Why cant I like my buddy's Miata?
 

I have a good friend who just bought a 97 Miata this spring. It's
silver ( good 550 color) and he's WAYY into the Miata newsgroups.
He tells the story about how the Mazda people bought MG's or something and tried to build a reliable version of that...yaada,
yaada...and it is....and i WANT to warm up to this thing..but I STILL don't like it. To me, it's a RWD Del Sol. I just don't like it.
I thought maybe I was being a snob, like the Harley people in the motorcycle world that don't like your bike if it holds it's oil and
doesn't say Harley Davidson on it. But it's more than that, I really
don't like that thing. They come with quiet exhaust, comfy interior.. ...NOT a sports car at all! In fact, I bet FEW people own both 914's and Miatas. Know anyone like this? Just a different world altogether, isnt it?

I feel the same as you do. I wish I could like it a little bit, but it as just too cartoon-like for me. It is very toy-like in styling.

I came very close to buying one in 1988. Except for the 2 month wait at the dealership to get one, bought sight unseen.

And Paying $3000 over list price!!!!!

I bought a Honda Prelude 4WS instead.
2nd best car I've owned ;)

James

PS: NOTAMIATA is 9 letters.....

I can't comment on street Miatas, but the guys racing the Spec Miata cars seem to be having a lot of "relatively budget-minded" fun with them.

Speed showed an SCCA Pro-Miata event last night at midnite, but I was attempting to sleep (what a concept).

Re: Why cant I like my buddy's Miata?
 

As I remember the Miata is a copy of a Lotus, I think that they went as far as to buy the (discontinued) design from them. I don't recall the name of the car but maybe someone else would help.

I was very excited when they first came out, but by the time I had the time and money to buy one... they were the same price as a used Porsche.:p

I kind of like Miatas but only the ones that have been fully decked out with all the high performance goodies - wheels, lowering springs, roll bar, etc. With all that they finally look like a guy's car!

I sat in a Miata when I was about 14-16yrs old, I couldnt fit and I was only 6'2" at 175lbs. The damn steering wheel was in direct contact with my knees. I thought they were interesting though, shoulda had the word Barbie painted on it somewhere. I think the Honda S2000 is a better idea, and more adult sized. The Miata is more likely a candidate for renewable power sources like rechargeable AA bateries:D

Here in Sacramento CA I have been auto-xing with the California Sports Car Club. I'm generally the only 914 that shows, and I am stuck in the CSP class with about 20 miatas.

I really dislike the car but a couple of the guys here are amazingly fast, consistently in the top 5 of all classes.http://www.pelicanparts.com/support/smileys/burn.gif

I think in England this car is known as an MX5....and is a proper hairdressers car (I.E. bit of a womans/man who is in touch with his feminine side). Personally I think they look bland and under powered. the marketing ploy over here was a 60's sports car -but new. In England jap cars aren't regarded as highly as the Teutonic and Swedish car manufacturers, but I've read jap cars are well respected in the U.S.

What is the perception of the 914 stateside? In England there are about 200 cars so there is no public perception really because not many know they exist!

Is it seen as a "poor mans" Porsche like the 924 "is" ??
Cheers

Haha I love English slang...my Brit friend used to refer to the MR2 as the "Hairdressers Ferrari"!:D

As a new 914 owner I used to think of them as cars you see at an autocross, and that they have a great rep for handling. But they are kinda under the radar here as well (maybe less so in So. Cal...)

While the 914 is to many out siders "the poor mans Porsche" or "not a real Porsche", or even "that renamed VW", the Miata has it's own issues. To many, it purely a "chick" car or maybe a "rainbow warrior car". But, a lot of guys love the way the car handles on the aitocross track and many more take the spec classes very seriously (look at Grassroots Motorsports last issue!).

The Miata is no Lotus wanna be. while it does have some Elise cues, IMHO it's a wanna be Bahn burner. Some of you may remember the first ads for the Miata; they showed a Speedster in a barn, under much dust. I think, there lies the inspiration the Miata engineers had. I too looked at buying a Miata in 96-97. I drove it, and it was entertaining. It also sounded sweet compaired to most other cars on the lots. Had I not found a way into the Porsche world, I may have looked at the Miata again.

