I rode a motorcycle between my junior and senior year of high school, and drove my mother’s MG Midget during the Fall of my senior year. This isn’t that Midget, but it is a Midget. Looking back, I can’t remember how I fit in that tin can!
Miata Luxury! This was a test drive, but I didn’t buy that Miata.
Well, there's sort of an origami fold you do getting in and out but otherwise the Midgets are roomier inside than you'd think. At least until you add a roll bar...Originally Posted by FrankB
no one sees what's written on the spine of his own autobiography.
Somewhat OT, but, a buddy of mine—now deceased, sadly—built a replica of a Lotus 7 on a Miata chassis. He even kept the ABS brake module. His build was partly from a kit, but he formed the body panels himself, using an old school vintage planishing hammer. The result was a Miata-powered roadster that weighed around 1400lbs, with an open pipe right by the driver’s elbow. The sound, braking performance, cornering, and raw sensation of speed was unparalleled. I’ve driven ‘vettes, 70s muscle cars, air-cooled 911s, and a host of motorcycles ranging from liter class sportbikes to musclebikes (eg V65 magna with a kerker exhaust), to stripped down air cooled cafe racers: nothing else has come close to the sensation of that wide open miata thing.
Zipping up a curvy suburban road at 50, with the howl from the pipe and the wind tearing at my sunglasses over the mini-windscreen felt like an unholy cross between going 100+ on a naked bike and that infamous mille miglia race where the Ferrari navigator got cut in half at 150mph. Holy shit. And the braking; 60-0 in the space of a few of Tom Given’s “average SUV lengths”—I literally lost my shades in the driver’s side cockpit when my buddy told me to stomp the brakes while showing the car off.
That thing remains the most vividly memorable car I’ve driven, in part because of the power-to-weight, both starting and stopping, but mostly because of how raw and exposed it was. I mean, the pavement was right there, screaming by under your elbow, with next to no wind protection. Brutal.
”But in the end all of these ideas just manufacture new criminals when the problem isn't a lack of criminals.” -JRB
I really want to test drive a Miata. My wife said I could buy any car we could afford as long as I was able to pick both kids up from school, so I bought a BRZ last June. Having the BRZ has increased my curiosity about the Miata.
My brother bought a BRZ last year and he’s happy as a clam. Of course he’s already got suspension mods and new wheels and pilot sports under it
Me, I’ve been daily driving an s2000 since 2005. I met my wife cause she was driving one at the time too. If you can swing a small sports car like the Miata/s2k, you’ll have tons of pure fun
Miata for non-hairdressers…
I have a 2016 Focus ST I bought new and have enjoyed for 140k so far, and it is about the same performance spectrum as the new Miata, and IMO this is great for a street car you actually drive a lot.
My wife wants the Miata, that’s what we are getting.
#RESIST
I think you will love it. I have a 2011 with ~ 50K miles. 95% of those miles were just taking the car out and driving down the back-roads around here for fun. A trip up route 56 over the Blue Ridge Mountains and back during the 3rd week of October with the top down is the highlight of the Fall season.
Adam
This is why I bought a '99 Miata, a long time ago. At the time I was working on a project 3.5 hours drive south of here, 50% of the time, back and forth every other week for a year, Northern California coast range. Figured if I needed to drive that much.... ended up keeping the car for seven years. Very reliable, traded it in with 180,000 miles on it, replaced a battery, an alternator, and brakes during that time. And tires, good road handling tires are fun but the softer rubber can wear more quickly. Worth it, because winding mountain roads became distinctly fun.
Not only was it fun to drive, it was very forgiving. Once driving back late at night on a four-lane, a dog ran out in front of me and then froze. Went around it easily, when the back tires break loose just back off the gas a little and it straightens right back out. No other car I've owned would have been able to avoid that dog.
Miata's also encourage minimalism and simplicity. Pack smart, the trunk is big enough. Barely.
Last edited by Salamander; 05-06-2024 at 06:30 PM.
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