The Arizona Auto Show didn’t have a lot of jazzy cars, but one that did catch my eye was Nissan’s Murano Cross Cabriolet. It was the only car in the exhibit hall that actually made me take a second look.

The concept is simple, take a mid-sized SUV crossover and chop the top. Of course execution is never that simple, so I imagine a lot of engineering went into making the Murano topless. Of course that adds to the price, so Nissan did the only logical thing, they made it a little more luxurious inside so it would cost more. The final result comes in at nearly $50,000. Once you reach that price point, you need to start asking some serious questions.

Let’s assume it does everything it’s designed to do just great. Do you really need a crossover convertible?

I’m a huge top down fan. My daily driver is a Mustang convertible and it’s the fourth topless car I’ve owned. I actually feel guilty when I don’t put the top down. But I’ve discovered that my passengers rarely feel the same. My wife is always worried about what her hair is going to look like when we get where we’re going. The few times I’ve had passengers in the back, I’m always amused at how the wind buffets their hair until it’s practically standing straight up. Not to mention the fact that the road noise makes conversation complicated. My point is that I think convertibles tend to be personal cars for the driver.

Now let’s talk about the price. $50k is a lot of money. For about the same price, you could get a BMW, Infiniti or Lexus convertible. For just a little more you could hop into a Corvette or Mercedes SLK 350 (although they only seat two people). The problem with spending $50k on the Cross Cabriolet is that you still have a Nissan. It may be one of the coolest and most luxurious Nissans around, but it’s not a name that is going to wow your friends.

I can’t imagine that Nissan is planning to sell a ton of the Cross Cabriolets, but that’s probably just as well. It’s an interesting gimmick that a few people will no doubt love. I just don’t think I’m going to be one of them.

Parking at the Auto Show: $12

Admission for two (with discount coupon): $14

Lunch at the Auto Show (2 slices of pizza and a soda): $16

Finding out my wife really like the Lincoln MKX: $39,525 plus options

I have to admit, I’m not a huge fan of the Auto Show. It’s just a giant new car showroom that charges me to get in. On the other hand, it is a great way to sit in every type of car you’re considering in one fell swoop. Sometime in the next year, we’re planning to replace my wife’s 2005 Toyota Highlander. It’s a great car, but it’s past 100k miles and it’s time to think about something newer.

We tried all the crossovers. My wife wants to sit a littler higher, but she doesn’t want a big beast. We went through a trio of Suburbans and a Toyota Sequoia back when we had to haul kids around. Now that they’re gone (grown up, not dumped) she still likes to be above the traffic, but she doesn’t want something with lousy gas mileage.

I kept trying to interest her in the Kias and Hyundais. I think they build great cars these days with killer warranties. The only one that interested her was the Hyundai Tucson. It used to be pretty lumpy looking. Since it’s been restyled, I think it looks pretty nice. She tried the Veracruz, but wasn’t impressed with its mileage.

We have a friend who bought a Ford Edge and likes it quite a lot, so my wife gave it a try. It was in the running until she sat in the Lincoln MKX. She went back three times as we tried other cars. She liked the looks (I can’t say I’m thrilled with the front end) and found the interior very comfortable. I’m not a big fan of dashboards with large video displays. I have a feeling ten years from now we’re going to have a generation of cars with large black panels that have long since stopped working and we don’t have the computer firmware updates to get them going again. The MKX (like the Edge and many other cars) has the big display, and I may just have to get used to it.

We’re not buying for at least another six months. We still have tests drives and plenty of research about crash tests and owners opinions before we commit. But right now it looks like I have a president in my future.

Got a spare $1.8 million laying around? Want some serious exclusivity?

How about a Zenvo?

While it may sound like a carnival magician (Zenvo the Magnificant!), it’s a car. Well, actually, it’s a supercar. Designed and 100% built in Denmark. (You know, when I think supercars, I think Denmark.) Supposedly it goes 0-60 mph in 2.9 seconds with a top speed of 233 mph. That would put it 7th fastest on Supercars.org’s top ten list. And it’s from Denmark.

The exclusive part? They’re only building 15. That makes the Bugatti Veyron owners club (all 300 of them) look like Denny’s on free Grand Slam breakfast day: a packed house.

Interestingly, they’re not trying to knock the Veyron off the top of the fastest cars list. The company claims its goal is to build a supercar that you can drive every day. It has three different driving modes: normal, sport and race. You get either 650bhp, 850bhp or 1104bhp depending on your mood and courage.

But is it worth $1.8 million? I guess you’ll have to ask the guy who ends up number 16 on the list. Will it be deep regrets, or great relief when he doesn’t get one?

By the way, the name Zenvo came from combining the names of the two people who started the company: Jesper Jensen and Troels Vollertsen. I can only assume that Zs and Js are the same thing in Denmark.

Incidentally, the car is on a tour of the US this month. I guess their failure to show up at my house has something to do with a lost address…

Check out video of the car.

Read a full road test of the Zenvo.

I didn’t realize Lexus was in trouble.

An article in USA Today talked about how Toyota is trying to rebuild its Lexus brand. I guess it really shouldn’t have been a surprise. When I started thinking about Lexus I realized that I couldn’t think of a single car in its lineup. They’re probably great cars, mind you, but there’s nothing that sticks out. Even more amazing is that I can remember more Cadillacs.

Apparently, I’m not the only one to draw that blank. According to the article, Lexus has gone from being the top-selling luxury car to number three behind BMW and Mercedes. When the brand was first introduced back in 1989, Toyota would have been thrilled to finish third. Now it’s just a glaring example of how far they have fallen. There is no single reason for the decline. Lexus was tainted by Toyota’s problems with unintended acceleration. The tsunami that hit Japan caused supply problems. But the biggest problem is its lack of style.

The company has done some serious intelligence gathering over the past year. They’re talking to Lexus owners as well as folks who drive the competition. And while it’s great to have bulletproof cars that are technological masterpieces, their target audience wants more. They want pizzazz. One woman quoted in the article who drove a European car that had given her nothing but trouble said that she kept driving it because it was like “It’s like a bad boyfriend. He lets you down but you keep coming back because he looks so good.”

So how do the folks running Lexus plan to fix their problem? They’re turning to your kids.

Lexus discovered that a lot of grownups turn to their teens for car advice. It’s the children who pass judgment on whether the car is cool or stodgy. And after all, who wants to be stodgy. Especially when you’re spending that money. I guess it’s the same reason I give my sons veto power over my clothes.

Needless to say there’s a lot more that is going to go into the re-formation of Lexus. The car has to be something you lust over, but the ownership experience has to be just as great. I remember when I bought my first Infiniti. I was amazed at how well I was treated every time I showed up for service. After awhile, you actually feel like you deserve to own a luxury car.

I wish Lexus well.  And I’m looking forward to watching the mark claw its way back.

Incidentally, the first step is the Lexus LFA. I think my kids would be impressed.

Check out Motor Trend’s impressions here.