We've got info on the Miata reveal.

Miata + Harbor Freight = little pick up truck!

Feedyurhed wrote:

nderwater wrote:

Swank Force One wrote:

Yes Please.

Yes please me too.

Can someone with more skills than me photoshop a side view like this in various colours? I think the car will be look very different , depending on colour choice.

DeadSkunk wrote: Can someone with more skills than me photoshop a side view like this in various colours? I think the car will be look very different , depending on colour choice.

irish44j wrote: I can pile E36 M3 in the passenger seat of any car, big deal. I'm talking about actual cargo space that ISN'T sitting on the front seat (what if there's a passenger?)

So am I.

irish44j wrote: You want to put 4 bags of mulch in your Miata's seat? How about 4 bags of concrete?

Nope. That is what the trunk is for. Never tried concrete but mulch is no problem.

irish44j wrote: Or 4 track tires?

Remove 4 bolts and lift out the passenger seat and I can fit SIX! OK 4 if they're steamrollers.

irish44j wrote: All of those things can be carried (in a rainstorm, or on a 15-degree winter day) in a small hatchback

Also a Miata!

irish44j wrote: (I know this for a fact, seeing as my Triumph GT6 has carried all of those things over the years). And what do you know....the GT6 is essentially just a fastback version of the "original" popular roadster, the Spitfire, which I've also owned, and which has MUCH LESS enclosed cargo area than the GT6.

So because the Spitfire didn't use space efficiently and/or you don't know how to pack it's the Miata's fault? Compare a Spitfire to a Miata (especially an NC) to a Solstice coupe and get back to me on which one has the most space.

irish44j wrote: Your lifestyle involves you picking up groceries in your Miata. My "lifestyle" sometimes requires me to pick up a set of tires, or a couple pieces of lumber on a rainy day at lunch or on the way home from work. Not exactly sure why I need to "examine" such a lifestyle. I just don't want to drive all the way home and get the gas-guzzling SUV for 4 bags of concrete. In any case, if I want a Miata with a fastback, I'm not sure why you have a problem with that. It's not like the Miata is some rare vintage vert that someone would be "ruining" by making a fastback version (and not like the GT6 somehow ruined the Spitfire that it was based on).

My problem is the cop out. "It doesn't have enough room" is a load of E36 M3. Afraid of skin cancer so you only ever drive hard tops? Fine. But don't hide behind a lack of space.

irish44j wrote: Or is it that some Miata folks are scared that a hardtop/fastback Miata would turn out to be a better car than the original?

Better how? Other than the defective top of course

In reply to kylini:
Gee, thanks.

DeadSkunk wrote: Can someone with more skills than me photoshop a side view like this in various colours? I think the car will be look very different , depending on colour choice.

mazdeuce wrote: I think there are people that would buy one that wouldn't buy a convertible one.

Indeed, there are two people in this very thread that fit that description.

I will be dumping the WRX in approximately 2 years and getting a RWD 2-seater or 2+2 that can get over 30mpg and is not a vert. As it stands now, the Toyobaru twins are at the top of the list (ok, they pretty much ARE the list for the most part). Mazda could easily move to the top with a fastback, and unlike many here, I will actually buy a new car at a dealer if I like it enough

kylini wrote:

DeadSkunk wrote: Can someone with more skills than me photoshop a side view like this in various colours? I think the car will be look very different , depending on colour choice.

Is it wrong that I'd rock the E36 M3 out of this paint?

Adrian_Thompson wrote:

mazdeuce wrote: I just had a dream on the way to drop the kids at school. What if they released a "track" version with a fixed roof with a Gurney bubble for helmet clearance. A fastback with tie downs in the floor for wheels. It could out 86 the 86. There HAS to be someone at Mazda that can think of something like this. They made that very limited Japan only fixed top NB didn't they? Call the guy who penned that and get him working!

I honestly don't get why people don't like drop tops. But if you really want a hard top why not buy a power retractable hard top version, gut the mechanism. Build a roll bar and screw, weld, fiberglass the hard top in place?

I saw this a few pages back. I don't like drop tops because I don't like being blinded by the sun. Sure, a hat and sun glasses fixes the problem, but then I'm just wearing a roof on my head, instead of having the one on the car.

As for your mini-project to spend hours and dollars on a new car, I personally didn't like the looks of the power hard top versions. I'd buy the ragtop version anyway and just leave the top up, maybe buy a hard top if I found one.

As much as i don't like converts, I'd still buy this new mx-5 if I had some spare cash and room for another car.

