It is Spring and this old man’s fancy is turning to open-top motoring, but having a wife and teenaged daughters to point up the flaws of each model I consider I fear I may never find one that says the driver is both butch and hip. (Silly girls, since they WANT me to buy one I’d think they’d keep their comments to themselves.) So, any ideas besides telling them to stuff it and getting a purple Mustang GT with white top and interior because I’m secure enough in my heterosexuality to pull it off?
Well, I was going to ask Tony Randall and Rip Taylor what they drive, but . . .
I dont think a Mustang GT convertible is girly, gay OR old farty. At all. Unless you did in fact get a purple one with a white top. Just the other day I saw a super hot guy in a black and chrome GT Convertible driving down the freeway- there was nothing wrong about that!!! 
Get yourself a big convertible from the 1960s. Big showboat Lincoln or Caddy would be best.
My brother sells cigarettes wholesale. Last November the owner of the company he works for came to him and said, “C’mon, we’re going to take a ride.”
They ended up at the Jaguar dealership. The company owner said, “You’ve done really well for us this year…pick a car. Any car.”
My brother now has one of these: http://www.automotive.com/buy/new/11/jaguar/xk-series/index.html
It ain’t girly, gay, or old farty. It is an incredible machine and is better than Viagra for getting the blood flowing to all the vital parts.
One of my friends had a 1972 Chevy Impala that had the roof cut off. Girly? Try idling at 40 mph and having like five feet of steel in front of you. I wouldn’t consider a 72 Impala sleek and sexy, but that car was definitely the ultimate boys night out car. You could throw four of your best friends in there no problem and drive around all night acting like a group of idiots. Is it hip? I guess that depends on your definition of hip. I always got a kick driving up to the valet of some trendy night club in a car that had the roof cut off with the boys just climbing over the sides to get out. Nothing says cool like telling everyone you don’t need to be cool. Anyhow, when the guys got together, we always took that car out, leaving much nicer cars sitting at home.
I’d do more research on the Mustang. I don’t know anyone who has kept their Mustang (newer models) for more than a couple of years.
The Aston Martin DB9 Volante is really cool and expensive. The Mercedes-Benz SL-Class SL600 Roadster is pretty cool, but also expensive.
http://autos.yahoo.com/newcars/astonmartin_db9_volante_2004/14764/style_overview.html
http://autos.yahoo.com/newcars/mercedesbenz_slclass_sl600roadster_2004/14309/style_overview.html
How about an [url=http://sl107.com/eve/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=4936035941&f=3816042651&m=4556096262]SL[/url?
Dern… SL?
Sweet! I mean–since when have SLs NOT been Old Fart Cars? Same with Big-Assed '60s Convertibles? Ah, my fondest non-sexual car memories involve a '67 Olds and a cool summer night.
My recent motorcycle research ended abruptly when I realized that for the same money as a good but not great new bike I could get an old Vette. Something I could drive in the rain and snow, were I sufficiently undermedicated.
A couple of recommendations:
-BMW M3 convertible. May be slightly “gay”. But M3s get respect on the street. (not cheap)
-2nd Gen Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder (make sure you get the GS-T version, with the turbo- cheap)
-2nd Gen Mazda RX-7 convertible (cheap)
-Nissan 300ZX convertible (cheap)
-Nissan 350Z convertible (not cheap)
-AC Cobra replica (not cheap, but the fastest of the bunch - slightly middle-aged-to-old-farty)
Old farty to me would be something like a Chrysler Sebring, not a bad car but no real identity. I’m sure your daughter has said that a Miata is a girly car, but as a former owner, I can tell you they are a blast. I want one again, but small children don’t make that possible.
Were I in your shoes, I would go buy the biggerst sweetest 60s or 70s Amurrican iron convertible I could find. That 67 Olds you mentioned would be perfect, but a Cadillac would be the ultimate. Buick, Olds, Pontiac, Chevy, Ford, Mercury, Chrysler, they all made some really huge convertibles and any would do. If you buy one that’s not “perfect”, it probably wouldn’t be too expensive either.
SLIGHTLY? Do you know any BMWs owned by straight guys? I mean, it’s almost as big an announcement as a VW Cabrio.
Are you kidding? TOTALLY gay!
Wow! I can be arbitrary AND insulting here. Maybe I like IMHO. I usually stay away because my opinions are never humble. :wally
Daddy, you got that right about both the Sebring (screams “50-yr-old executive assistant” so it’s girly, too) and my daughter singling out the Miata.
An M3 is different than a normal BMW. If it was a 325 vert, I’d agree with you.
As far as the Eclipse, we seem to get compliments from just about everyone. t’s extrmemely eye-catching and, slightly modified, very fast. But it IS my girlfriend’s car. She’s not gay, but she is girly…
I don’t get it.
What’s gay about the M3?
It’s a BMW for chrissakes. And a convertible to boot. It’s only a slight exaggeration for me to say I’d willingly drive that if it only came in lavender with a pink top.
And the Sebring? 50-y.o. exec assistant? I don’t think so. It’s just an updated version of classic LeBaron convertibles of the early '80s. Most folks thought those were good looking cars, judging by what I read in the car mags of the day.
You don’t own a convertible, do you, SofP? 
I suspect it’s pretty common knowledge amond vert owners (who tend to notice other vert owners) that you can drive around on a beatiful sunny 80-degree day, and the only convertibles that you’ll see with their tops up are $100K-plus Mercedes and Chrysler Sebrings, both because the occupants inside don’t want to get their hair messed up or some nonsense, apparantly. I wholeheartedly echo that Sebring vert drivers are Sebring drivers who for some reason got confused at the dealership and ordered a convertible, but that they don’t really know what to do with it.
Miata drivers and S2000 drivers tend to be the freest with their tops. Heck, the second it bumps over 60, we’re out there with the top down.
Hey, dropzone, there’s another idea: Honda S2000.
Dude, I still have to be able to get my fat ass in and out of it! Might as well suggest an MG Midget.
To minimize emoticon use may I suggest that we agree since no post in this thread is all that serious and any insults are us really just talking smack? And therefore emoticons are superfluous and no statements are really intended to offend? Thanks.
chefguy, that Goat is sweet. Redlines! Tri-Power!!! Okay, not girly, gay, OR old farty though it could be driven proudly by any of those people.
60!? I put the top down on my S2000 the moment it hit 45, as long as it’s not raining. Of course, I live in Seattle, so if I were to wait for 60 degree days the top might rust in place.
Well, I don’t drive an S2000 or a Miata, so I’m one of the pussies who wait for it to be 60. Much props to you guys, though.