Skip to footer

Top 10 cars for summer

Wind in your hair, sun in your face – the summer drive is as classic a pastime as barbecues and baseball.  For dedicated sun-seekers, the right machine can make all the difference, and since most of us can’t afford the demi-convertible Maybach Landaulet limousine, here are 10 fun-loving new models sure to keep a summer smile on your face.  Climb into one of these this season, and you’ll be happy to keep driving duties for yourself.

1. Ford Mustang Convertible

Danny Moloshok/Reuters/File
The taillights of the 2013 Ford Mustang GT Convertible are seen at the LA Auto Show in Los Angeles in November 2011. With a recent facelift, this American classic has made a comeback.

  • By Andrew P. Collins Contributor

Since its retro redesign in 2005, the Mustang has returned to the good graces of critics and enthusiasts after a few generations that were decidedly unimpressive. The subsequent 2010 facelift solidified its place in America’s heart with a striking modern interpretation of a classic design. Inspiring performance paired with practical usability make the new Mustang something Americans can once again be proud of.

Anyone shopping for a Mustang will invariably look at the Chevrolet Camaro as well, the car’s natural rival that has recently undergone a major redesign of its own. However, the general consensus among the automotive press is that Ford’s entrant to the “pony car” class is the superior option, thanks to a more refined power plant, more usable cargo room, and better interior ergonomics.

The Mustang convertible line runs a huge range of pricing and performance with the V6 powered base model starting at $27,200 (the hardtop is about $5,000 less) and the fully equipped Shelby GT500 leaving the shop for over $60,000. While I’m sure holding the reigns of the supercharged V8 in the Shelby is an exhilarating experience, almost all Mustang users will get all the performance they need out of the V6, which cranks out a substantial 305 horsepower (hp.) and gets 31 m.p.g. on the highway.

1 of 10
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.