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What’s Your Perfect Summer Car? Here Are 7 of Ours
I buttoned up a few projects on my Buick last weekend and declared the big boat ready for summer cruising. Excited as much for the weather as I was for having completed the work, the moment I set my tools down I pulled the car out of the barn, dropped the top, and my wife and I went for a ride through the little wine region we live in before heading up to the shores of Lake Erie. The Buick’s the perfect ice-cream getter and lazy-evening-cruise-till-sunset machine.
By now, even those of us who reside in the top of The Mitten State have visions of summer in our heads. We let ourselves daydream a bit and envision what the perfect summer car would be. What’s yours?
Get Me To a Trail
I’ve been giving this some thought lately. The real-world application of a perfect summer car for me is one that gets me to trailheads, most of which live at the end of forest roads, which come after some amount of highway driving. So, I want OK gas mileage, cargo space, and clearance. My choice (because I can’t get them out of my head lately): A 1980s Subaru GL wagon with a manual transfer case and a sunroof. I’d also happily consider a 1983–88 Toyota Tercel 4WD wagon.—Stefan Lombard
Reliable Kyle
With summer seemingly being the shortest season here in northern Michigan, what I want from a summer car more than anything is reliability. I love working in the shop on a project, but that is for winter, when there is nothing else to do. Summer is for driving. My ideal summer car would have 400 horsepower, a targa top, manual transmission, and working air conditioning just in case. My 1985 Corvette covers a few items on that list, and in due time it will check all the boxes.
Criteria: T-tops and Tan Cloth
If I had to pick something besides the Buick, I’d aim toward a car with a little more versatility, but still with the opportunity to see the sky overhead. For only six of the 30 years that I’ve been driving have I gone without a car that had some form of removable roof. Most of them have been convertibles; some have had a T-top. The latter is the best solution for me, though: a hard roof over your head for swelteringly hot days and heavy rain (you can get away with no water in the car if you drive fast enough and it’s not a torrential downpour), and open air for the rest. Add in a tan cloth interior—let’s face it, if you’re driving and parking with an open roof, it’s gonna get dusty and hot, so might as well pick the color and material that never looks dirty and stays cool.
Did I just talk myself into buying another third-gen F-body?—Eddy Eckart
The Minimalist Route
I had the perfect summer car and only kept it for two of them—more fool me. A Caterham Seven Roadsport 140 had plenty, but not too much, power for its feather weight, and you could shed a few more pounds by taking the doors off as well. Even took it camping. Miss that car.—Nik Berg
Nate the Utilitarian
Northern Michigan is about as good as it gets in the summer, but one thing that I’ve found that really takes your seasonal enjoyment to the next level is the ability to haul toys and gear with ease. As much as I wanted to say a Miata or something like that, I think that a pickup is an even better option here, so that I can haul bikes, kayaks, golf clubs, etc. without having to string up fancy racks or play Tetris while packing. (Trust me, the rack thing is very familiar to me of late, and I can’t say that I’m off to the greatest start.)
Make mine an early ’90s Ford F-150, ideally with the 300-cubic-inch straight six. I’m in no hurry, so you can take your pick of manual vs. automatic. Slow, steady, and stuffed with the things that make summers great—that’s just what the doctor ordered.—Nate Petroelje
Sajeev Is Ready for the Heatwave
Bless y’alls hearts. When everyone thinks of cars for the summer they go to sports cars, convertibles, or something with terrible air conditioning. Too bad my summer is your winter.
Here in Houston, I need a “beater with a heater,” except that means having fantastic air conditioning instead. And features that make it resistant to heat, like white leather seats and an insulated roof upholstered in this most reflective color.
Give me a Jack Nicklaus Town Car Signature Series with ceramic-tinted windows for the summer, or I might never leave the air-conditioned comfort of my home!—Sajeev Mehta
“Summers Should Be Slow”
Measured in hours, the vast majority of the time that my husband and I have spent in a car together has been in his Bronco Sport, on the highway, driving between Michigan to and from his home state of Virginia. We could do with a lot more chill cruising—Michigan summers are lovely, even in the southern part of the state—so I asked him what classic car he’d be excited about driving around. (Like Nate, I was already defaulting to Miata.) Grayson said a VW Beetle convertible. Then I saw Nate’s pickup, and I remembered that beach chairs and cold drinks make a lake day much more fun. Final vote: Vintage VW Bus. They look happy all the time, and you never have to worry about how much stuff you bring. They’ve also got enough ground clearance to handle some mild off-pavement duty in a state park. And you can get camper versions! So what if those old Buses aren’t fast? Summers should be slow.—Grace Jarvis
Late summer for us means a trip to North Carolina’s Outer Banks, where, despite increasing NPS restrictions, there are parts of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore where you can still drive on the beach…with a permit of course. That’s where my King Cab Nissan Frontier 4×4–and its predecessor, a similar D21 comes in.
