My fiancee, Ashley, has a 1997 Camry with 200,000 miles on it; she loves the car, but it's getting to be time for an upgrade. Since we're in Florida, it's kind of dumb not to have something with a drop top. She doesn't want to give up space, and there are enough sporty cars in the family to negate any two-seaters from the search (plus, I think if we put another Miata in the GRM family they would form some kind of singularity and unravel spacetime.)
We thought about importing a Honda Beat, fleetingly; it's a criminal shame that they weren't sold here. 50+ MPG, mid-engine, RWD...just damn it. I loved the one I drove for our microcar comparison story, but at the same time, I'd like her in something more robust. And she LOVES her Camry.
The obvious solution for someone who thinks the Camry is the best car ever and who wants a drop-top is a convertible Camry. Oh wait, they make that, they just call it the Solara.
All the new-generation ones (2005 and later; 2004 was an off year for the convertible) are V6 as far as I can tell, and still pretty pricey. The 2002-2003 ones are where we'll be looking, since they're four-bangers and can be found in the mid to low teens.
Anyone have experience with these cars? How do the ragtops hold up? Anything weird to look for when shopping?
