Practical magic: a Corvette engine, a retractable hard top, an eye-popping design and--gasp!--a spacious trunk makes the Chevrolet SSR the convertible you don't have to think twice about buying.(THE GM EXPERIENCE)

If you're looking for a vehicle in which to make quiet trips to the store, this is not the car ... truck ... roadster--we're not sure what to call it, but it's certainly not for those who want a low profile. With its bulging fenders and fat wheels (19 inches in front and 20 inches in the rear), the SSR has a muscular style somewhere between retro pickup truck and futuristic pod device. And that's all before you press the button to retract the convertible hardtop. Just watching the 30-second process of folding the top backwards into the truck bed until it disappears caused more than one fellow driver to gape, roll down a window, and ask us, "What is that?"

"That" is certainly a roadster--its 6.0-liter LS2 aluminum block V-8 engine is the same one that powers the Chevy Corvette, and the Tremec T-56 six-speed manual transmission gives you full access to all 400 horses of power. It zooms from 0 to 60 in 5.5 seconds, and from a full stop to 100 mph in 14.1 seconds.

We howled with delight while passing slower vehicles on I-95, and searched for opportunities to downshift for swift acceleration around turns and freeway on-ramps. But, unlike a road-ster, the SSR's cockpit sits high enough to allow excellent visibility, even among the bevy of SUVs that fill South Florida's roads. Getting in and out is easy, and the upright seating position is significantly more comfortable than any roadster we've ever driven.

Add to that the one thing most convertibles and roadsters lack: trunk space. Okay, cargo space, but with a hard cargo cover built in (but removable if you want ...