2004 Porsche 911 Carrera 40th Anniversary #1446 on 2040-cars

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Best new convertibles for 2024 and 2025

If you’re here, then youÂ’re already in the right mindset. Convertibles rule, and we have all the best convertibles listed for you further below. Driving around with the top off is an experience you need to live to fall in love with. When the weatherÂ’s right, youÂ’re on a proper bit of road, and the car youÂ’re in is a good one, few automotive experiences can top it. The experience is extra special when you have a musical exhaust note filtering directly into your ears and echoing off the landscape around you. And while rolling the windows down and opening a moonroof can get you part of the way there, it's nothing like feeling the wind wash over you with absolutely no roof overhead. The downsides can be just as harsh as the upsides when youÂ’re in the wrong conditions, though. Convertibles are typically worse to live with in cold climates, and driving around with the top up frequently means you might be subject to more road noise and worse visibility than an equivalent coupe. And when it comes to pure performance, convertibles are inherently compromised from a weight and structural rigidity perspective. All that said, we still think the upsides outweigh the compromises if your number one objective is to simply have fun. ItÂ’s a good thing then that there are a ton of great convertibles for sale these days. And no, the list of possibilities isnÂ’t as long as it used to be. Long-running standbys like the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and C-Class Convertibles are gone (replaced by the one CLE-Class). And so are others like the Audi TT Roadster, Fiat 124 Spider and Nissan Z Roadster. Nevertheless, opportunities abound from the ultra-cheap and fun, to physics-defying supercars and everything else in between. WeÂ’ll give you options for which new convertibles we think are the best below, so read on to find out.   Mazda MX-5 Miata Pros: Lightweight and compact; great engine and transmission combo; one of the most raw and pure driving experiences out thereCons: Not great for tall people; infotainment is dated; tiny trunk Read our Mazda MX-5 Miata Review Miata is always the answer, right? In this case, that rings even more true than usual. In fact, you could stop reading this list right here and go buy a Miata and youÂ’d likely be just as happy driving it around as you would be in any of the more expensive offerings that follow. ThatÂ’s just the magic of the MX-5.

Lexus leads J.D. Power's Vehicle Dependability Study for 2021

J.D. Power's latest Vehicle Dependability Study is out, and, not surprisingly, Lexus sits at the top for the ninth time in the last 10 years. Right behind Lexus is Porsche, followed by Kia, which is the highest-ranked mass-market brand in the study. Genesis, last year's top-ranked brand (in its first year included in the results), fell from first to eighth, though the G80 sedan did earn an award in its midsize luxury segment. The Porsche 911 was called out as the Most Dependable Model by J.D. Power for the second time in the last three years. The vehicles being studied are from the 2018 model year, which means owners have had three years to get to know their cars and trucks. It's notable that this year's study shows a marked improvement in overall vehicle dependability as tracked by J.D. Power. The overall level of problems, scored by the number of problems per 100 vehicles (PP100), declined by 10% compared to last year.  "The study results validate what we have known for some time," said Dave Sargent, vice president of global automotive at J.D. Power. "Automakers are making increasingly dependable vehicles — but there are still some problem areas that need to be addressed and some warning signs on the horizon." Tesla makes its inaugural appearance on the Dependability Study, though its score of 176 PP100 isn't official. Tesla is the only automaker that has chosen not to grant J.D. Power permission to survey its owners in all 50 states. As we've pointed out in the past, the Vehicle Dependability Study includes eight major vehicle categories grouped by J.D. Power as follows: audio/communication/entertainment/navigation (ACEN); engine/transmission; exterior; interior; features/controls/displays (FCD); driving experience; heating, ventilation and air conditioning; and seats. All issues reported by owners are all tracked equally, which means a problematic phone pairing procedure dings an automaker's rating the same as a blown engine or transmission. And in fact, the ACEN category has more reported problems than any other, which means the majority of problems reported don't lead to a vehicle that leaves its owner stranded. Green Land Rover Lexus Porsche Car Buying JD Power dependability reliability

Porsche 911 GT1 Evo up for grabs in Monaco valued at $3M

On paper, Porsche didn't do a flagship supercar in between the 959 and the Carrera GT. In reality, it did. Sort of. It was the strassenversion of the 911 GT1, a homologation special based on a spectacularly successful racing car. And RM Sotheby's has a standout example consigned for its upcoming sale in Monaco. What you're looking at is a 911 GT1 Evolution that served as the mid-point in the GT1's development, following the original and followed in turn by the GT1-98 that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans that year. One of just fourteen 911 GT1s held in public hands, chassis number GT1 993-117 won the Canadian GT Championship three years running, and is the only GT1 Evo that was ever registered for use on public roads. RM Sotheby's anticipates that it will fetch between $2.9 and $3.25 million when it crosses the auction block in May, marking the first time that this particular example has come up for auction. That would make it considerably more valuable than the GT1 Evo Gooding & Company sold at Amelia Island in 2012 for $1.26 million, according to Sports Car Market. Of course, the Porsche isn't the only notable item the auction house has lined up for the sale during the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique weekend. There's a pair of 1930s German convertibles – one Mercedes 540 K and one Horch 670 – valued at about the same level as the 911 GT1, a Tucker 48 (~$1.6m), and Niki Lauda's debut March 711 grand prix racer (~$550k). Those are some tempting sets of wheels, and we'll be watching to see how they fare two months from now.