Topless Top 9

In fact, for the 2008 model year there are 53 convertible models sold in America, from the $16,590 smart to the $495,000 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. Choosing just ten from those 53 cars is an impossible task, but that didn’t stop me from compiling a list, based on nothing more than their inviting natures and the promise of open-air cruising.

1. MINI Cooper ($21,950)
The MINI is like that stylish vision you admired from a distance which, upon closer acquaintance, had plenty of substance too. The power-retractable soft-top glides back for a panoramic vista and also offers a sunroof position. Rearward visibility isn’t great, but the view out the windshield is inspiring. Given a near perfect seating position and the car’s compact exterior dimensions, the driver feels as tightly wired to the taut chassis and perky drivetrain as Vegas is to the power grid.

2.  Pontiac Solstice ($22,165)
A sibling rivalry of “world cars” includes these two little roadsters from GM. Both are built in America alongside two other similar models, the Daewoo G2X for the Asian market and the Opel GT (the oldest sibling in the family) for European buyers. Prices begin in the low-20s if the standard 2.4-liter 4-cylinder is chosen. Move up to the 260-horsepower direct-injected and turbocharged 2.0-liter versions, and you’re creeping up on 30 grand for a fully equipped model. Like the classic roadsters of old, neither is generous with space or utility, but the visual appeal and good road manners of these beguiling twins trump any ergonomic compromises.

3. Ford Mustang ($24,475)

How has this old pony hung on so long? Must be because it’s so darn much fun to drive. Get it with a V6 or a V8, doesn’t matter, because the Mustang offers more fun for the buck than just about anything else on the road. Want a refined thoroughbred to stick your English saddle on? Look elsewhere. The Mustang was built to gallop over the rough urban landscape, and if it ain’t as newfangled as some of the pretenders to the pony-car crown, it has the soul-stirring history of a cultural icon. Plus, a huge number of options and special packages mean you’ll never lose your own hoss in the huge herd of ‘Stangs roaming the road.

4. Chrysler Sebring ($26,160) In some heavily touristed parts of the world, the Sebring convertible is more numerous than Swedish blondes. This makes neither the car nor the blondes a bad thing, but the Sebring’s repute as a lowly rental car, a forgettable weekend fling, was overturned when Chrysler added a retractable hardtop model alongside the existing soft-top. Security is an issue with convertibles (ask any tourist whose soft-top was knifed for the camera on the back seat), and the hardtop adds a dimension of safety and noise insulation. This turned what was once an experience fit to be written on a faded postcard into one captured by a digital photo.

5. Honda S2000 ($34,300)
Honda races in the most sophisticated series of them all, Formula One, so it figures the firm can build a pretty good road-going sports car. The S2000 has been around since 1999 and has won lots of awards, but it’s likely to be replaced soon, making this a good time to check out the classic front-engine/rear-wheel-drive layout. Powered by a 237-horsepower 2.2-liter 4-cylinder that soars to 7800 rpm like a falcon on the hunt, its tightly tuned chassis carves corners with the precision of a master sushi chef. Hardcore drivers, though, will want to upgrade to the S2000CR and its quicker gearing, more slippery bodywork and reduced weight. If only Honda could get its F1 cars to work as well!

6. Chevrolet Corvette ($54,575)

If any two-seater with 430 horsepower is to be considered a “Best Buy” in these days of skyrocketing fuel costs, it’s the ‘Vette. With the right attitude and a light foot it can exceed 25 mpg on the highway. With a better attitude and a less bashful foot, it can rip to 60 in only 4.0 seconds. This classic roadster provides the kind of joy that only a V8-powered, front-engine, rear-wheel-drive sports car can. Grouse all you want about the state of the American car industry, but leave out the ‘Vette. It’s a marvel of evolutionary survival, and what a way to cruise Route 66.

7. Porsche Boxster S ($55,700)

With a big brother like the legendary 911, the Boxster soft-top can get easily overlooked. But for 30 grand less than the least expensive 911 ragtop, the Boxster S is a bargain as well as a pure-blood sports car. Its superbly balanced mid-engine chassis is low, wide and grips the driver in a cozy embrace, and the free-revving 295-horsepower flat six gobbles miles without guzzling gas (18/26 mpg). The Boxster not only masters the back roads, it’s a quiet cruiser with the top up, and its two trunks make it a truly practical soft-top.

8. Jaguar XKR ($92,035)

If the XK is not on your wish list of convertibles, then you probably haven’t seen one in its appealing, aluminum skin. This gorgeous modernization of Jaguar’s venerated sports car is offered with either a naturally aspirated V8 or a 420-horsepower supercharged variant, and both models are, of course, lavishly outfitted. The soft purr from the base 300-hp engine isn’t quite enough to put a leap into the almost 4,000-pound soft-top’s otherwise smooth stride, but the R’s supercharged engine and associated chassis upgrades transform the XK into an entirely new species of cat. All the wood and leather and electronics can’t hide the sharp claws that make it the most athletic Jaguar outside the rain forest.

9. Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG ($132,000)

Just arrived, the seventh generation of the classic German roadster sports new bodywork, a refined interior and a four-engine lineup that spans the gap from a merely strong 382-horsepower V8 to a ridiculously strong 604-horsepower turbocharged V12. Sportiest is the mighty SL63 AMG, its 518-horsepower V8 hooked to a remarkable new 7-speed multi-clutch automatic transmission. The lavishly equipped two-seater jets from 0-60 mph in just 4.5 seconds, and the fold-away hardtop takes just 16 seconds. The time it will take to pay off the $132,000 sticker? Only your accountant knows for sure.