I own a 1997 Plymouth Neon (the two-door Highline coupe edition). It's
a great car, but I'd like it much more if it were a convertible. Is it
possible/legal/safe to have an auto body shop remove the roof of my
car? If so, are there any places in the Bay Area that would do this?
Thanks.

Convertible conversion isn't cheap, but it can be done. A friend of
mine got good results from Newport Convertible Engineering (formerly
Newport Car Conversions):

http://www.newportconvertible.com/contactinfo.tpl?rnd=3189&cart=11235422019132777&hide_cat=t

Turning a car into a convertible isn?t as simple as cutting the top
off.  When a car rolls off the lot, it is specifically designed to
look the way it does, once you remove a large portion of it such as
the top, it will throw a lot of key factors offline such as the weight
distribution and thus the handling.  Volkswagen had a real hard time
turning its new Beatle Bug into a convertible so be weary of companies
who claim to be able to do such drastic changes for you.

Just my 2 cents worth...

fatvisionary...

A Neon of any kind is just not worth spending money on...

They are "disposable cars"....much like the lighters...

They die all too soon...

Steph53

Have you thought of driving into a low tunnel?

There is something called 'monocoque construction'
- probably incorrectly spelt, but it means the roof helps hold things together.

In the old days, when cars had a chassis, they would cut the lids off
cars and weld the back doors together. It used to work on Jags.

Not so handy for a two door, but my hunch is that you could substitute
the lid for some roll bars.