Eco roadsters
 

Friends, colleagues, I am on a quest! Why is it that no economical hard top convertible 2 seaters exist? It sucks I tell you!

I am particularly interested in the pontiac solstice and the saturn sky. I'd say the 2012 mazda mx5 but thats out of my budget and i'm told that my 225 lbs on a 6' 3" frame would look silly stepping out of something quite so small. So the solstice and sky it is. Now, they get gas mileage WAY below par in my book. I'd like to buy one and get it up to 35 mpg combined if possible.

What do you guys think? Am I bonkers? Can it be done without sacrificing the looks?

What modifications would you suggest? Is an engine swap out of the question? Meaning, could it make a big enough difference or would it be a bigger headache than it'd be worth? I'd hate to sacrifice reliability. that'd be a step in the wrong direction!

Looking forward to your thoughts all.

(I should add that yes I realize the solstice and sky are not hard tops, i was only stating my ideal)

I thought of a Miata for a while before I found my 2004 Insight for $2K, but I live in Minnesota. We only have about 4 months of summer. My Irish skin can't handle much sun and the top wouldn't come off for the other 9 months so I likely would have put a hard to on it too.
Rear-wheel drive would be fun when the roads are dry here but I fear I wouldn't get around well in the winter with a car that light. I grew up driving in the 70s with rear wheel drive but our cars were much heavier back then. (Sure had a lot of fun sliding around with rear wheel drive as a teenager)

If you want a 2-seater, why don't you get a 1st gen Honda Insight?

Good luck!

Do you really care about that dumb-looking question? It's extremely subjective, so as long as you have fun with a Miata it shouldn't bore you...

BTW have you never considered a good old BMW Z3 or a Honda S2000?

That's nice, but not RWD like the "classic" roadsters :p