Oh, who am I kidding, I don't like any Asian cars, they lack the personality I desire.

[B]I bet FEW people own both 914's and Miatas. Know anyone like this? Just a different world altogether, isnt it?[B]

Well I did until someone rearend me in the 914. I was restoring the 914, but bought a Miata as reliable 'sports car' transportation. The selling point was it had really cold a/c and here in mid Florida, a/c is needed in the summer time. I had the 914 for about 4 yrs before I got the Miata. After the 914 was totaled, I keep the Miata, it's a '95 with 174,000 exciting miles. I'm currently looking for a 914 to fix. Anyway, yes they're both from different worlds but they both have their following.

From what I have heard in the past a 2.0 914 gets spanked by the Miata at SCCA events. .http://www.pelicanparts.com/support/smileys/spankA.gif
I drove a friends 98 RS and had a blast. Fairly quick and would dust my worn out 2.0 at the time. I still would rather have a 914. Mods are easy and you have the whole 911 parts bin to steal from. What do you have with the Miata? Expensive mods and limitiations with smog here in California.

I would think it's fairly rare to see a dual-miata-914 owner simply due to practicality. Those people who own two cars (one of which is a 2-door, 2-seater sports car.. miata or 914) are probably going to want something a little more utility.. a truck.. a sedan.. etc for their second car. Those who can afford and desire multiple 2-seater sports cars are probably going to want something a little classier (sorry, I like miata's IN A WAY, but classy they are NOT) then a 914 and a miata sitting in their driveway. Just basic deductive reasoning.. or is it inductive?

Well, I used to like em.. I saw them as a budget sports car that fit into my price range.. when I discovered that plenty of other, older, and significantly 'better' vehicles were in my pricerange, I ditched the miata. Now, to me, they're either too tame or too ricey. Berkeley's probably got a half-a-dozen 'souped-up' ones.. then again, in the ricer community there're two ways (at least) to mod your car: to make it perform, and to make it look like it performs. I can assure you the majority (if not all) of the ones in Berkeley fit the latter category. My best guess is that those that are tuned to actually perform are quite admirable machines in their own way.

I owned a 1990 Miata for a year or so. I loved it (until all of the paint flaked off like all white Mazda's of that time period). MGB/914 fun with japanese reliability. The top was the most impressive part - one-handed operation from inside the car and no leaks. Cold a/c, great heat, smooth shifting, an airbag, great handling and good power and great fuel economy - a roadster with no compromises. Was it as pure as my 73 1.7, no, but they sure are fun. I can't say which one would be a better race car today but I was at a few auto/xs when they first came out and they spanked the field. I would buy another early Miata any day that I didn't aspire to another Porsche.

they sure seem to be getting cheap
 

They sold well, and since they're regarded by some more forgiving
as sports cars, a lot of them don't get driven much. I've seen some early cars just hideously cheap! I guess when you look at that, it might be a good puddle jumper to have sitting in your driveway to get to the hardware store while you're working on an engine swap or other large project on your actual sports car.
That's about the best rationale I could come up with for me personally to get one...the 1500.00 Miata for a beater that eats
nothing but gas and oil. A pink one with white alloys is a funny thought, sort of like the Barbie Ferrari...
I guess I just can't take these things seriously. I hear SplitFire
spark plugs sell real well to Miata owners. THAT tells you something...

Familiarity breeds contempt. In the automotive world, this translates to, "the more common the car is, the less I like it."
Let's face it, if I told you I could sell you a nice handling, rear wheel drive roadster that is comfortable to drive and reliable, and you could have a used one for under $7,000, you would want one. But when you find out its a Miata, the same car you see every day driven by moms, daughters and many others ( I am NOT sexist! really!) you won't want one anymore.

There are just too many of them out there. It kills the personality.

Its become the same for the BMW Z3. the S2000 is still rare enough that it has a mystique but, give it five years, we'll have disdain for it too by then.

Sort of like MR2's.....

Of course it is well known that a 914 will never be a "real Porsche."SmileWavy

These guys just surf in from the 911 BBS. It's a 30 year old refrain
that doesn't even make sense. Kurt's probably never owned a 914, or maybe never even driven one.