2010 Infiniti G37 Convertible

My colleagues have ignored the best quality of four-seat convertibles---with the top down, it's much easier to install a baby-seat base than it is in a four-seat coupe or a top-up convertible. Just lower the roof, step into the car, and wrangle the car seat from a relatively comfortable standing or crouched position. Given the G37's tiny back seats, installing my daughter's seat with the car's roof raised would have been a huge challenge. That said, I was able to sit behind myself; I am only five-foot-six, though. The G's trunk, on the other hand, is comically tiny. Case in point: one of our gophers left a button-up shirt in the trunk, and it took up pretty much all of the space when the top was down. Jennifer Misaros's mail-slot reference is perfectly apt. I drove with the top down only for a few sub-40-degree miles, but I definitely concur with others' comments about the 3.7-liter V-6's excellent exhaust note and the G37's cozy heated seats and admirable wind management. I also agree that the seven-speed automatic works best with this coarse engine; the Infiniti's GT-R-like paddles could also help a stick-shift fan to save face somewhat. The G37 droptop is beautiful and pretty well-wrought, but if it were my money, I'd think I'd rather save about $10,000 (or more) and buy a 2010 Ford Mustang GT convertible. I know the Ford is more common and not as beautiful, but there's nothing quite like a droptop with a burbling American V-8 and a masculine five-speed manual. And saving lots of dough in a recession. Rusty Blackwell, Copy Editor