My 95 Miata Owners Guide says to unzip the back window before putting the top down. It seems to fold down fine without unzipping the window. What's the scoop?

DAVID MEIER, Atlanta, GA, USA

While the top can be lowered without unzipping the rear window, neither the top or (more importantly) the rear window was made to be treated in that matter. Done repeatedly, the rear window will begin to suffer abrasion across the crease line, with discoloration and fogging following soon thereafter. It also places stress on the zipper used to retain the rear window which the zipper (not to mention the top) were not meant to deal with. So just because it's something which physically can be done doesn't mean the top and window were made to deal with that sort of misuse. Sort of like eating Drain-O - it's physically possible, but not something the human digestive tract was conceived to accept.

bwob

I was recently admiring a Mazda ad that showcased the 2001 brg special edition. I quickly came to the conclusion that this was the nicest Miata i have ever seen. A few days later i was reading (ask bob) and it occurred to me to ask the father of the Miata his opinion. What's your favorite color, year, package etc. I look forward to your feedback.

daniel zelinka, baltimore md. USA

My favorite colors are Sunburst Yellow and Mariner Blue, with BRG in as number three. I never really gave the packages much thought, since power windows are something I like but I can easily live without. Since the Miata was intended to be offered solely with power steering, it and air conditioning are the only things which are 'musts' to me. Cruise control's nice, but like fast glass not absolutely necessary.

My favorite vintage of Miata is 1992. It's still in keeping with the concept of the original, has the better sounding 1.6 litre B6 engine and was the sole year both Sunburst Yellow and Mariner Blue were offered.

For NBs I like the 2001-2 iteration in Crystal Blue or BRG if it were available with powder-coated wheels in place of the chrome/polished ones and without any wood or chrome trim inside. But a Mariner Blue or Sunburst Yellow 2001 would be at or near the top of my list, assuming such a mutant were produced.

bwob

I have a 2001 Miata LS that I dearly love. Somehow a rock must have kicked uo and broke the lens on one of my fog lights. The light still works and there was no other damage other than the broken plastic lens. I called my dealer to see if a replacement lens was available and after he got finished snickering ,told me that the lens was not replaceable and I would have to purchase a complete new light assembly at a cost of $235.00 plus labor. After a few hits of smelling salts I thanked him and hung up. It seems ludicrous that I should have to spend that kind of money to replace a $2.00 plastic lens. I don't know about all the rest Of you guys out there, but my car has emblems on it that say Mazda Miata.... not Ferrari. Please Bob, or anyone out there, do you know of any fixes other than total replacement of the light unit?

Steve Plotsky, Hicksville, NY USA

Well, the only two other possible fixes I am aware of require either some fabrication skills or a certain lack of scruples. The first is to make a lens yourself, remove (carefully) the remnants of the existing lens from the lamp bucket and then epoxy - or better yet, laser weld - the replacement lens into location. The alternative (and one I do not under any circumstances recommend or approve of) which requires no surfeit of scruples is to steal an unbroken lamp from another Miata.

In order to meet photometric requirements, the lenses of composite headlamps as well as foglamps are designed to be non-removable and as a result non-replaceable. Laser welding is one of the most common methods of attachment (although some suppliers still use an electric wire melted joint) and such joints don't lend themselves to replacement. Strictly speaking, headlamps have been like this since the 1930s, though the transition to this sort of construction for auxiliary lighting is relatively new.

While I'll agree that it is ludicrous to pay $235.00 to replace a plastic lens, the fact that Mazda charges $235.00 for an auxiliary lamp with such appallingly miserable performance as the OE foglamps offer is the real absurdity here. While they're not the worst foglamps on Earth, they're in the bottom five. If it were my car, I'd just remove 'em both and be done with it. But then if it were my car I would have pulled them out right after I removed the tow hooks.

bwob

I own a 1989 MX5 and am very disappointed with the amount of scuttle shake (shimmy?) that the car makes on the country roads I drive on. I read all the major road tests of the car when new and none of the road testers mentioned this problem. Do you think this may be a result of rose coloured glasses being worn by an uncritical press of the day or is there a trend for higher mileage units to develop this problem?

Phillip Blacklock, Western Australia

Two factors at work here, one probable, one possible. In order Just like people, as cars age they get a little soft and this tendency can be more pronounced in monocoque, open-topped cars as there's no stress-bearing roof structure to help tie things together. With a car that's a decade old - open or closed - the effects of age and mileage will take their toll on the structure, 'loosening' things up to varying degrees. The mileage accrued, where and how it was driven will all be variables in this process.

