Ragtops and Roadsters

Two-seaters somehow seem more intimate, more exclusive, than open-air vehicles that have back seats. Indeed, many two-seat convertibles are the "halo" for their brands—vehicles that are designed to attract attention and showroom visitors as well as set an image for the brand.

Some people call these vehicles "roadsters," though old-timers say a true roadster is a car with two seats, two doors, a soft top and no windows in the doors. MSN Autos uses a more liberal definition—vehicles with two seats, two doors, with or without windows in the doors and wearing a soft top or retractable hardtop.

There are around two dozen such vehicles on sale in the U.S. But for the first time in a decade, this segment is unusually busy, with several all-new models debuting.

Photo Gallery: Ragtops and Roadsters

They include the third-generation MX-5 Miata, first-ever Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky, new-generation Porsche Boxster and the exotic Ferrari Superamerica.

Saturn has never sold a convertible before. Pontiac hasn't had a two-seat convertible since 1940, and Ferrari is the first with a two-seat convertible that combines an electrochromic glass roof with an innovative mechanism where the top rotates as it goes down.

Newest Mazda Roadster

Everyone, it seems, knows the MX-5 Miata—either by name, or by its appearance. It's even in the Guinness Book of World Records.

When it debuted in 1989, the small two-seater with soft top was credited with reigniting consumers' passion for affordable, four-cylinder roadsters. The MX-5 Miata had a lightweight, British sports car personality and Japanese styling.

Sold worldwide, the little car has sales now topping 700,000, which is more than any other production, two-seat, convertible sports car in history.

The 2006 model is the biggest ever, though the increased dimensions are subtly blended in. For example, the wheelbase has grown by 2.5 inches to allow for a roomier interior, but the overall length, bumper to bumper, only is increased by 1.7 inches. The car also is a bit wider and taller than before, which provides more hip and shoulder room as well as space to accommodate side airbags for the first time. Yet, because of careful attention to weight, the new car has a curb weight just 22 pounds more than its predecessor.

A larger, more powerful, 2.0-liter double overhead cam four-cylinder engine puts out 170 horsepower, up from 142 in the 2005 car with naturally aspirated engine. Torque rises to 140 lb-ft at 5000 rpm, which is better than the 125 lb-ft in the 2005 car. Note the performance numbers are obtained when using premium unleaded gasoline.

However, officials said the new car won't debut with a turbo, even though past model years have featured an up-level Mazdaspeed turbo version. Wait for a turbo to show up in later years.

The starting manufacturer's suggested retail price for the 2006 car was lowered by some $2,000 from that of the base 2005, and was set at $20,435 at introduction. This is for a car with 5-speed manual transmission. A 2006 model with a 6-speed manual was set to start at $22,935.

The 2006 Mazda roadster doesn't bear the word "Miata" anywhere on its new body. Mazda reps said they'll use the name in the U.S. in ads and brochures, but the official name for the car is just MX-5, the same as it has been for years in other parts of the world.

Pontiac's Two-Seater

The 2006 Solstice marks Pontiac's first two-seat convertible since 1940, company spokesman Rick Crooks said. (Fiero fans, note that Pontiac's Fiero in the late 1980s had a T-top, not a fold-down roof.)

The sexy-looking Solstice has been a star at auto shows since it first went on stage as a concept in 2002. It also starred on television's The Apprentice in spring 2005, where a tie-in promotion resulted in the first 1,000 Solstice orders being taken in just 10 minutes.

Order-filling was slated to begin in late summer 2005, with larger supplies at dealerships materializing starting in the fall, Pontiac officials said, adding they want to make sure quality is up to snuff.

After all, the Solstice is being built on a new, rear-wheel-drive platform because parent company General Motors Corp. didn't have an existing rear-drive platform for an inexpensive compact car.

Solstice's starting manufacturer's suggested retail price is $19,420 at introduction, which is likely to be the lowest price for a roadster in the U.S. This is for a base model with five-speed manual transmission, four-cylinder engine, cloth seats and an AM/FM stereo with a CD player.

The Solstice's 2.4-liter, twin-cam engine is a variable valve version of GM's Ecotec four cylinder and capable of generating 170 horsepower and some 164 lb-ft of torque at 4400 rpm.

At 157.2 inches long, the Solstice is very nearly the same overall length as the Miata. But the Solstice's wheelbase—the distance from the middle of one wheel to the middle of the other wheel on the same side of the car—is longer at 95.1 inches. The Solstice has a low, wide stance, too, because its overall width—71.6 inches—is larger than the Miata's 67.7 inches.

Saturn's First Convertible

The brand known for its affordable small cars is slated to get its own version of the Pontiac Solstice, to be called the 2007 Saturn Sky, early in calendar 2006.

The engine, rear-wheel-drive platform and most mechanicals are common with the Solstice, and the two cars will be built on the same Wilmington, Del., assembly plant.

But the Sky's exterior is a new, modern design—certainly nothing like a previous Saturn, or the Solstice. The Sky's interior promises a quality appearance that has never been in a Saturn before. Company officials look for the Sky to be the brand's halo vehicle and attract young buyers.

Dimension-wise, the Sky has the same 95.1-inch wheelbase as the Solstice. But the Sky's styling outside adds a few inches to the length over the Solstice. Width is shaved a tad from the Solstice's—to 71.4 inches. Both the Sky and Solstice are estimated to weigh around 2,860 pounds.

Price hasn't been announced, but the Sky will start higher than the Solstice, perhaps close to the mid-$20,000s. A five-speed automatic transmission will be offered along with a manual transmission.

