On My Ragtops: Part 1

It's snowing. A lot.

So, I'm spending the day pondering the two (errr three - more on that later)  convertible sports cars I've owned.

In case you think I'm slacking, we're in the middle of a rather large (even by our Canadian winter standards) snowstorm, with giant drifts, impassable roads, and even the snowplows holding off their work until things settle down.

There's 27 cm on the ground so far, and counting. It's falling right now at a rate of about 3 cm/hour, and the forecast shows a few more hours of it before a brief respite. Total accumulation may be as much as 45 cm, and then we will have a couple of days to shovel out before a second one hits on the weekend with another 25 cm possibly.

Just finished the first round of shovelling and clearing off the Blue Rocket in case I need to make an emergency outing, but the plan is to hunker down for the day.

Clearly winter is still a thing, so with a mug of coffee in hand, the heat turned up, and a comfy chair to sit in, what better time than this to ponder my open-top sports car choices?

The best way I can sum it up is that it's been a progression, culminating in pretty close to perfection with the GTS. It started with my 2001 Honda S2000; a bone stock, New Formula Red, AP1 model that ticked all the right boxes for my then 38 year-old self. I imported it from Chicago, flying down there and driving it back in one trip. A set of upsized rims from a newer model was really all it took to complete my perfect summer car. Of course it helped that my pal Andrew had just bought a 2002 S2000 himself, and having driven that, I knew what I was getting into.

We spent many a summer day getting to know the mildly curvy roads around Ottawa. We ventured down into NY state in the quest for more challenging tarmac, and eventually found ourselves on the scenic (and properly twisty) byways of West Virginia and surrounding area (see Andrew's writeup).

This was my first ownership exposure to a 'proper' sports car: something I define as light and nimble, with a strong connection between driver, chassis and pavement. Rear wheel drive (like all those go-karts I've driven), decent power, and (a real revaluation to me) that open-top vibe that just adds so much to the experience. It felt buttoned-down, quick, and responsive to all my inputs. And that high-rpm howl? Scintillating!

I drove it a lot, as it was so Civic-like when puttering around town, and so much more when unleashed at the track or on a back road somewhere. The gearbox was a joy, and although more knowledgeable and experienced pundits than I decried its 'paltry' torque figures and 'numb' electronically assisted steering, I never felt it lacking. It put a smile on my face every time I drove it - what more can you ask for than that?

A little more, as it turned out.

Time marched on, life moved and changed and the S2000 went off to a new owner in my hometown in NB (where I still see it to this day). I replaced it with an E46 M3 - not too shabby - but that open-top freedom kept its hooks in me.

And so some years later, I found myself back in a red S2000. This one lovingly cared for by Andrew, upgraded (or perfected in his words) to be what he felt Honda should have done with it all along.

As he headed to BMW-land with a new M2, so I returned to Honda, this time to new (yet familiar) delights.

More to come in Part 2...

~ Luke