More questions from visitors:

1. I'm a fairly big guy , 6'4" and with a large build. I don't know what the back seats are like , but I don't really care as much as I'd like to know if the driver's seat would be roomy enough.

My boyfriend is 6'2" (6'4" in shoes) and he has no problems fitting into the front seat. He has a regular build. The backseat is a little tight, but since it's your car I'll assume you'll be the driver.

2. Have you had any serious issues with the top ? I mean using it winter - does it get much colder than in the coupe ? Can it be driven under heavy rain with no leaks or issues ? Because I will be driving this car daily from very hot summers to really rainy autumns and ice-cold winter because that's the kind of diversity we get around here.

Yes, the top went out mysteriously twice. The repairs cost about $2500. The first time, I think an electronic component went out because it would partially open then stall. The second time, I think the first repair job broke something which meant they had to completely replace a fairly major part. It worked perfectly for four years.

Never had a leak, except after the last repair because they didn't put the top on correctly. It only happens when I take a fast turn and only on the passenger side. It's the best top I've seen on a convertible yet...fully padded, quick to go down or up, and fairly noise dampening. Since I live in Northern California, the coldest it ever gets is in the 20s (F). The heaters are strong, and the heated seats are more than adequate.

During hot weather (over 85F) I generally keep the top up. The air conditioning works great, and only kicks in when it can start to provide cooler air than what's in the car.

3. Still I'd like to know if two normal sized adults CAN actually fit in the back seats [not perfectly comfortable, i mean at all] ;) I'll be driving this car every day when I'll be generally alone, but I truly want this car for the numerous cross-country trips I'm planning when I'll be traveling with 2-3 friends.

Yes, two adults can fit in the backseat. By normal, I mean 5'9" or less. I wouldn't take a cross country trip with someone in the backseat though, because you can't put the top down without them being windblown.

4. How generous is the trunk space ? So basically the most important things I'd love to know straight about the car is - comfort given a bigger driver and if the top is just as reliable in bad weather conditions as the coupe version.

Trunk space is pretty amazing. When the top is up, you can push the container it folds into up and out of the way. It's as big as a standard size BMW trunk (a non-convertible).

My car was broken into tonight. They smashed the passenger's side window in, rifled through the interior including the glove compartment, and generally made a mess of things. This is how I'm punished for finally washing my car.

Hopefully the alarm (which is notoriously hard to set off) kept the loss to a minimum. Thankfully, they left my jacket, which is although not everyone's cup of tea, is worth about $1,200.

I called two auto glass shops for estimates. The first was MAZ Auto Center [(415) 995-2004, 224 Townsend Street about two blocks from PacBell Park (enter via Ritch Alley), San Francisco, CA 94107] who quoted me $295. The second place wanted $480 for exactly the same work. When I balked, they lowered the cost to $280. Assholes. I went to MAZ.

The shop was tidy and had a lot of import cars in it, both good signs. The nice man at the counter matter of factly said that the work would be done at 3 p.m. and that they closed at 4, so we went exploring around the area near PacBell baseball park. At 3, we returned, just as he was backing up the car from the work area. They had tried to clean up as much of the broken glass as possible, despite my junkyard of a backseat. Zero broken glass rattle inside the door.

We were out of the shop in under 10 mins. Excellent service. I may do a website for them as a thank you.

I decided to remove the rest of the broken glass from the convertible top (little pieces get stuck in the joints and make a horrendous cracking sound if they get stuck in the mechanism.

I stopped the top halfway and pulled out the pieces. When I was done, i hit the button to lower the top. Nothing. The convertible top was stuck halfway, about 6" from the windshield.

The odd thing was that the tonneau cover (the hard plastic part that seals the top in its compartment when the top is lowered, was still pointing straight up (actually it was leaning against the rear edge of the cloth top.

[to skip to the exciting answer, jump to #6 below]

I went through the following procedures, since this has happened before:

1. Tried shutting down the car and starting up again. Didn't work.

2. Tried pushing the little button behind the backseat armrest to release the top. Didn't work.

3. Tried cranking the top down. Worked, but the tonneau cover was still pointing up.

4. Tried cranking the top up. Worked, but after moving a few inches, the tiny allen wrench I was using become impossible to turn and spun around like it was on a spring after I let it go.

5. Tried hauling the back part of the top using brute force. Budged about 1/16" then snapped back into place.

6. Tried closing the top by turning the key in the driver's side door AND holding the tonneau cover as far back as it would go (you have to press firmly). Voila! Worked like a charm.

I wish I had a picture of what this looked like. Basically, the problem was that the rear part of the top continued to close even though the tonneau cover hadn't seated itself correctly.

There is no mention of this trick in the owner's manual.