TAKE PRIDE IN THESE TOPLESS RIDES

Storm forward in one of these hot convertibles…
 
By Casey Williams
 
You don’t need a parade float to show your pride, strip off your top, or show your stuff. Naughty boy, I’m talking about a hot convertible. You can take it home, soap it up, wash it down, and enjoy a date that lasts for years. Make eyes at one of these:
 
Chevy Camaro Convertible
Beauty and brawn combine under open skies. Get the Camaro Convertible with Apple CarPlay, 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot, rear vision camera and leather-wrapped flat-bottom steering wheel. Engines include a 455 horsepower (336 kW) V8 in the SS model, 275 horsepower (205 kW) 2.0-litre turbo-four, or 335 horsepower (250 kW) 3.6-litre V6. Shift with a six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic transmission. Press the pedal and go!
Base price: $38,570
 
Mazda MX-5 Miata
If a classic roadster gets you stoked, you’ll crave the new MX-5. Sexier than ever, the car would be killer to weave down California’s Pacific Coast Highway—or curvy Ontario back roads. Rev the 155 horsepower (116 kW) four-cylinder engine, best enjoyed with a six-speed manual transmission. Get it with lane departure warning, blind spot alert, rear cross traffic assist and Bose audio. Flip the top, grab a gear, and enjoy.
Base price: $31,900
 
Fiat 124
Take the new Mazda Miata, restyle it with classic Fiat 124 cues, and you have the Italian automaker’s Japanese-built beauty. It’s a case of the student becoming the teacher, distinguished by Fiat’s 160 horsepower (119 kW) turbocharged 1.4-litre engine. Interiors are virtually identical to Miata’s, but refined with padded dash coverings, blind spot monitoring and backup camera. Bose audio rocks it! Sales begin later this year; it will be worth the wait.
Base price: est. $32,000
 
Mercedes-Benz C-Class Cabriolet
Launching this summer is a drop-top C-Class, able to drop top even when you’re driving up to 50 km/h. Billed as an open-air car for 365 days per year, it features Mercedes’ AirScarf neck heating and AirCap draft stop system. It will be available with AirMatic air suspension and nine-speed automatic transmission. Choose between 241 horsepower (180 kW) turbo-four and 362 horsepower (270 kW) V6 engines. Expect all the latest infotainment and crash avoidance systems.
Base price: TBA
 
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CASEY WILLIAMS is a contributing writer for Gaywheels.com. He contributes to the New York-based LGBT magazine Metrosource and the Chicago Tribune. He and his husband live in Indianapolis, where Williams contributes videos and reviews to wfyi.org, the area’s PBS/NPR station.