Junkyard_Dog wrote: My problem is the cop out. "It doesn't have enough room" is a load of E36 M3. Afraid of skin cancer so you only ever drive hard tops? Fine. But don't hide behind a lack of space.

I'll rephrase: "It doesn't have enough of the kind of room I want for the things I want to use it for." If it's enough room for what you use it for, good for you. I highly doubt you and I lead the same lives, do the same daily activities, run the same errands in our cars, or drive on the same roads or in the same climates (seeing as no place can have as E36 M3ty a climate at any given part of the year as DC does). It would be a cop-out were you offering to buy the car for me and I was declining. But when paying for things with my own money, I prefer to get exactly what I want, regardless of what "you" think will work for my needs, lol...

I've driven many Miatas. Hell, I spend more time working on Miatas than I spend on my own cars it seems. I like the way Miatas drive, I like the driving position, I like the ergonomics. I watch them drive around me at the track I'd like to buy a Miata for those reasons, but I still am not interested in one that's a convertible of any kind, for a number of reasons only one of which is the space usage. The only reason I even care about this discussion is because for years I've held out the hope that they'd make a hatchback/fastback version and I'd have cash in hand.

Also, clearly you don't know me if you think I'm in any way afraid of the sun. Pretty much every hobby I have involves being in the sun all day long (usually forgetting sunblock). I simply don't have any particular love for driving with the top down. YMMV.

I guess if you buy a family car, it'll have to be this one, eh? Because having a roof is such a cop-out..

That dash screen has got to go. A single DIN radio would fit in the hole just fine and do everything I need. Other than the radio, what does that screen do? I'll assume nav and phone stuff (which I don't want), what else?

A fastback or shooting brake would put me in debt. I like convertibles, but as my only car in a snow state, I would want a fixed roof.

In reply to irish44j: I'd like to add that my '79 Spitfire has more room than my Miata! I could actually curl up and fit in the trunk of the Spitfire, and there's loads of space behind the seats; almost little jump seats for kids. Good thing about a drop top is the option of opening up an infinite amount of space for larger items, especially items that don't fit through a typical doorway.

I get what you're saying about a coupe though, and I'd prolly choose a coupe Miata over a rag-top. My miata has had a hardtop permanently on it for a year now, and I've really grown to like it. My Spitfire has now taken it's place for top-down driving.

Always dug your black GT6 btw... just awesome.

-Hamid

Speaking of Spitfires, does anyone else see the slight Spitfire-esque crease on the rear fenders?

-H

Looks like a Hyundai to me...

mndsm wrote:

kylini wrote:

DeadSkunk wrote: Can someone with more skills than me photoshop a side view like this in various colours? I think the car will be look very different , depending on colour choice.

Is it wrong that I'd rock the E36 M3 out of this paint?

You're not alone.

I especially like that the green and fruity purple both appear to be new Mirage colors, and i'm fairly certain that entire rainbow is also mirage.

Rufledt wrote: ...I don't like drop tops because I don't like being blinded by the sun...

You guys are using convertibles wrong!

Driving one on a hot day can be pretty miserable (in which case, top up and a removable rear window is the way to go). The BEST time to drive a convertible is on hot NIGHT!

In reply to aircooled:

good point, my only miata driving experiences were during sunny days (blinding) and pouring rain (top up). I can imagine night driving would be superb with the top down.

Swank Force One wrote:

mndsm wrote:

kylini wrote:

DeadSkunk wrote: Can someone with more skills than me photoshop a side view like this in various colours? I think the car will be look very different , depending on colour choice.

Is it wrong that I'd rock the E36 M3 out of this paint?

You're not alone. I especially like that the green and fruity purple both appear to be new Mirage colors, and i'm fairly certain that entire rainbow is also mirage.

That's one thing Mitsubishi got right with the mirage.... They skittled the heck out of the color choices on that car. I was drawn to that lot by the rainbow out front and stayed for the evos and stale donuts.

This afternoon I sat in the new car. I'm not tall, but I'm not skinny, either. It felt like a Miata--maybe even a tad bit more like an NA than an NC.

The headlights and fender/front bumper seam resemble an E92.

Convertibles are awesome. I bought my first convertible 10 years ago and since then I've never been without at least one in my garage. Anyone who hates convertibles, hates America.

ducks

And +1 to the trailer comment. a 5 x 8 trailer is light enough I can wheel it around the yard by hand, and will hold as much volume as a full size pickup.

In reply to irish44j:

I am honestly confused by your point. Why? Because you indicate that the Toyota/Subaru car would be significanly more usable. But it's barely any bigger. Granted it has seats beind the driver- but other than some nominal stuff, what can you realistically put there? Can you really carry all the stuff that is on your requirement list?

