I'd forgotten this wasn't public knowledge yet 
It's great news, we'll see some NLA parts come back.
Recreations of old cars can't happen, because they'd be new cars and they'd never make it without substantial engineering. So instead you have to restore old ones, which is hugely labor-intensive and thus expensive. Heck, just look at old warplanes. Guys work for 10 years to get one back in the air when it was probably built in two weeks.
The 240Z restoration services that Nissan did in the 90's ran in the high 20's. At least with that you didn't have to pay for the car with the Mazda service. Good survivors are in the mid teens now just for a point of reference.
I can't tell if this is the point you're trying to make, but that high-20s sounds like a bargain.
I don't know if this is a rare thing or what but when i look at ANY car and think about just how difficult it would be for me to replicate the effort that created it and compare that to its current used car price, it's mind-boggling. Used cars are an incredible, ridiculous, ludicrously good value. It almost doesn't matter how bad of shape it's in. If you had to pay somebody to create the thing, by hand, even the most decrepit automobile on the planet would be a nigh-on $100,000 project and there's a zero percent chance it would turn out as well as the production version.
The efficiencies of mass production are so powerful that, in my opinion, they distort people's sense of value when they compare something was mass-produced to something that requires hundreds or thousands of man-hours of hands-on non-automated craftsmanship like a restoration. If you could buy a turn-key fully restored car for ONLY the same cost as a new production model, you're getting a good deal. And you're not getting a good deal on a car, because even a perfect old car is E36 M3ty compared to a new one. You're getting a good deal on human time and energy!
This is why I am a huge supporter of Mazda, also I can still buy A LOT of new & OEM parts for mazda for my 86 rx7. Most companies get lazy after 15 years or so to cut costs or something...
fidelity101 wrote: This is why I am a huge supporter of Mazda, also I can still buy A LOT of new & OEM parts for mazda for my 86 rx7.
Meanwhile, if you have an '85 RX-7, you're SOL.
Which generation has several one make series designed around it, in the US? That requires things like 100% stock 12As?
Spec series have a lifespan. They either have to evolve to take availability into account or they die. Mazda does a lot for their racers, but asking them to keep supplying new engines that went out of production over 30 years ago is a big ask.
The re-manufacturing idea is not a new one. There was a place in SD that used to do Mustangs: Pretty much had a reverse assembly line for what came in and an assembly "Team" for the cars going out. The price was high but not insane. I am guessing the place was in rural SD for labour cost reasons.
The 240Z proved that a factory could do this and if not really profitable, at least worth it from a marketing and promotions point of view. The tooling already exist and it would not be hard to set up manual "Mass Production" processes.
Where the Restomods get expensive is because of the "Mod" component. No two clients want the same car.If you have ever put a window in an early mustang, you would realize that the labor to do so at today's rates would be nuts. The same applies for other systems on the car. Figure close to 1000 hours of labour in a restomod.
Keith Tanner wrote: I'd forgotten this wasn't public knowledge yet
Things like the R-Package rear lip perhaps? I remember sellers being pretty proud of those...
There's a difference between "available" and "cheap".
thatsnowinnebago wrote:Keith Tanner wrote: I'd forgotten this wasn't public knowledge yetThings like the R-Package rear lip perhaps? I remember sellers being pretty proud of those...
How proud, exactly? I have one on my car and I would love to replace it with a Blackbird Fabworx spoiler. If I could reasonably subsidize that purchase by selling the OEM lip, that would be awesome.
I assumed it was the one on the bottom of the bumper, not the trunk lid spoiler. I don't think the latter have a lot of value.
Ahhhh... Don't have that one. Damn. Just a sanded-down R-package front lip. 
bmw88rider wrote: I wonder how many people will actually pay the price for this. I didn't see a price in there but my Japanese is really rusty. The 240Z restoration services that Nissan did in the 90's ran in the high 20's. At least with that you didn't have to pay for the car with the Mazda service. Good survivors are in the mid teens now just for a point of reference.
240Zs restored like the Nissan reworks would command far more than mid teens now. An ok driver mid teens, but really nice ones are easily $30k plus.
I think it's great that Mazda is supporting Miatas this way. To me at least, it separates Mazda from other carmakers even more. I don't think anyone would argue that the Miata helped cement Mazdas modern reputation.
Keith Tanner wrote: I assumed it was the one on the bottom of the bumper, not the trunk lid spoiler. I don't think the latter have a lot of value.
That's the one.
racerdave600 wrote: I think it's great that Mazda is supporting Miatas this way. To me at least, it separates Mazda from other carmakers even more. I don't think anyone would argue that the Miata helped cement Mazdas modern reputation.
When you think about it, the Miata is the closest thing that Mazda has to a halo car. Which is pretty cool - what other manufacturers have an affordable little ragtop as their brand ambassador?
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