It sure doesn't stand for 'Melvin'

What does the "M" stand for in the famous "M" edition Miata's.

Tony Yarborough, Lancaster, SC

Maybe Miata, maybe Mazda. It was a letter selected as a place holder when the marketing people came up with the package. In that context, maybe it stands for Marketing.

bwob

The Tyranny of Distance

How much would a pretty new Miata fully loaded with low kilometers cost in Canadian money.

J, Sturgeon Falls, ON, Canada

Here in Australia one would cost somewhere between $30,000 and $43,000, depending upon how pretty new it is and how low the kilometres are on the clock. A currency conversion website such as http://www.oanda.com could convert that amount from Australian dollars into Canadian funds. Since we can't license left-hand-drive cars here - and you people slavishly copy the US by continuing to drive on the wrong side of the road - I don't do much used car shopping in Canada or the United States. Like about none.

Inasmuch I cannot imagine that Canada is much less advanced than Australia as regards the ins and outs of e-commerce and Internet sites relating to used car values, I'd imagine that there's a website or two like our theredbook.com.au. carsales.com.au or carpoint.com.au dedicated to used car sales and valuations of same applicable for Canadian residents. If not, you could always take another step towards making Canada the 51st American state and use the carsales.com or carpoint.com sites in the US.

bwob

Like there's any doubt

What is the year of your Miata? What is the best thing/accessory you put in to your roadster?

Jan Michael Pilario, Nevada

I'm between Miatas at this point in time. The last one I had was a 1994.

The best thing I've ever put in my Miata is my wife. Without question.

bwob

Opposites Attract (God, I hope not)

this is question is not really for Bob. i just think why should Bob get the cridit for birth of Miata? does he think he's a god or something? knows everything about Miata? i been master tech for 5 years now working for Mazda. i have not see a single person know everything about Miata or any car. so i think Bob is a fake and this page should be close down.

Mark Smith, Newark NJ

Could be. I have it on good authority that he doesn't think he's a god. He does, however, make an effort to use proper grammar and diction. Capitalization, too.

I've heard he thinks you're a fake as well, so you two might have something in common. Use of English notwithstanding.

bwob

Time to re-tire?

If there were any type of wheel and tire combination you could put on an M1 Miata what would it be? I was thinking maybe the 16" that comes on the 2001.

Nate, State College, PA

Me? If it were an NA or 1999-2000 NB, I'd opt for a set of 15 x 7.5 RS Watanabe magnesium alloys shod with 195/50 15 Advan Neovas. On a 2001 or later NB, I'd have Formula One CF8-E wheels in 16 x 7.5 with 205/45 16 Neovas. That'd do me.

bwob

If You Build it, They May Come, But Will They Pay?

Horsepower? Mazda defends its 142hp as a good balance between fun and $$, but why did Mazda "toot" it's own horn about the 155hp 2001. I agree that most people don't need 200hp, but a 155hp promise would be nice if it happened w/o much of a $ bump. A 200hp TURBO OPTION pkg would satisfy the power hungry.

C. Roberts, Toronto Canada

I suppose you'd have to ask the North American importers as to why they decided to pin the 2001's success on the power increase which wasn't there.

While a 200hp turbo option might satisfy the power hungry, the price Mazda would be likely to sell it for wouldn't. Given the fact a Protege isn't $6000 less than a Corolla, Sentra or Civic, you don't have to be exceptionally gifted to realize that Mazda would price any 200hp Miata within a few hundred bucks of whatever similar two-seaters offering the same output or performance go for. One of the benefits which comes as part of living in a capitalist society (not that I see better alternatives to it in the offing) is that things cost pretty much what people will pay for them.

If the power hungry will guarantee that they will satisfy the profit hungry, maybe a deal can be made. If not, well, the aftermarket awaits.

bwob

The US Educational System DOES Work and Here's Proof!

Bravo! Your editorial on the NC is a breath of fresh air in a world of testosterone based horsepower.

I say leave the car alone. It is a perfectly balanced machine. It is also pliable enough that, as we all know, it can be made into a number of iterations. In my experience as a Miata owner, the more power you pump in, the less miles you drive. For example, when I lived in the Seattle area, I new a chap with a 90 base Miata. Base in name only. It was turboed, lowered, god knows what else, and at the age of 9 it had a grand total of 30,000 miles. I asked him why so few miles and he told me it gets too expensive to run.

I've got a 92 with 136k on it. As I told you once before, at 120k, my son and I drove it back to New York. Save for the K&N filter it is bone stock. It is a 4 season car and a daily driver. And most of all, it is still a blast to drive.

Now, I ask you, do you know of any S2000's, Z3's, MR2's, Audi TT's, or Boxters with 100k miles? In my provincial little world I know of none.

Mazda got it spot on right. Build it simple and it will last a long,long, time. Let's hope they stand by that philosophy for NC.
Yours truly,

Joe Thaler, West Sayville, NY

Thanks for the support Joe, but I don't think the car should be left alone, nor do I think the NA styling should be dusted off and revised for the NC. But as you indicated, it's critical that the car maintain the philosophy and concept of the original. The execution can - in fact should - be new, but there's no reason to blindly go following Honda or BMW because some crybaby cheapskates who've become more affluent and desire a more expensive car want other owners to subsidize their Miata purchases.

My holding the sentry position at the entry level, Mazda controls the segment. With another two-seater positioned above the Miata (to take on things like the S2000 and Z4) Mazda would have a strategic advantage which all the VTEC heads on earth couldn't assail.

