You know she loves to be picked up in a convertible. But try
this for a change. Show up with a hard one—roof up. When she gets in, drop it
like it’s hot while staring straight into her eyes. No blinking. Watch and see
what happens as she internally anticipates the excitement of a day in the sun
or summer madness under a starry moonlit sky. Pretty soon
she’ll be smiling and moaning–happy you came. Begging you to come again—hard
or soft…in your new convertible.

Throw the G37 in Sport driving mode and feel the instant
engagement of the throttle and steering as all 325 horses under the hood rare
up to conquer to road that lies ahead. Take advantage of the seven-speed
transmission’s ability to manually shift so you can drop one to pick that extra
torque required to change lanes with a grin on your face while leaving everyone
in the dust. Even with 267 lb-ft of torque, the G—with it’s big sexy chrome
grill and chrome covered dual exhaust pipes–still accomplishes 17 miles per
gallon in the city and 25 on the highway.

Some nice add-ons to the $46,400 base model include the
$3,050 Premium Package with Bose Open Air sound system. Imagine having speakers
in the headrests and elsewhere to deliver a premium sound experience that
adapts to top up or down conditions for sound minus wind distortion. That’s
just one of several accoutrements that ups the ante of this mid-priced luxury
performance whip with $90K appeal. For $340 will get you those cool illuminated
sill plates that add a nice touch of opulence when opening the doors at night.
And definitely add the $1,850 hard drive Navigation Package with voice
recognition. That plus destination charges and you’re looking at a list price
of about $53K for a sexy whip with a hard top that folds down into three
separate piece.

There’s also the option to step up to the 6MT trim level.
Based at $51,300, the difference includes a set of 19” rims (versus the 18’s on
the base model), a six speed manual tranny, sport tuned steering and many of
the features above that come as extras.

Hard: Volvo C70

For the true romantic or player at heart, rear seat space is
a determining factor in the game. Even if not, the fact that with a hard top
convertible you lose trunk space with the top down makes back seat space a real
contingent in the equation. And that’s where the 227 horsepower turbo engine
C70–with a five speed transmission with the option of a Polestar chip adding
23 horses of engine power and 35 extra lb-ft of torque—separates itself from
all others in its class. Its rear seat will seat two full size adults either
upright or for the drive or temporarily in a slightly contorted recline on a
romantic summer’s eve.

Other differentiating features giving C70 the ability to
stand its ground on the mid-priced luxury playing field includes front wheel
drive on both the $40,450 base T5 trim level and the $44,350 T5 Inscription. Go
mack daddy with either trim level and add the optional 900-watt digitally
amplified premium sound system with 12-speakers to give the wind a run for the
money with the top down and of course. But at no additional cost, Volvo’s class
leading safety features, which we’ve come to expect from the brand, are a
given.

Also for the record, opting for the $1,295 Polestar chip on
the T5, which comes as a standard on the T5 Inscription, does not change the
government fuel economy rating. With or without the extra power, C70 still
comes in at 18 miles per gallon in the city and 28 on the highway.

---

Soft: Mercedes E-Cabriolet

For the executive with swag, rolling up in an E-Coupe
Cabriolet will definitely cause a stir. Between the fierceness of a sculptured
body with raised belt-line giving it that in-motion look, and the LED daytime
running lights–it might not be your girl in which all eyes are focused.

At the dance with the E-Cabriolet, partners are few. The
choices include Audi’s A5 with a 211 horsepower turbo engine producing 258 lb ft. of
torque; It’s more powerful S5 with a 333 hp engine for 325 lb ft. of torque, or
BMW’s 3-Series line of convertibles in a choice of a 230, 300 or 320 horsepower
engines as a prelude to the mighty M3. Priced at $68,750, with it’s 4.0 liter,
414 hp V8 producing 295 lb ft. of torque, M3 is about the closest they come to
the $64,800 E550, with a 4.6 liter, 402hp V8 bi-turbo engine producing 443 lb
ft. of torque. If that’s more power than you need, at $57,720, E350’s 302 hp
V6—increased from 2011’s 268 hp V6, ought to do it. But like I said, the E
trumps all others attempting to take home first prize at the dance.

Its triple layered soft top is comprised of nearly one inch of
materials. The outcome is said to seal out both weather and noise for the long
term. Still, it has the prowess to drop in 20…seconds, that is. It does so
without consuming the entire trunk space. 

In case you were wondering, you’re looking at 19 city / 28
highway for the E350, with the E550 reigning in at 16 city / 25 highway for EPA
ratings.

Soft: Fiat 500c

For gentleman under 30 or over 60, with $20,000 to spend on
an exciting convertible, Fiat’s got the hook-up: They call it the 500c.

Compact and cute with the multi-stage retractable roof up or
down, the 500 is the whip that turns heads at every traffic light. Constantly,
viewers passing by will either stop and stare at, or smile while give you a
thumbs up on the fly.

Front to back, you’d swear the Fiat 500 takes its cues from
the Mini Cooper, when all along it was the Italian manufacturer that birthed
the design back in 1957, followed by British Motor Corporation’s design of the
Mini in 1959. But even in the absence of Mini Cooper’s pitbull like stance,
which makes for great stability and handling, the 500 stands its ground like a
true champ on curves and corners, making it not only as cute as a button, but
fun to drive in the city and open road.

When Fiat became Chrysler’s new owner after the 2009
government led bankruptcy, the 500 led the way on this side of the Atlantic as
the 2010 introduction for model year 2012. 500’s options include two trim
levels in the convertible lineup: 500c Pop with a base of $19,500 and the 500c
Lounge at $23,500. Aside from Pop’s five-speed manual transmission and Lounge’s
six-speed automatic, both rock the same 1.4 engine liter engine with Sport
drive, and the ability to retract the roof while in motion (up to 60 miles per
hour). Beyond that, it’s pretty much a matter of cosmetics, several of
which—such as the Bose premium sound system available in the $1,250 Customer
Preferred Package and the optional $500 five spoke rims, can still be had with
the base model. Either way, 30 miles per gallon in the city, 38 helps make 500
an attractive buy.

Oh yeah, unless your children are infants, let’s call this
one a two-seater for the grown and sexy–even with its back in theory and
design. In fact, think of the rear seat space as a place to store your hard
luggage, which is highly unlikely to fit in the compact trunk space.

Hard or soft, gentleman, you’ll know exactly what to keep
her smiling the entire time!