The story of Laurens de Jong feels perfectly suited to the S2000’s uncompromising eccentricity. A resident of Detroit, Laurens came to the attention of Jalopnik for consistently keeping his S2000 soft top down every day he has commuted for the last 12 years. Detroit’s “convertible guy” isn’t phased by the rain or snow in his 50 minutes commute—and Detroit weather offers more than its share of both.
Some people think De Jong is crazy for going topless for so long. Others still could think he might be aiming to set some sort of record with it. They wouldn’t be totally wrong on that point either. The 12 year streak first started as a 100 day challenge he made to himself. After keeping it down for that long, he realized he preferred it. De Jong admits he gets cold like anyone else, but he’s keen on the little details he gets to experience as a result. The pure air, the “padded sound of tires on fresh snow,” these are the things that kept him coming back.
It’s not surprising that this conviction has caused problems. The rain has shorted out his console more than once. He’s conceded to covering up if the rain gets bad enough, but otherwise, it seems like the S2000’s uncompromising nature has found a fitting owner.
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