MY wife had a Mazda RX7 a few years ago that she loved. My youngest son inherited it and was hit from behind by a drunk in an old Buick totaling it. My wife has always wanted another one but the rotary in fine condition is hard to find, so I found a 2008 Miata MX5 with only 40K on the clock and in perfect shape. It's owner had a double knee replacement and being a fairly large man could no longer bend his knees enough to get in the car. I paid $11,500.00 for it and My wife is in seventh heaven once more.

These little cars are fun to drive, and if you get on the gas will surprise some at it's get up and go! The little car is like brand new with not a mark on it! I thought the man we bought it from was going to cry when we drove away. He really did not want to sell it but simply couldn't drive it any more!

Dick,have fun with your new car;really,why not?Back in my youth in the ice ages,I had the opinion that all old farts driving sports cars were just trying to recapture their youth (+ actually there is no sin there),but as age has brought (hopefully wisdom but damn sure age) I have come to the conclusion that a lot of guys finally had enough money to buy what they always wanted.Carpe Diem!

quote:

I had the opinion that all old farts driving sports cars were just trying to recapture their youth

Yes, lots of gray hair behind the wheel of many Corvettes :-)

Yeah, I'm trying to recapture the delight I had driving my roadster back in college days. This is the Berkeley I had then, taken in front of the stone house my father built.

I'll never forget one sunny fall weekend, driving it from my parents house in Saginaw down to East Lansing and parking it in front of my girlfriend's sorority house. We were going to the J Hop at Michigan State and saw Ella Fitsgerald. You can't replace memories like that.

The Miata is a lot more car and I got it the same way as above... from an 86 year old man who could no longer get in it. Although it's regarded as a "Slow" car by today's standards, Mazda says the top speed is 120 MPH and that's a lot faster than I will be driving it. With the five speed stick it accelerates fast enough and, above 4000 rpm makes nice noises.

I bought it to drive on the country two-lanes that run thru the hills and woods up here in Northern Michigan.

I had the Berkeley sixty years ago but I still get the same delight driving an open roadster on a nice day.

quote:

Originally posted by NormanConquest:
Dick,have fun with your new car;really,why not?Back in my youth in the ice ages,I had the opinion that all old farts driving sports cars were just trying to recapture their youth (+ actually there is no sin there),but as age has brought (hopefully wisdom but damn sure age) I have come to the conclusion that a lot of guys finally had enough money to buy what they
always wanted.Carpe Diem!

Norman, I think you are right on both counts and there really is nothing wrong with that. The Miata is so much fun to drive and so affordable. What I really want is a MaClaren 570 but I'd have to cash in everything I have to get one and that ain't gonna happen. This car is a pure delight.

If anyone is wondering about the Ferrari-like badge in the fender...

Everybody knows about Ferrari's horsey.

Meet the "Prancing Moose of Mackinaw".

I'm screwing off here on the computer and really should be out in the woods working on my deer blind. Opening day is this Thursday.

Good luck at the deer lease. And if I had the money,I would love to have a 1927 Pierce-Arrow.

Get a rug for the bug and it will be snug....


...when not being driven.

I've thought that the Miata was actually a Japanese copy of the Lotus Elan, with the British features such as leakie roof, poor electronics and other features best left to nostalgia. I actually lean toward a little more muscle and was heartbroken when Costco had only a limited run of the AC Cobra reproductions by Excaliber and was sold out before I could get one.

I forgot if I mentioned this before but about 30 years ago approx. While at the Snap On tool truck he had a new set of Wentworth wrenches + sockets that some guy ordered + never came back.I bought them of course even though I have nothing to work on.Maybe some day again. Moot point however as I have grown sons that seem to "borrow' tools that are never seen again.

Screwing off and waiting for the U of M and State games. This is one of the pics I took a couple of weeks ago when we still had some fall color.

