I was driving to work on this beautifiul 84* sunny Minnesota afternoon, I was looking at the other cars on the road, and I saw a lot of crotch rockets, pony cars and convertibles. It got me to thinking how much I want a summer car. What do you all think are great cars for cruising around on a hot summer day and into the warm evenings?

Personally, I really think a Mark VIII would be great. Powerful, fast, reasonably fuel efficent, luxurious, technology laden, RWD, and arguably the Intech is better than the Northstar. Plus, the VIII looks a lot more laid back and sporty than the Eldorados IMO. If i was gonna go the convertible route, I'd love a 71-72, or a 75-76 Eldorado, but that would be a horrible daily driver. Or one could go for a Trans Am or a 300ZX or a 3000GT, but the insurance, and initial costs of those are insane.

What would you guys pick as a summer cruiser?

LS1 Trans-Am 6-speed. Slap on Magnaflow or SLP Loudmouth exhaust and you've got a badass summer car. Cant forget about the T-tops, always a plus for the summer.

Topless Impala
Mazda Miata
Chrysler Sebring GTC
Eldo with the roof chopped!

Oh man! Just thought of another! '68-70 deVille Convertible!

We like cruising in our 81 Corvette with the t-tops off. You can find some very nice rubber bumper C3s, say 75-82, for reasonable prices - $5K for a running project car to $15K for a low miles car that looks like new. (Of course, these are private party prices.) There are plenty of restoration parts (except 82 silver beige collector edition cars) and lots of aftermarket parts. Pre-81 cars have no computer, so tuning is fairly straight forward.

I have had a whole slew of cars, the kind you want to drive on a nice day. Of those my favorites were all convertables/t tops or targa tops. Funny thing is the fast sports car type ones were not my favorites, the classics were. Off the top of my head these were my favorites in order.
1. 66 Chrysler Newport convertible
2. 68 Dodge Dart GT convertible
3. 95 Z28 convertible
4. 94 Z28 w/t tops
5. 86 Vette Targa
6. 87 and 88 Mustang GT verts
:thumbsup:

http://www.nonocarrental.com/jeep.jpg

I'd love to have a weekender Solstice or Sky. Only problem is not enough trunk space for two sets of clubs.

My dream summer car (sadly, they only had them in europe though :( ):

e30 M3 Convertible

http://www.carpages.co.uk/bmw/bmw_images/bmw_m3_19_01_05.jpg

http://www.stirlings.co.uk/images/gallery/m3cab2.jpg

http://www.bmwmregistry.com/faq/E30_M3_dash_late.jpg

Corvette Sting Ray Convertible. Preferably a 65-67 for the four wheel disc brakes. A C6 ragtop would do as well. Or a '64 Eldorado convertible.
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My dad was jsut talking about how much he misses his convertible today, and might consider anotehr for summer '07, cant afford one now.

And ideal convertible for me is a Mazda MX-5, cheap, sporty, convertible, just a great little car.....

My dads wife used to have a Saab 9-3 in the late nineties and liked it but is in love witht he Honda S2000.

The S2000 is a great car, just don't be too tall with the top up - or want to carry much in the trunk. Heck, the Miata trunk looks big next to it.

A 1959 Eldorado Biarritz does the job well.

The S2000 is a great car, just don't be too tall with the top up - or want to carry much in the trunk. I'm cramped in that car and I'm only 5'6", 135 lbs!

Anything with tinted windows and a good air conditioner. I hate the heat.

The S2000 is a great car, just don't be too tall with the top up - or want to carry much in the trunk. Heck, the Miata trunk looks big next to it.

My dad is 6'0. He's only considering one for the summer, thing is that'd mean he'd have to keep the other cars too. Said he'd feel a bit selfish driving a £4000 car for his family, and a £20,000 car himself.

Gotta go with a early 90's coupe deville convertible. Finding one is the trick.

I've seen like 4 of those in my entire life.

That'd be pretty cool! My dream one day for summer cars is either a ZR-1 or a '66 Goat, both are pretty sweet 90* sunny-day cruisers!

ZR-1, isn't that the Vette with the DOHC 5.7?

[QUOTE=gdwriter]Corvette Sting Ray Convertible. Preferably a 65-67 for the four wheel disc brakes.[QUOTE]


beat me to it. Love those mid-60s Vettes....just so choice.


F

My godfather/ uncle had one back in the mid '70s. I think it was a '66 ragtop. He had an '00 Convertible, and just got a '06 convertible.

It would have to be a convertable. 72 Eldo, 68 Deville, maybe for some new school fun a 260hp Solstice GXP.. or even better a Mallet LS2 Solstice.

ZR-1, isn't that the Vette with the DOHC 5.7?

The LT-5, one of the absolute gems of modern engineering! :thumbsup:

http://www.zr1netregistry.com/LT5no2.jpg

I looked at a '95 Mark VIII today, and I wasn't that impressed. The interior seemed quite low budget for a $38,000 car, but that may have been only on this example. I could tell certain parts of the interior were being held together by glue, and the leather was all dried out and it was starting to crack. I think this one had around 135k miles on it. It was toreador red with grey leather interior. I didn't get to drive it, I wanted to though.

The main thing I remember about it, was the dashboard seemed so far away from me in the driver seat, which is kinda cool. I liked the interior design, but didn't like the materials used. The Eldorado has the upper hand in that department, but the VIII has the better interior overall.

I'm sure I'd like the '97-'98 style more than this one. I'll have to keep an eye out for one of those.

lambo marcialago(i think thats how you spell it) droptop.

or a droptop 911 porsche with an exhaust.

For looks and satisfaction during the summer.

For fun with friends.....jeep wrangler.