Secondly, if you've come from closed car ownership, your baseline on vehicle rigidity will give you quite different reference points as to how much is too much than if you've had a few open cars under your belt. Presupposing this is your first open car, yours might have aged just as any other MX-5 might have for the same vintage and mileage but because of the seat time you may have acquired in closed cars it might feel 'floppier' to you than to the bloke who's on his second, third or fourth open car.

bwob

Thank you Bob for all you do. I have a 92 red Miata and I have 2 questions for you Bob, one I have water in the passenger side where your feet go after it rains and I don't know how it gets there? I also have water in the side rails, where the kick plates are but only after it rains. Any ideas? Also, what is the possibility of the Miata being a classic car in say 10 years. My wife and I only have 64,000 miles and it is just the greatest little car but we can only get like 5500 for it and it might be better to keep it for our kids as our family grows and more drivers appear. What do you think?

Brent, San Clemente, California

Unfortunately I haven't moved from Sydney, so it's still awful tough to see what's wrong (or right) with a car in southern Orange County and be comfortable with any diagnosis made via 'remote control'. In fact not one iota simpler than it was in, say, April unless considerable expenditure of time and money can be accommodated. However it appears that a degree of remedial assistance might be called for.

Miata.net has a thing called an FAQ, for Frequently Asked Questions (which like FAQs anywhere is probably a good thing to look at when you have a question). Some of the leaking water issues have their own links at the Miata.net FAQ. Go to the FAQ - it's got a link on the main page at Miata.net - use your browser's 'find' command and enter 'water' in the box to track 'em down. They're quite general by nature, but attempt to touch on the most common reason for these problems. Of course your car might have completely different reasons/causes for the water entry which could only be addressed with an inspection of your car, something which still cannot be dealt properly with via e-mail.

Regarding the short- to mid-term 'classic' status of the Miata, in ten years the standard cars will have collectability on a par with that of, say, a 1963 Dodge Dart 270 two-door hardtop in 1973, or roughly equal to having bought a 1964 MGB new and getting it appraised as a 'classic' in 1974. In both cases you're dealing with just another used car, at least as general collectability goes. The fact the Miata's been built in such huge volume mitigates its becoming a classic for quite a while. When that event does come, it'll be very early 1989 build cars and numbered limited editions such as the 1991 BRGs, 1997 STOs and 1999 10AEs which see the deprecation slow or stop well before the more prosaic models do.

If your Miata is "just the greatest little car", what's the big deal about it being worth 'only' $5500? That should only be a problem if you are intending to sell the car and if it really is "just the greatest little car", why do you want to sell it? The value of a car in dollars and cents should only be important if sale is impending, otherwise the genuine value of a car (or any other item) is the value you place upon it yourself.

bwob

The Miata has been around for over ten years now and the engineers still haven't given it any real power. Miatas can't move out of their own way, even with redline shifting. What's the deal. Higher insurance rates? More lawsuit liabilities? Don't give me the old pat answer- power to rate mumbo jumbo. By the way the car is getting fat. Oh and more power is NOT going to mess up the fun characteristics of the car. It's not going to be uncontrollable. Just a little more power, that's all. Don't get me wrong, I love my Miata. I just think it should have a stronger engine, from the factory not aftermarket.

Jack, Miami/fl/Great USA

Jack, Mazda has to balance what enthusiasts want with what the entry-level sportscar market will accept and pay for. The guys in Hiroshima are not stupid, for if they were I suspect there would have been no NB series Miata. Not to mention no NA series Miata in the first place.

As an aside, the fact the Miata's become the best selling open sportscar of all time implies - to me, at any rate - that not everyone agrees with your assessment that "Miatas can't move out of their own way". You're indeed entitled to your opinion, so it's not a case for me to inform you that you're right or wrong.

In any event, I am pleased that you love your Miata, even without any real power.

bwob

Help! window switch burned out mazda wants $90 for the set to much please help.

Phil, Miami/Florida/U.S.A

Really? I charge $225 for them. No wonder I haven't sold any lately.

bwob

My airbag light keeps flashing. This is a 1994 Miata. It flashes three times. Is there a way I can check this out without risk of inflation?

Tim Carnahan, USA

There may be a list of codes posted or otherwise available somewhere, but inasmuch as I am not trained or adept in bomb disposal I leave such tasks to trained specialists. Like the blokes who've been through an airbag service course. Yes, it costs money, but the amount is far less than if the bag goes off when it's not needed or doesn't deploy when required.

bwob

Can you tell me where I could get a radiator for a 1991 miata?

Jake, Newton,Al,US

As strange as this sounds, at a Mazda dealer. Though it's unlikely to be an in-stock item, any authorized dealer can order one through the cleverly-named parts department. Those guys can get all sorts of cool stuff.

bwob

Right now I am looking at a Toyota Celica or Miata.....
my guess is you would prefer a Miata over a Celica...
can you tell me why and the differences...?

mike, austin ,texas

Well, I don't care for roofs and am no fan of front-drive. As a result having a roof and being front-wheel-drive puts the Celica in an untenable position.

The Celica is a sporty car, the Miata a sports car. A sporty car is compromised in ways which perhaps make it a better sedan than a sports car and allow it to be produced at lower cost than a purpose-built sportscar, while a sports car makes compromises in the area of accommodation and utility.

bwob

Will Miata have a new v6 engine soon?

mike, oceanside ca san diego

No.

bwob