Best convertibles for summer 2014

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- When the weather is really nice, there's nothing quite like being able to put the top down for your drive. And some longtime favorite convertibles are getting new versions this year. The Corvette, for example, in the model's 60-year plus history, there was only one 10-year gap when you couldn't get your Corvette with a folding soft top.

With the seventh generation Corvette Stingray taking the car world by storm, it was a sure thing that an open-air version would join the party.

Or if a bit of luxury is more your thing, the BMW 3 Series has been a staple of the convertible world going back to the 1980's. Just one thing you'll have to get used to: no more 3 Series convertible. It's now called the 4 Series as BMW changes its model designations.

Like the previous 3 Series, this one has a hard top that folds away electrically. Lots of advantages over a soft top, though there's one big disadvantage: all those folded roof pieces have to go somewhere, and they take up trunk space.

And if you're talking about popular convertibles, you have to also talk about the Mazda Miata. In fact, it's been a popular choice for 25 years. It brought the two-seat convertible into the modern era.

It's sports car fun in a tidy package. It was even tidier back in 1989 when the first Miata debuted, creating a bit of a sensation at the time.

"It's car that you could actually afford, and it's not going to break, that's the big thing," Micah Muzio of Kelly Blue Book said. "You have a car that has a lot of fun, open top, great handling dynamics, but it's not going to leave you on the side of the road."

Miata has the cute part dialed in, but also the sporting part. Many owners race them on weekends.

The current Miata keeps the original's spirit in a slightly larger package, and you can get it with a power folding hardtop. And this one doesn't steal trunk space.

This Miata is nearing the end of its lifespan, but rest assured, Mazda's got an all-new one up its sleeve, likely with improvements.

"I'm hearing talk of turbocharging and also it's going to be lighter, so they're going to cut maybe 200 pounds out of a car that's already pretty light," Muzio said. "That's a big deal."

From the cutest to the burliest, if you feel the need to feel the wind in your hair, lots of new choices that let the sun shine in.