Note that the Solstice and Sky will be lower-volume models. Production of the two together is expected to total 20,000 to 30,000 a year.

Second Boxster

Porsche attracted some new buyers when it introduced the Boxster, a lower-priced, mid-engine two-seat convertible, for 1997. The car handled like a Porsche and sounded like a Porsche but had a starting MSRP of $41,000—some $23,000 less than any other Porsche. Company officials expected an unusually high percentage of women buyers—33 percent.

Fast forward to about mid-2005 model year, when Porsche started selling the second-generation Boxster. The rear-wheel-drive car uses the same platform as the predecessor, but the look is more masculine—seeing a pattern here with these small two-seaters—with a wider stance, larger front air ducts, larger wheels and tires and new, oval headlamps.

The interior is revised, too, with more room for taller drivers and a center stack on the dashboard arranged to allow proper presentation of an information screen.

The Boxster's power comes from two revised horizontal "boxer" engines. The base unit is a 2.7-liter six cylinder generating 240 horsepower, up from 225. Torque is 199 lb-ft starting at 4700 rpm. The sporty Boxster S has a 3.2-liter six cylinder that's capable of 280 horsepower, up from 258 last year. The 236 lb-ft of torque in the S is enough for a 0-to-60 mph time of 5.2 seconds. Five- and 6-speed manual transmissions as well as a five-speed automatic with shift-it-yourself Tiptronic are offered.

The weight of the base Boxster is close to that of the Solstice and Sky—2,855 pounds—and the Boxster has the identical-length wheelbase, 95.1 inches. Overall length of 171.6 inches is greater than the Miata, Solstice and Sky.

But Boxster buyers could get two Solstices for the price of a single Boxster. Starting MSRP at introduction was $43,800.

And unlike most convertibles, the Boxster's power-operated soft top can be opened or closed while the car is moving, up to 31 mph.

Superamerica Comes to America

Perhaps the most exclusive of the new, two-seat convertibles this year is Ferrari's Superamerica.

The limited-production model—just 159 will be offered for sale in the U.S., according to a spokeswoman—is all sleek, Pininfarina style. There's so much power from the 540-horse V12 that this is billed as the fastest convertible on the market. Top speed is 200 mph.

But it's the fold-down roof that's also extraordinary. Patented by Fioravanti, it's a carbon fiber structure with electrochromic glass whose tint can be adjusted via a five-position selector. The glass responds quickly, going from dark to light in less than a minute.

What also drew crowds at auto shows to this sexy two-seat convertible was the mesmerizing action of the hardtop going down and up. The Superamerica convertible has a power top that rotates as it moves rearward for storage. The action takes only 10 seconds.

Price, if you have to ask, is approximately $305,000.

A Niche Inside the Convertible Segment

Sales of two-seat convertibles are few, typically numbering a few thousand or fewer for each model. They qualify as a niche within the already-small U.S. convertible market.

Consider: Registrations of all kinds of new convertibles in the U.S. in calendar 2004— the last year records are available—totaled just 315,306, according to researcher R.L. Polk & Co. of Southfield, Mich. While this number was a record and up from the record 309,741 convertibles registered in calendar 2001, it still meant only about two of every 100 new vehicles registered in the U.S. in 2004 were convertibles.

Further, the top five convertibles in U.S. new-car registrations in 2004 were not two-seaters but were models that also have back seats, in this order: Chrysler Sebring, Ford Mustang, Volkswagen New Beetle, BMW 3-Series and Chrysler PT Cruiser.

A two-seat convertible—the BMW Z4—didn't appear in the list until the sixth spot. The Mercedes-Benz SLK was eighth among new-convertible registrations, and the Ford Thunderbird was tenth.

Commonly called roadsters, two-seat convertibles can be trendy. Indeed, history shows that new two-seat convertibles tend to be hot properties early in their lifecycle and then they fade.

"The market for roadsters is very, very thin," said George Peterson, president of AutoPacific Inc., an automotive research firm in Tustin, Calif. "They are the ultimate discretionary/trend/fad cars."

Example: The Ford Thunderbird was a much-talked-about, exciting, new model when it debuted in its newest form as a 2002 model. Sales peaked quickly at 19,085 in calendar 2002 and then steadily declined. Ford officials scheduled to end Thunderbird production during calendar 2005.

The Thunderbird was not the only two-seat convertible exiting the U.S. market. Toyota was wrapping up sales of its MR2 Spyder during calendar 2005. Sales had peaked at 7,233 in calendar 2000 and totaled only 2,631 in calendar 2004.

The up-and-down fortunes of roadsters are likely to continue. For example, in the first half of calendar 2005, few two-seat open-air cars were posting sales gains compared with the year-earlier period.

Two that had higher sales were the Porsche Boxster and Mercedes SLK, both of which debuted in the 2005 model year as new-generation vehicles.

If you're an automaker, you "need to make your money on a roadster in the first 18 months and then ride it out until it is replaced," Peterson said.

Research shows that men are often the buyers of today's two-seaters. They make up some 70 percent of the buyers of the Nissan 350Z convertible, for example, and account for more than 80 percent of the buyers of the Honda S2000, company officials said.

The majority of buyers of two-seat convertibles are married, but most are aging Baby Boomers, so, in many cases, their families have grown and are leaving the household.

In the market for a new car? MSN Autos is pleased to provide you with information and services designed to save you time, money and hassle. Click to research prices and specifications on any new car on the market or click to get a free price quote through MSN Autos' New-Car Buying Service.