If you’re a beach person, nothing beats finding a deserted section of shoreline, and driving right up to the high tide line with all your gear, instead of humping it over the dunes to the crowded beach near the parking lot.
My license plate says it all: 4-OBX
My 2007 SAAB 9-3 convertible is perfect for exploring NW Lower Michigan. In it’s 9th summer of reliable service.
As is our ‘07 9-3 drop-top. Bought new in late 2006, after 18+ years still runs, drives, and looks like new. Two tire replacements, scheduled maintenance , and many memorable drives…
Miata Is Always The Answer.
Yes it is!
Mini moke- a real one- not the lsv golf cart version or Chinese knock off…
The Original Answer – Lotus Elan
Still is.
Or my Westfield 11 “Lotish” 11 continuation, and the narrow track Morgan +8. No insulation, no A/C, Best enjoyed in the early morning, when there is little traffic. Heck! I live in So.CA. Good all year!
Otherwise, the E500 has excellent A/C…
Sure…. if you are a hairdresser.
Our Solstice cruising the Galveston Sea Wall with the top down
Amen!
Or it’s partial inspiration, a Bugeye Sprite.
My summer daily driver for the past 35 years is an MGB. Weekend cruising is with my 68 Chevelle convertible or the 63 corvette convertible. Top Down Baby!
64 Comet Caliente convertible. A deep maroon ,think Black Cherry like . A nice paint job but not so much that you’re sweating every chip and small scratch. Fresh top. Torque Thrusts. All factory Red interior but with clothe inserts as recently discussed. A BluePrint 87 octane 302 with a 5 speed. A rumble when cracking the secondaries but not too loud as to make cruising with the top down annoying. Most all of the 65 Shelby upgrades except use the 66 underride traction bars. The 65 overrides work a bit better but leak on to the floor pan . And the Mustang ‘Rally Pac ‘ column mounted tach and clock instead of the dash mounted Shelby Tach/ Oil Pres. Also modern AC but with the original under dash unit. A front disc, caliper, rotor, upgrade . Perhaps keep the drums in the back for nostalgia sake or not. Peel and stick sound insulation. Carpeted trunk with made to fit matching luggage. Like that. Maybe a roll bar for safeties sake but mostly to keep unwanted guests from inviting themselves. Threes a crowd.
I can’t believe nobody said a wrangler or cj.
My ideal one would have a manual, half doors, and a bikini top.
Yep. We love our 98 TJ 5-spd, top down, half doors and true open-air feel!
absolutely!
My favorite Summer car is my 98% original (It’s been repainted the original color) 74 Mercedes 450SL. The top goes down when I take the cover off in April and doesn’t go back up until the end of October or when the 1st snow flies. Getting lost on the back roads of SE WI for a few hours is great fun. So is getting good (non-e) gas. I’ll drive 30 min from home to get gas. For some reason, it takes me 2-4 hours to get home.
Got too go with the 7, wind in hair (what’s left of it), bugs in the teeth.
Bought a 73 VW Bus last year. Fun, but what a dog. I see why people put Subaru engines in these things!
Yours was a rocket compared to my old ’58 with the 36 horse engine. Seriously. I got it to 62mph once. Once!
Austin Healey Sprite
Porsche 356 Speedster
Lotus 7
MGA
Really anything without roll up windows!
I love my ’99 M3 convertible. Trunk big enough for golf clubs, air conditioning for when it gets too hot, sounds great with the Borla exhaust and top down…Works for me!
I’m envious, I have the budget version: a ’96 318i cabrio with a manual 5 speed. Slow and sounds bad but I picked it up for $5K and it’s in good enough original condition to qualify for collector insurance at $160 per year! What they politely call a ‘momentum car’. But still tons of fun on the local twisties and cheap to run.
Early 1970’s AMC Gremlin. Must be a base model. Very ugly, but at least it is slow.
And unreiable, with parts a nightmare to find. Perfection.
When summer comes, the hard top goes down on my 2005 Cadillac XLR, and sunny days are spent cruising around in a 2 seater Caddy, sometimes referred to as a “Vette in a tux”.
Depends on what the goals are.
A targa topped Toyota Supra Turbo does quite nicely but the Lexus IS 500 does the long distance trips much better.
I love driving my ’32 Ford 5-window coupe in the summer. With both windows open, the rear window open, the cowl vent open and the windshield tilted out, it’s comfortable driving even when it’s above 90F. Not to mention that the 350 ramjet and 5-speed Tremec add to the fun!
You’ve heard it before “Miata is always the answer”