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Long ago when the beetle was born (1938) it was a car for the masses. The Beetle was inexpensive and unique. Then the Beetle went through the love/peace phase in the 60's and early 1970's. The new Beetle which debuted in 1998 has morphed into something different. It's still an inexpensive car compared to an average car but now the Beetle convertible is more of a feminine car. Cars that are rounded and cute typically appeal to women but Volkswagen goes further. It's a full fledged girl car.

Need a little proof? In 2006 VW launched a campaign in London called Beetle Art. Basically VW had 4 very feminine styled decal packages that you could place on your car. The stickers would last for 3 years and not hurt the paint. Target market: women from 25 to 49. There were 90,000 of those packages made. Volkswagen has taken the Beetle Art mini site down and it redirects you to the Beetle page on VW main site.

The car even came with a vase for holding flowers. As a man I enjoy flowers but a vase in my car...NEVER. Even the colors that this car comes in are feminine, candy white, heaven blue metallic, gecko green metallic, red like my heart and harvest moon beige. Those are the real colors I didn't make any of them up. Ok, I made up the red one but the other colors are legitimate VW Beetle colors.

Tags: VW Beetle Convertible

Before the Mini Cooper burst on the scene, the sub compact car was supposed to be cheaply made. It was a car that new drivers could pick up for a few bucks and soon tear up. Somehow the safety features on sub compacts, the cars that needed it most, were optional or none existent. The Mini Cooper was different. It was a very small car but it had nice features like airbags all around.

After a few years of normal production the friendly folks at Mini (BMW) decided to produce a convertible. So in 2005 the Mini Cooper convertible was unveiled to Europe and then the states. The convertible retained the classic speedometer location in the center of the dash. (Allowing everyone in the vehicle to know your speed.) They added an interesting convertible top. The top could be lowered while driving because of a rail system and it took a mere 15 seconds. The top could be partially lowered giving you a sunroof kind of feel. In essence you could have a car with a roof, a large sunroof or a full top down car, all in one. It's a pretty amazing little feature.

For performance you could go with the standard Mini Convertible with very good mileage or move up to the S model or the John Cooper Works option for full performance. Zero to 60 in 6.6 seconds with 210 horsepower is very respectable. Overall the John Cooper option was fairly pricey when you consider the features that it included. This is the closest you can get to a go-cart feel in a modern, sophisticated car...only the MINI Cooper.

Tags: Mini Cooper Convertible

There are a few cars that elicit a response like the Austin Healey Mark 1 Sprite or more commonly called the Austin Healey Bugeyed Sprite. What a name!  If you look at the back of the car, you don't really notice anything uncommon.  It looks like a well styled small convertible.  Look inside the car and you'll notice a clean, no nonsense interior with toggles and the such.  Look at the front of the car and BAM, you love it or you hate it.  There isn't anyone who says, "it's alright".  This is a convertible that demands an immediate verdict from you.  As it stare at you with it's buggy eyes and grinning grill it asks, "Do you love me or hate me?"

It was produced as a cheap fun car in the late 50's and early 60's.  Budget demands made the designer change his plans and place the headlights in the now classic place on the hood.  As the Mark 1 it only lasted from 59 to 61 before it was replaced with the....wait for it...Mark II.  Cool how that works isn't it?  Finding a quality car from the early 60's is going to be tough but ohhhh the looks you will get if you drive this happy little car around.

Tags: Austin Healey Sprite

I'm from Indianapolis or Indy or Naptown and I drive a convertible.  So you can guess how I came up with the name for my blog.  Creative huh?  I'd like to showcase some great looking unusual convertibles.  Anyone can drive a mass produced car but there are some people who strive to be unique.  Uniqueness isn't a crime, it's a quality.  Some people express uniqueness with clothes or tats or hair or their home or their attitudes or their CARS.

Instead of a standard Toyota or Dodge you might look at a Jaguar XK8.

The Jag has classic clean lines and a unique front end that looks like a shark attacking.  The interior is more sophisticated with it's gorgeous wood accents and leather interior.  What isn't to like about that?  Add some unique rims and you've developed your own look.

Reggie

Tags: Indy Convertible