Best Cheap Convertibles

The Mazda MX-5 is a popular sports car built by Mazda in Hiroshima, Japan. It is known as the MX-5 Miata (or popularly just Miata) in North America, where it was one of the few Mazdas to be given a name. It is known just as the MX-5 in Oceania and Europe and the Eunos Roadster or simply Roadster in Japan. It was initially unveiled at the Chicago Auto Show on 10 February 1989. The Miata is the world's best-selling sports car, with 720,407 cars produced and sold between February 1989 and March 31, 2005. Beginning with the third-generation 2006 model, Mazda consolidated worldwide marketing using the MX-5 name, though enthusiasts in the U.S.A. (and the company itself) still steadfastly refer to it as a Miata, a name that means "reward" in Old High German.

The Pontiac Soltice is a roadster from the Pontiac division of General Motors. Introduced at the 2004 North American International Auto Show, the Solstice began production in Wilmington, Delaware starting in mid-2005 for the 2006 model year. The exterior styling of the production Solstice is similar to that of the 2002 Solstice concept that preceded it. Pricing begins at US$ 19,995. Production of the Solstice was to be running before Summer 2005, but delays at the Wilmington plant pushed volume production to the fourth quarter.

The Solstice uses the GM Kappa platform, which also underpins the Saturn Sky and Opel GT. Pontiac may eventually build a fixed-roof coupe version, which would allow the Solstice to be eligible for certain racing events not open to convertibles.

The Solstice was nominated for the North American Car of the Year award and Design of the Year award from the AJAC for 2006. It has been a runaway hit for Pontiac, with 7,000 orders in the first 10 days of availability and 6,000 more orders before winter. Although first-year production was planned at 7,000, GM apologized to customers for delays and increased production, delivering 10,000 by March 1. The base price was adjusted upwards to $20,490 in mid-December, but many buyers report paying $5,000 or more over sticker to get a Solstice.

The Saturn Sky is a roadster to be released in the first quarter of 2006 as a 2007 model. It uses the Kappa automobile platform shared with the Pontiac Solstice. The Sky concept was shown at the 2005 North American International Auto Show, with the production version following at the 2006 show. It will be built at GM's Wilmington, Delaware plant, alongside the Solstice and the Opel GT. The Sky features 18 in (457 mm) wheels and a 2.4 L Ecotec LE5 I4 engine that produces 177 hp (132 kW). Manual and automatic transmissions are available, both with five gears.

The styling for the Sky, penned by Franz von Holzhausen, is based on the British Vauxhall VX Lightning design. It will be available in the UK as the Vauxhall VX Lightning, in some other European markets as the Opel GT, and in Korea as the Daewoo G2X. The Solstice, Sky, and GT are built in Delaware; the G2X will be produced by GMDAT in Korea. The aggressive styling has garnered praise as a welcome departure from the typical, conservative "Saturn look".

The Sky is priced at US $23,690 (CA $31,665) with a five-speed manual transmission. A five-speed automatic will cost US $24,540.