And even so, the nominal Miata is a 2 seat convertable. Why do people think that the car should be a more usable car? It is what it is- not some kind utility car, it's a small car for small things carrying small stuff. And every single Miata since 1989 has been like that. For a car that is the highest selling 2 seat roadster of all time, why would ANYONE expect the car to deviate from that model? I really don't understand that expectation.

For me, what you ask of a car, the Subaru/Toyota car would not be anywhere near my choice, either. If I needed to move 5 50lb bags of concrete, there's no way I would dream of putting them in the back seat. Putting one back there would be beyond painful.

I can see the desire to have a coupe. A nice sport coupe. But it does not take much work to understand that a sporty coupe market isn't very big. And some of that sporty coupe market just wants a sporty car. And by taking the top off the car, you just added the group of people who want a small convertable. That market is big enough to persue. None of that market is going to be capable of running a plant by itself, so the point is to have enough of it to be sustainable and money making.

Still, the Miata/MX5 has sold more than any other attempt in that market. Why change it? I think the risk of losing you as a customer is worth getting two others who are happy. IMHO.

alfadriver wrote: I can see the desire to have a coupe. A nice sport coupe. But it does not take much work to understand that a sporty coupe market isn't very big. And some of that sporty coupe market just wants a sporty car. And by taking the top off the car, you just added the group of people who want a small convertable. That market is big enough to persue. None of that market is going to be capable of running a plant by itself, so the point is to have enough of it to be sustainable and money making. Still, the Miata/MX5 has sold more than any other attempt in that market. Why change it? I think the risk of losing you as a customer is worth getting two others who are happy. IMHO.

You're missing the point completely. It's not stopping the Roadster to make a coupe, it's to build BOTH OF THEM. Making the Cayman didn't cancel the Boxster. It's not zero-sum. It's not nearly as much work to make a coupe version of a convertible as it is to make a convertible from a coupe. It would be simple for Mazda to manufacture a coupe version, and the only end result would be MORE SALES overall, not less. Porsche made the Cayman out of the Boxster, Jaguar is making the F-Type coupe from the F-Type, neither of them is losing customers for ADDING a variant of a good car.

I haven't yet owned a Miata, but I've driven a few and I really like them. I have owned an S2000, which really doesn't have any more space than a Miata, and I drove it daily for a few years, and managed to move myself and all my (single-guy life) belongings from Texas to SC with some careful packing (e.g. remove some clothes and shoes from suitcase to fit into odd voids in trunk, duffel bag on passenger floor where legs usually go, sea-bad strapped into the seat like a torso). It was a great car and I could DD it and use it for basically everything even though it was a small 2-seat convertible, and being able to drop the top was fantastic. I drove around top-down in winter with a heavy jacket and the heat cranked up. I loved it. But here's the important part: if they had made a coupe version, I STILL WOULD HAVE BOUGHT THAT INSTEAD. Some of us just like having the stiffer platform and not having to purchase a rollbar to do track days.

alfadriver wrote: In reply to irish44j: I am honestly confused by your point. Why? Because you indicate that the Toyota/Subaru car would be significanly more usable. But it's barely any bigger. Granted it has seats beind the driver- but other than some nominal stuff, what can you realistically put there? Can you really carry all the stuff that is on your requirement list?

I rode back from rallycross nationals last year in an FRS. Two guys (one who is 6'2" and all legs) four wheels and our stuff. This is real utility to me. It honestly made me fall in love with these cars. For me, the usability was fantastic. If I could get close to that in a Miata, it would be no contest, I'd rather have the Miata, but if I have to make the compromises that come with a convertible, it's not happening.

alfadriver wrote: In reply to irish44j: I am honestly confused by your point. Why? Because you indicate that the Toyota/Subaru car would be significanly more usable. But it's barely any bigger. Granted it has seats beind the driver- but other than some nominal stuff, what can you realistically put there? Can you really carry all the stuff that is on your requirement list?

Here is the difference for me: there is tension in my relationship because we always take my fiance's car. We always take her car, because she does not fit in my car--her legs are too long. So any time we drive for more than 20 minutes, it is always her car.

I'd like leg room in the damn thing. Not for me--I don't need it. But she does. And frankly, it is a valid complaint.

Sadly, that is probably going to rule it out for my next vehicle. IF it has leg room, and IF I can fit my hockey bag in the trunk by dropping it in and closing the trunk (as opposed to my NB where I have to rearrange it for 20-60 seconds to get the trunk to close), I might consider it. Otherwise, I'll likely be in a frisbee