Miata Manifesto: Of Midgets and Men

[Perknose]

“Hey, Bob, I realize you once took out a Wehrmacht pillbox with a P-38 can opener and a box of damp matches, but you sure look like a sissy behind the wheel of that MG TC.”

An excerpt:

“Whatever. That guy back there is in a girl car. Don’t tell me you’d drive one.” At that point, I wisely did not respond, because I would drive the hell out of a Mazdaspeed Miata.

The only reason I didn’t buy a Mazdaspeed Miata when they were new was because I already had a Boxster S, which is what my comp-sci teacher would have called a “superset” of the Miata. I suppose that’s a girl car too. I know that during the summer it’s extremely common for young fellows in Mustangs and whatnot to come racing up next to me on the freeway, only to recoil in annoyance when they realize that the long-haired brunette driving the silver Boxster with the Brey-Krause rollbar is, you know, me.

Sorry, boys.

But I digress. When, exactly, did two-seat sports cars fall out of favor with the Marlboro Man set? It has to be a fairly recent development, certainly more recent than, say, the Carter Administration. I know this because my father bought a brand-new, bright-yellow MG Midget in 1979, from the British Leyland dealer outside Baltimore, MD. You wouldn’t know it to look at me, but my father is and was a very traditional American dude. His purchase of the Midget didn’t trail his honorable discharge from the Marine Corps by all that many years. He played baseball in college. I think he punched a guy once for just looking at my mom. We’re not talking about a Sensitive New Age Guy here.

 

[iamwiz82]

I love small two seaters. Unfortunately there aren't many out there that offer the performance that 4 seaters provide nowadays.

The Alfa Romero 4C is coming though, yum.

Side note- I had a Mazdaspeed Miata. The factory tuning on that this was beyond terrible. To really enjoy that car you MUST ditch it and get any aftermarket computer. It's too bad they put so little effort in the actual tuning.

 

[JCH13]

I lol'd. Good read.

And I'm not just saying that because I own a Miata...


...probably.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Best car I've ever driven was a Lotus Elise, which is even smaller and lighter than the Miata.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

The part I've never really understood is why people care what anyone else thinks......

“Whatever. That guy back there is in a girl car. Don’t tell me you’d drive one.” At that point, I wisely did not respond, because I would drive the hell out of a Mazdaspeed Miata." (emphasis mine)

Huge pussy. The biggest.

Hell yeah I'd rock a Miata, MG TC, Subarus, a V6 pony car, or whatever else speaks to me as a driving enthusiast. And I ain't ashamed to say it.

 

[Zenmervolt]

He's no Peter Egan, but that was a fun article anyway.

ZV

 

[Tormac]

I think that some of this is because few guys are actually into driving cars any more. I attribute this to the rise of the SUV/Pickup, and that so many people have forgotten that driving can be fun. Even many “car guys” are only into magazine racing, and 190 hp lotus Elise will never sound as cool as a 450 hp Challenger, no matter how many times one compares power to weight ratios.

Unless one drives a lightweight car, it is hard to understand the feel of it accurately. Zero to sixty times is easy to express in a magazine, but the wonderful feeling produced by the turn in of a mid engine car under 2000 pounds with a manual steering rack is not something that can be expressed in a blog, sales brochure, or video game.

I love driving my little Elise, but I’ve given up trying to explain it to people who look disappointed when I explain that it only has a 1.8 liter four cylinder. The only thing that can help is a long fun test drive, and I have a hard time letting people who aren’t drivers drive the Lotus.