In reply to MCarp22:
No, they didn't. 
The hood bulges came with a motor upgrade.
In reply to MCarp22:
No, they didn't.
The hood bulges came with a motor upgrade.
In reply to Keith Tanner:
I'm 36. I do like the fiat styling much better than the Mazda. But in all honesty, I much prefer European cars to Japanese. Out of the Miata generations I like the NB the best styling wise.
In reply to MCarp22:
Not always, but they are both fiat 124 cues....mercifully, I doubt anyone from the JV division(Chrysler) got to touch this car styling wise. 
alfadriver wrote: In reply to MCarp22: No, they didn't.
The point was the bulges came from fiat, not dodge. Historical precedence.
When I saw the initial spy photos I felt like I was seeing a lot of Dart in the front end, particularly the shape of the headlights and their relation to the upper and lower grilles. They look more similar in darker colors, but they're not as close as I initially thought.
And my observation was regardless of where they originated, that the shape, sizing and radius of the those particular elements resemble modern retro tribute dodges more than the fiats that originally sported them
pointofdeparture wrote: This just in; much like the Abarth, our 124 is more powerful than everyone else's. Also, some shots in white...I still want to see it in a bright orange or something.
wow, that white with the brown interior really looks nice. I could drive that, particularly if the top matched the seats and it had better wheels...
captdownshift wrote: And my observation was regardless of where they originated, that the shape, sizing and radius of the those particular elements resemble modern retro tribute dodges more than the fiats that originally sported them
Maybe to you- but the more I look at it, the more I find creases and curves that have been in the 124.
The biggest moves are: front weeks farther foreward, w/s and cabin farther back, and less rear overhang.
Which are really huge. But there's more than enough in the car that says 124 to me.
In reply to alfadriver:
I'm with you on the lack of rear overhang being huge, I wish they would've continued the rear accent lines further into the door to give the illusion of a longer overhang, but understand how disjointed that may have ended up when attempting. The original has 3 separate design sections with a nice even flow to and from each.
captdownshift wrote: seeing it in white there's now a pair of Mopar cues it in that once seen, cannot be unseen The twin hood bulges/recesses and the taper of the body under belt line as it comes off of the rear fender around the door handle and down. Though I know that the original 124 had a similar feature, but it was to a long rear section and not as crisp, that feature on this new one is more Dodge Challenger than 124. It's as if Fiat designers were given control of the headlamps and front fascia, and Dodge took over from there.
I agree. The styling just screams Dodge to me, especially the rear. The original 124 was a delicate masterpiece that still looks good. This just looks clunky and overwrought to me. It doesn't look European at all to my eye (unless you're equating European with the Fiat Multipla).
captdownshift wrote: The twin hood bulges/recesses
The original 1400 Spider had a flat hood.. the 1600, which came in 72 (I think) ushered in the medium bulged hood that ran through to 1979 when the 2000 came out and fiat increased the size of the bulges again to make way for the eventual fuel injection the cars got. Unlike today's cars, the original 124s had almost no clearance between the top of the engine and the hood... bad engine mounts could cause the head mounted distributer to hit the centre rib and knock the timing out of whack
I like the original Miata sheet metal a lot better. The Fiat version looks clunky to me. I do like the Fiat seats better though.
The above comments show that it's either the Miata or the 124. Sounds like a hit either way. Personally, I wasn't hip on the new Miata until I saw one in person in all black (including black rims) and thought it was marvelous looking.
I like the 124, too, but growing up on old British and Italian sports cars, it appaeals to me. I guess I'm one of the few that like the new retro looks.
I can't afford, nor have a reason to buy either, but I'd probably lean more towards the 124. (and no, having two Fiats in my driveway doesn't influence that too much.... 
)
-Rob
It looks most appropriate in Bronzo Magnetico:
I don't like how it looks. Badge engineering at its worst.
I wonder if the Fiat will get the PRHT............. if and when the Miata ND does?
stanger_missle wrote: It looks most appropriate in Bronzo Magnetico:
To me, that looks like an NC. The blandest looking of all the miatas.
I'll take the nd any day of the week.
For whatever reason I NEED one of these. I never lust after new cars but damn I love the look of this. Hopefully in a few years I can grab one for cheap(er)
Will the Fiat command a premium over the MX-5?
More luxe, more power, "premium" brand - I'll bet it will.
Keith Tanner wrote: More luxe, more power, "premium" brand - I'll bet it will.
I think so too. A maxed out ND with the Brembo package is already in the low $30s so a loaded 124 might be mid to upper $30s.
bruceman wrote: I don't like how it looks. Badge engineering at its worst.
I think the 124 and the Miata are a little further apart than a few badges. Most of the sheetmetal is different and we know the 124 gets a different engine and gears in the manual... so it is nothing like GM likes to do
Looking at the interior pictures, it looks more like the ND than I would expected. I wonder if Derrick Jenkins and the designers at Mazda are flattered or annoyed at how much is the same.
The inside of an ND is a nice place to be. 
I wonder how the reliability will compare between the two (knowing most of the 124 will be Mazda sourced, except the powertrain). Fiat reliability - at least per JD Power and Consumer Reports - is reportedly pretty suspect.
I wish it looked more like a Pinnafarina Azzurra 
I will say, the Azzurra had really cool side, rear view mirrors that were pretty revolutionary at their time. Too bad they don't work on this body.
The Azzurra also had cool rims. I dislike the rims here but if they were stylized more like the Azzurra, that could be cool.
http://www.pininfarinaazzurra.com/home.html
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