This is in front of the lake we have on out property. Really tasty pike reside in the lake.

quote:

Originally posted by Ray B:
I've thought that the Miata was actually a Japanese copy of the Lotus Elan, with the British features such as leakie roof, poor electronics and other features best left to nostalgia. I actually lean toward a little more muscle and was heartbroken when Costco had only a limited run of the AC Cobra reproductions by Excaliber and was sold out before I could get one.

I've got two hardcover books on Miatas and both say that Mazda used the Elan as an example of the sort of car they wanted to make... lightweight, superb handling, etc, etc.

They ended up with a car of the same size and left out all the Lucas Electrics, leaky roof, etc.

I have had a lot of horsepower, didn't use it and didn't like the gas bills.

quote:

I have had a lot of horsepower, didn't use it and didn't like the gas bills.

My interests in HP have waned as well. The fun of driving a sports car is wringing it out to the max of it's abilities. With a Corvette-type powerplant, you're well over the speed limit by the time you get out of 1st gear. Unless you're on a track, driving a 4-banger fast is much more fun.

Driving to Round Rock early this morning + came upon an accident scene.Police,Fire,wreckers,+ EMS were already there.It was a head on.One vehicle was gone but the one just being loaded on the wrecker was a red Miata.I hope everyone was O.K. but the car damned sure was'nt.Funny kinda;when I saw that my 1st thought was about this post conversation.Drive careful Amigo.

My wife years ago had a Miata. It was a fun little car. Maybe not the pedigree of an MG or the like but just as fast or faster plus far more reliable. But if you wanted speed all you had to do was get on of these;
http://monstermiata.com/

I still kick my self though for selling of a Porsche 912 I briefly owned
But I was (and still am) more of a truck guy. It's hard to go hunting in any car.

Re: monster miatas... One of the hardcover Miata books I have goes into some detail re: the genesis of the car. Mazda tried very hard to get 50 - 50 weight distribution for optimal handling. I would never dick that up by installing a heavy V-8.

I'm getting to be quite old and, to me, one of the best features of a Miata is the delightful handling on proper country roads of a lightweight sports car.

Like messing with a Porsche suspension... it's something best left alone. What are you going to do with your Miata V-8? Take it to Cars & Coffee and brag about it?

Yes, remember the Sunbeam Tiger? It was a turd.

Sunbeam Tiger, maybe, but a Morgan V8, now THAT was a car!
Peter

I've always really loved the look of the old Morgans. They were, to me, the very essence of what a proper British roadster should be. I've been saved from spending any money by the fact that I simply can't get in one. The old knees just won't bend enough.

If I actually could get in one and drive it, I probably wouldn't love them so much... Few Morgan owners argue with the old saw that if you drive over a dime in your Morgan, you can tell if it's heads or tails. I've been spoiled by the truly sophisticated ride of the Porsche, it handles superbly and doesn't send you to the back-cracker when you are done.

It's as easy for me to get into the Miata as it is the Porsche or my wife's VW Bug. One of a gazillion reasons I love it.

I'm spending way too muchy time on the computer now that it's cold outside. I've found a website, "miata.net", which covers all things Miata. It's huge and has a separate forum for each of the four Miata models. My car is the earliest version called a "NA". In just that one forum (NA's only) there are thousands of pictures owners have taken of their cars.

My, my... these folks do love their cars. It's easy to understand... Miatas are a huge fun-per-dollar bargain. Real people can buy and enjoy one. There's lots of pics of cars with 200,000 miles that still look like new... evidence of the care taken by owners that really love them. No kidding... check it out.

One manifestation of the regard folks have of their cars... nearly everybody modifies them to their own taste and personality. It's unreal how many accessories are available (There is a very large aftermarket industry.) Some guys buy and hang so much s+++ on their cars that it's unbelieveable.

Since Miata's are so cheap, if one hasn't spent enough money... the solution is to buy more Miata's. It's common for guys to own two or threee cars and to proudly post pics of all of them.

The only other product I've ever seen that owners seem to really love is CZ rifles. There's a CZ forum on Rimfire Central.com devoted to CZ only. This is another case of a high quality product that can be had for a reasonable price.