaulet seen below.

Paris Hilton striking a pose beside Birdman in his Maybach Landaulet.

Companies are being more and more creative with the types of roofs they use. Who knows, even you may design a roof that changes rain into petrol...
Food for thought.

KEYs

In the 90's and some years earlier than now, this wouldn't have exceeded a few lines. BUT here we are in 2014 (when this was written) and a lot of advancements have been made to everything and the "key" wasn't left out in the development.

KEY
This is what gives us access to the car (lock/unlocking and starting). They come in different shapes and sizes.

Some are readily available (exposed)

Some are like switchblades, they reveal the key after the push of a button on the fob

These kind of keys are inserted into the key hole (door or ignition) and twisted to lock/unlock the doors or to start the ignition.

Keyless Entry
You still need a key here, but the key fob just has to be on your person (be it in your hand or pocket etc)

(doesn't look like that "shield-like" key would fit into any key hole)

Whereby to lock the car, all you need to do (as long as the key is on you) is simply press the button on the door handle and to open, pull the door handle (sensors in the handle would detect your intention and unlock the door).

Some handles have numbered buttons that are used to input codes to lock/unlock the vehicle

Some side mirrors fold (close/open) automatically when the doors are locked/unlocked.

In most cars, you start/stop the engine with the key
You can also push a button located in the spot the key is normally inserted

or on the gear stick

or in the center console

the "Push Start/Stop" button could actually be anywhere the manufacturer decides.

Some vehicles have the "remote start" option which allows you start your car and adjust temperature (turn on your air-conditioner/heater) with the remote at a given distance.

When you valet your car, you wouldn't want the valet having access to your entire stable or to things in your storage compartments so some cars have "valet mode", where you input a code in a system or a "valet key" that has an engine output limiter and cannot open storage compartments.

In some cars, a special key is used to UNLOCK the vehicle's output limiter e.g the Bugatti Veyron's Top Speed Key removes the 375km/h limit and permits the vehicle to go up to 450km/h (although 437km/h is the fastest i've heard of anyone push it to). This key is different from the normal Bugatti key

Top Speed Key

Normal Bugatti Veyron Key

The "insert, push & hold key" in to start system used in the Aston Martin is similar to that used in some Volkswagen cars such as the Passat and the CC, where you have to insert the whole key fob into a key hole and push/hold it in for a bit to start the engine.

As an option, the watch company Jaeger LeCoultre have a watch series "AMVOX" which has a transponder that can be configured to lock/unlock and start your Aston Martin vehicle. The watch costs around $26,000.00 (N4,680,000.00... with a $ being N180).

Some keys such as the BMW i8's key are capable of showing you your petrol and hybrid battery range level.