Driving through northern Virginia horse country is always a good time. Sure the road is one of the prettiest in North America. The scenery and horses on display are amazing. Even the sex mansions, err, the estates that look like they could have been the location for the orgy scene from the late Stanley Kubrick’s epic, “Eyes Wide Shut,” look as though they might have been filmed here. Yes, we have been here before. No, really, we have.  On two previous General Motors rollouts, for the Buick Lacrosse, and the Cadillac STS, the same roads were used to acquaint us with these products. This time, they flipped the route around, and presto-change-o, you have a new venue in which to exercise a vehicle. 

Let's go on the record and say flat out: I'm a convertible fanatic. I've driven my fair share of them, and can tell you honestly that (IMHO) nothing compares to the feeling of a long cruise with the top down on a lovely summer day. Make it a sexy shade of red, and the feeling only gets better.

Okay, okay, there's the risk of skin cancer from sun exposure (and any person who owns a convertible should be responsible enough to carry sunblock and caps in the glovebox), a relatively limited amount of trunk space in many roadsters, and a small tendency to leak in drive-through car washes. But somehow, I'm willing to forgive these inconveniences the moment I feel my hair blowing freely behind me, and the sun gently warming my face.  

I spent some time recently in a 2007 Saturn Sky. This lovely little roadster made its debut into the Saturn lineup at the 2005 Detroit auto show as a sister to the stylish Pontiac Solstice and features a 2.4-liter/177-horsepower DOHC inline four-cylinder engine. Some may say it's underpowered, but stand on the gas when you're the first car on the greenlight, and it still offers neck-snapping acceleration that will leave those around you far behind. Official statistics promise zero to 60 in about 7 seconds and a 15.7-second quarter-mile. Top-down cruising at highway speeds still allows easy conversation between passengers, with power for passing, even at 70 mph. Estimated fuel economy is 20 mpg city, 28 mpg highway. My test vehicle was an automatic, though a five-speed manual is standard.

And it's sexy. I can't tell you how many people stopped to ask me questions about this chili-pepper-red roadster; one gentleman even asked for my phone number at the gas station, making it fun transportation as well as a way to make new friends!