The Mazda Miata: Legendary or not?
- Thread starter Luminis
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fitftw
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Care to explain why? The only car I'll ever need in life is my Miata.
We all think differently, we just have the same basic features to label us all as human. Nobody will understand my love for my car except others who own Miatas. This goes for every car and every club. There's a Prius forum somewhere out there, where hundreds of Prius owners share tales of love for their cars. I don't understand it, just as most of you don't understand Miata.
We all think differently, we just have the same basic features to label us all as human. Nobody will understand my love for my car except others who own Miatas. This goes for every car and every club. There's a Prius forum somewhere out there, where hundreds of Prius owners share tales of love for their cars. I don't understand it, just as most of you don't understand Miata.
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- crispychicken49
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I think the 240SX debuted at about the same time as the MX-5. '89 if I'm correct. Same with the 300ZX, but thats still being made (370Z). Its still a Z car. But yeah, most cars he listed I doubt will ever come back. Though the Supra and RX-7 are getting "remade" I believe.
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Not necessarily. I mean, the car is basically the entrance ticket to a given car club, or car culture/subculture. There's the question whether you want to associate with those, though.
For example, I quite like some JDM cars. But, here in Germany, the JDM scene seems to be all about The Fast and The Furious and making their cars replicate that 'style'. I wouldn't want to be part of 'that'.
There are a few cars that enable you to get into very special communities though - like a Radical, for example. And a Miata does that, too - as has been mentioned before, Spec Miata racing.
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I don't think anyone needs to justify why they are passionate about a car. I do find it odd when people modify the pants off a car then claim to love the original... My friend has a mk 2 GTI, with corado engine, with Audi cams, and aftermarket suspension... Basically changed eveything that made it a GTI, and I get the impression that's what fitftw did with his mx5...
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And yet, I know of no 'Spec Civic' races. Did it influence anything on the automotive market? No, it's just one of many, many small FWD ecnonoboxes where someone put a slightly bigger engine in. And, look at how the Civic developed - the current doesn't even resemble the older cars.
But, yeah, it has a large following, alright. It's mostly followed by the sound of a fart can, though
I can't undertand how someone can consider the Civic to be any more special then the Miata... I just can't, for the life of me, I can't.
I somehow understood wheen people were talking about nothing but super cars as legends. But a Civic?
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Lol.. I love the way all of these legendary reasons also apply to the BMW 3 series ...
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Well, I'd consider the M3 to be at least close to legendary status. The rest of the 3 series, though? Not so much.
CodeRedR51
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At least two of those things are completely subjective, one is debatable, another is completely dependant on the variant and the other is irrelevant.
I don't disagree that the Civic is a great car but the umpteen generations of Civic are quite different cars and appeal in different ways. The MX5 was, is and always will be a relatively lightweight, affordable traditional sports car. It's almost certainly been more influential than the Civic too. The Civic has played a huge part in the automotive tuning industry but outside the realm of car guys it's still essentially just a basic economy car - and as such, not particularly special.
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Luminis
It has its own series's, its been around for decades, it is about the best at what it does, it has oodles of motorsport success, it caters for a wide variety of tastes, it is part of the massive BMW fan scene, it is massively accesible, you can customize it as much or as little as you want... The M3 is just the tip of the iceberg.. if the mx5 is a legend, the 3 series is a god... But in my opinion neither is true. The Mazda is just a classic, and the 3 is just a legend
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It has its own series's, its been around for decades, it is about the best at what it does, it has oodles of motorsport success, it caters for a wide variety of tastes, it is part of the massive BMW fan scene, it is massively accesible, you can customize it as much or as little as you want... The M3 is just the tip of the iceberg.. if the mx5 is a legend, the 3 series is a god... But in my opinion neither is true. The Mazda is just a classic, and the 3 is just a legend
You know, half of that isn't exactly true unless we're talking about old cars. The accesible part, for example. E30s? Hard to come by, ccollector's cars by now. E36? Sure, high mileage ones aplenty. E46? Still quite expensive. E92? Yep, still not a cheap car. Basically, your only chance to get an M3 for a decent price with an okay mileage is if someone already went ahead and threw quite a few parts on it. You'll be looking at 13'000€ for a decent, stock E36 M3 with less than 100'000km.
And, yeah, the 3 series itself... Apart from the M3, there isn't much to be said about it. They're commuter cars, first and formost. They're definitely more of a driver's car then the corresponding cars from Mercedes or BMW or the like, but they're just... Nothing special.
Still, I'd probably try to get my hands on a BMW before considering a Miata... Even if it's only for being more practical as a daily driver
I'd rate the 3 very, very high - but higher than the Miata? Not if I'm being objective. If I allow myself to be biased towards the German car, though... There's hardly anything more that needs to be said, though.Thats all you got to say.now thats funny.
CodeRedR51
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You know, half of that isn't exactly true unless we're talking about old cars....
...
And, yeah, the 3 series itself... Apart from the M3, there isn't much to be said about it. They're commuter cars, first and formost. They're definitely more of a driver's car then the corresponding cars from Mercedes or BMW or the like, but they're just... Nothing special.
Still, I'd probably try to get my hands on a BMW before considering a Miata... Even if it's only for being more practical as a daily driver
No, everything I said applies to the 3 series as a range, not just the M3... yes the M variety is expensive, whatever the era, and E21's are getting expensive, E30's and E36's cans still be had for around £1000 in a worthwhile state, and some E46's are now low 4 figure amounts. The E36 can be had as a 4 door saloon, 2 door coupe, 2 door convertible, 3 door hatch, 5 door tourer, and M versions are available in 2 of those styles - all of which can be had for really sensible prices. Engines range from 1.6 upwards, and both V10's and V12's were fitted to previous generations by legit tuning companies (rather than individuals). The motorsport sucess of a 3 series model (not just M3) from each generation is huge, E21 to E9x.. The 'scene' is pretty massive, bigger I'd say than any other german (or possibly european) marque, if you want to race, a couple of grand gets you into the Kumho tyres championship (whatever it's called now)...
the 3 series ... nothing special ... hmmm... I think you are wrong!
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For one thing, the VW scene seems bigger. Much bigger to be honest, but that might be due to affordability and the 'style' that's done there.
And, while most 3 series can be had for little money, what's special about a car like the usual three series? it's not light, the suspension isn't very special, it doesn't haave much power, the interior isn't bad but nothing to really brag about, either.
And, while it does have a lot of racing heritage, does that matter when the car that's entered in the WTCC isn't even remotely close to what you're getting when you're buying a 320i?
