Surreal. Here I am watching a motorcycle cop giving both barrels to the lady in the Chrysler Sebring. He's unloading on her big time, tearing shreds, gesticulating wildly, and just generally giving her a king size dose of authority. And all because of me.
In Australia it's usually me being addressed by the Boys in Blue: "Do you know what speed you were doing, sir?"
In America, Miami to be precise, the cops have gone all out for us. Harley-mounted law-providers blocking six lanes of major highway, not to mention most of the roads across town, to allow a motorcade of 30 highly polished New Beetle Cabriolets - each with its load of awestruck motoring journalists from various countries - to cruise uninterrupted from their five star beachfront hotel to a drive in.
There we watch a three minute film on the history of the Beetle convertible while being plied with Hershey bars, malt shakes, popcorn, ice cream, root beers - all delivered by roller-skating future actresses in short skirts with big, bouncy personalities.
Drive in movie over, we cruise back to South Beach for dinner at a swanky new restaurant. Again the cops keep the riff raff off the auto route with iron fisted authority. Again I see a poor civilian make a bad move and cop a mouthful of police force. Again I'm awestruck - dumbstruck. World launch it may be, but this all seems a little over the top for a car with no top.
Still, Americans do things bigger than every one else - it's a matter of national pride. North America is expected to account for more New Beetle Cabriolet sales than the rest of the world combined, so interest in the drop top is understandable. And universal - at least in America, anyway. Heads turn, people gawk, some even bail us up for a quick Q&A on the cute new convertible. There's no argument here, either, it does look good.
But how does it drive? Sad to say, it drives as well as the hardtop version does. Competent, but nothing special. Even with the new six speed automatic transmission coupled to the 2.0-litre 'performance' model, the New Beetle is an under-whelming experience. Acceleration is acceptable, handling is average, and the suspension's ride quality is nothing to write home about.
Which isn't as much of a disadvantage as it is on the hardtop. This car is going to appeal to a buyer whose priorities do not rest with point A to B poise and performance. Priority number one is lifestyle. Fun in the sun, droptop delirium, the perfect lifestyle accessory. It's a look at me car - and trust us, people will.
So, let's get to the facts. Australian New Beetle Cabriolets will start arriving in the second half of 2003. We'll initially get one model with a 2.0-litre, four cylinder engine producing 85kiloWatts and 172 Newton metres. The convertible weighs 37kg more than the hardtop, and accelerates from rest to 100km/h in 11.7 seconds - roughly one second quicker than the four speed coupe.
The folding roof is available overseas in a manual version, and an electro-hydraulic version as well. The occupant still has to finish the job, pulling and twisting the handle to slot the roof home on the windscreen's header rail. Double jointed wrists are an advantage, as the system's not the easiest to use, but functional none the less. Volkswagen Australia hasn't finalised our specifications yet, the electric roof is on the wishlist.
The Cabriolet is surprisingly quiet on the highway, very little wind noise penetrating the triple layered fabric roof. Roof down, the rear mounted wind deflector keeps the hair in place, and even does a fair job keeping light rain out of the cabin - providing you keep the speed up.
It's hard to get a definitive feel on the vehicle's ride and handling on North America's roads, which have little in common with Australia's coarse chip bitumen. And the fact our introduction to the Cabrio at the world launch was held over a collection of boringly straight roads, with few corners to enjoy.
The Cabrio's body rigidity is brought into question over rougher roads, where scuttle shake snuck into the car's manner. The suspension feels quite firm, translating bumps and aberrations into the cabin when it shouldn't, but in general the Cabrio rode comfortably and capably enough.
Equipment levels on the Cabrio are comparable to the hardtop, our test car included cruise control, CD stacker, heated front seats, electric folding roof, remote central locking and electric windows front and rear. Leather seats and steering wheel are standard on the 2.0-litre model.
Dual front airbags are standard, along with rear headrests that double as pop-up rollover protection. Volkswagen Australia hopes to land the New Beetle Cabriolet under $40,000 when it goes on sale around August, 2003. At that price, the Beetle's unique styling and allure will be hard to resist for sunseekers and style junkies alike.
Fair enough, it's a competent car that excels in exactly the right discipline: head turning design and look at me motoring.