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Almost every day, someone asks me to name my favourite car. The answer isn't what you'd expect. My favourite machines are rarely the most expensive, fastest or most luxurious. Instead, they're cars that are great for particular missions. I love the Toyota Prius for day-to-day errands, for example, and the Ford F-150 pickup for hauling landscape supplies. The original VW Beetle may be an anachronism with aerodynamic issues and too little power, but I love it for its sheer funkiness. It's horses for courses, as they say. At the racetrack, I like to drive the Porsche 911 or my Lotus Evora S. And because it's July, my focus is on great summer cars. Here are nine and the reasoning behind what makes them great:

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<b>Porsche Boxster Spyder</b> This may be the finest summer car ever built. It’s a convertible, but that’s just the icing on the cake. The Spyder is a joyous little car that makes you want to hit the road. On the face of it, the Spyder is nothing more than a Boxster with a few tweaks. Although the changes Porsche made to create the Spyder seem relatively minimal (lowered suspension, weight-saving manual top, retuned exhaust, etc.), the result is sublime. Flicking the Spyder through its close-ratio gears on a twisting road is a near-religious experience. Wind-in-the-hair driving doesn’t get better than this.

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<b>Mazda MX-5 Miata</b>   Few cars have higher pleasure-to-price ratio than the Miata. This is a machine that takes all the virtues of the classic English roadster and adds key modern ingredients, including reliability, accurate handling and an effortless convertible top mechanism.

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<b>Ford Mustang convertible</b>   The latest-generation Mustang is the best one Ford has made since the great Mustangs of the 1960s. It’s available with a wide range of options, but for a summer car, the convertible top is an easy choice. You can keep costs down by going for a basic six-cylinder with cooking-grade suspension, or splurge on a 5-litre V-8. No matter what, you end up with a fun, relatively inexpensive convertible that you can cruise in with friends on a summer evening.

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<b>Morgan Plus 4</b>   With its hand-formed panels and wooden sub-frames, the Morgan is a throwback to a bygone age. The low-cut doors make you feel like you’re in a low-flying Sopwith Camel, which is nice for a summer drive through farm country. The Morgan’s old-school convertible top, with dozens of metal snaps, folding bows and removable window panels, also bias this machine toward warm-weather driving – putting the top up is a royal pain.Peter Cheney/The Globe and Mail

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<b>1967 Pontiac GTO convertible</b>   Although a 48-year-old Detroit car comes with some period-based limitations (stability control and ABS are non-existent, and you can actually see the gas gauge needle move), the old GTO comes into its own when you head out for a summer drive with friends. This is rolling history with a drop top.Peter Cheney/The Globe and Mail

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<b>Chevrolet Corvette C7 convertible</b>   As convertibles go, the C7 is hard to beat. It’s fast, it handles well, and it’s devoid of the creaking and twisting that plague so many convertibles. Taking the top off a car reduces its structural stiffness, but the Corvette engineering team did an amazing job of designing the C7’s chassis – it has the torsional rigidity of a railroad bridge. Whether you’re cruising through downtown on a summer evening or heading out on a long trip, this is an incredible car.

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<b>Fiat 500 Abarth cabriolet</b>   The 500 isn’t a true convertible. Instead, it’s equipped with a large fabric sunroof that rolls back to reveal the sky. The Abarth is a higher-performance variant of the standard 500, with extra horsepower, fatter tires and a sport exhaust. The Abarth is cute, accessible and summery.Peter Cheney/The Globe and Mail

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<b>Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon</b>   The Wrangler is far from ideal as a day-to-day pavement runabout – which is what most buyers use it for. But when you take off the roof, it turns into a magical summer ride. For an even more complete experience, remove the doors and fold down the windshield.

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<b>Porsche 356 Speedster</b>   Also known as the “Bathtub Porsche,” the 356 Speedster is one of the great classics. I got to know the 356 during my time as a mechanic. One of my favourite memories is a test drive in a customer’s 356 after I finished installing a set of Weber carburetors – the sun was shining, the top was down, and life was good. The Speedster isn’t fast by modern standards, but on a top-down summer drive, it feels amazing.Peter Cheney/The Globe and Mail

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