Mazda's not a charity organization and people shouldn't expect them to be. they have to make a profit to remain in business. I don't know if it's a lack of understanding of Capitalism or selfishness, but for whatever reason it appears some people don't seem to follow that basic precept of the society most Miata, MX-5 and Mazda Roadster owners live in.

Glad to see you managed to get an education Joe.

bwob

So That's Why it Looks Like That!

Hey Bwob! While I have grown to love my 94'M's styling, my first impression of the early Miatas was disappointment that the fenders weren't humped up more like a vintage sports car, or certain Ferrari's even. Could comment on some of the styling decisions that were made along the path of inception for this car?

Gene (AKA Gene-M), Oneonta, NY USA

Despite what some people think, nobody working on the car was intending it to look like something else. Though there's a faction which remains convinced that we were aping the Elan, the similarities are probably due more to the fact we were working to a similar brief as the Elan and many other small sports cars.

Another factor was that while the initial view from top management allowed for a plan to facelift - heavily - the NA after a couple of years and replace it with an all-new car five or six years after launch, we suspected it'd probably be around seven to eight years, perhaps more. There was even a two page appendix to the concept document titled "Why Not a 10 Year Car?", since we thought the car's position would allow it to hang along longer than most Japanese cars.

In this context, we didn't want to do a car which would age too quickly. This made it, perhaps, seem a bit less sexy than it might have been, especially as we were trying to avoid making the car derivative of others. If you want to start getting extreme you can make something quite striking, though it may start to get malodorous sooner than you'd like. Sort of like the difference between some of that striking Italian furniture which ages so quickly you can look at a sofa and say "ah, August, 1993, right"? while there's attractive, fresh-looking Scandinavian stuff you'd never believe was designed in 1948. The former is much easier to do successfully than the latter, but I believe that theme was a much more appropriate direction for the NA. Especially in the context of a car which had no real competition. With the NC that direction might not work as well, or to do it properly could be exceedingly difficult in the company of a number of possible rivals.

Some of the earliest proposals looked rather more like a Ferrari (think 275 NART Spider) than anything else, but as feasibility issues were addressed - bumper striker bar position, for instance - things changed. The air intake moved down below the bumper striker, flattening the upper edge of the air intake and creating a stronger Elan-like image than might have been ideal. Pop-up headlamps and a wish to keep the hood and fender lines as low as possible took some of the peakiness away from the fenders and the round taillamps (something I was and still am a big fan of) went away before the sketch program was completed.

But to keep it simple, the design was, by necessity, simple. Rather like the original Lotus Elan, we had a sort of 'connect the dots' exercise where knowing when to lift the pen was much, much more important than worrying about having the design reflect the latest or most popular trends.

Does that help?

bwob

Why does it look like that?

I've read your words about various design goals and influences for the NA Miata. However, I've not seen anything about the interior design.

My question: What influenced the NA Miata's interior design? Was it inspired by any existing cars at the time? Was there a certain look or feel the team were after? Did you look at any specific models for inspiration?

Rob Ulery, Atlanta, GA USA
1991 Mariner Blue NA

The final design for the NA's instrument panel was distantly inspired by the 'T' configuration instrument panel of the SA Series (first generation) RX-7. Initially there were a number of interior proposals (including one from IAD, the company which built the original V701 proof-of-concept vehicle, which looked like something out of a 1950s GM Motorama show cars) ranging from wild to mild. Mazda's HQ focused on IP design themes which had been used in previous sporting Mazdas (notably that of the Cosmo Sports/110S and the Familia Rotary Coupe/R100), though they didn't work quite right with the simple exterior design.

In the end, something which would age well was selected since (despite the initial plan to facelift - heavily - the NA after a couple of years and replace it with an all-new car five or six years after launch), most of the people doing it knew it'd probably be around seven to eight years, perhaps more. Since it's tricky getting money for tidying up if a car's product cycle is stretched - which usually means that money in general is tight - there was a strong move to keep the interior simple and straightforward so the design would last longer.

bwob

You Can Do Anything With Enough Money

I own a 1990 Miata. I wish to make two modifications to my car but I am not even sure if it is possible. Firstly I wanted to put in a 1.8L engine to increase the power a little as well as a six speed transmission (O la la). What year(s) engines and transmissions are compatible with my 1990? Secondly I want to find a way to install a passenger airbag as I am concerned for my passengers in such a small car. Is this even possible? Sorry to bother you on your trip I just ran into a engine for sale and wanted to try and get it before someone else snags it. Thanks for your time!

Tyler Haas, Norman/OK/USA

The 1.8 litre BP can be fitted to any 1.6 litre NA Series Miata. The six-speed will bolt up to any BP as well. The only negatives are the fact the six-speed uses a different speedometer drive than the five-speed did, and so requires some lateral thinking to get it to work with the speedometer used in the NA. The driveshaft must be changed and the final drive ratio used with 1990s is not an ideal match for the six-speed's internal ratios. Using the Torsen differential from a later car would help, though this would require changing the rear half-shafts as well.

Fitting a passenger airbag is possible (anything's possible if you're sufficiently skilled in the areas of engineering and fabrication or your pockets are deep enough) though it would require replacing the entire instrument panel assembly. Unless you are willing to do a crawl through junkyards for parts, I hope you've got a big budget for the bits needed. And perhaps twice that amount - if not more - for the actual labor. With all that said and done, I have a feeling it would be cheaper to buy a used 1994 if airbag protection is that important to you.

bwob