What's a good track car?
Cheap fun weekend car?
Best car to haul my hairdresser supplies?
No matter the question.
MIATA
IS
ALWAYS
THE
ANSWER
How did it get here?
And what makes it so great?
You're about to find out dude.
This is everything you need to know to get Up to Speed on the Mazda Miata.
- In 1962, Americans watched Sean Connery cruise
through the countryside in a Sunbeam Alpine 2,
a car so tiny he couldn't drive it with
both elbows inside the vehicle.
It sparked a love affair with an idea:
a fun to drive, low to the ground machine
that was both free and exhilarating.
Yes, America loves her muscle and pony cars,
but the market opened up for the elegance,
simplicity, and allure of the seductive British roadster.
One problem, most of these cars f(bleep)ing sucked.
Great Britain used up all their good metal fighting Nazis.
- Say auf wiedersehen to your Nazi boss.
- Add to that the fact that they had crazy wiring issues
since they were put together in some Shropshire barn
by a bunch of dudes who looked like me.
In 1976, Bob Hall, a Motor Trend contributor who
specialized in Japanese cars,
met with the R&D department at Mazda.
Department heads Kenichi Yamamoto and Ikigai,
asked him what he would like to see
Mazda make in the future.
He immediately started waxing nostalgic about
the death of the great British roadster.
Head of Mazda at the time, Kouhei Matsuda, scoffed
at the idea: a Japanese company building a British roadster?
- Inconceivable!
- In 1991, Hall found himself in charge of product
planning for Mazda USA, and Yamamoto was
in a position to approve new projects.
They discussed the crazy light-weight roadster idea
once more, and this time, with a handshake,
Bob Hall began the work of developing a Mazda roadster.
But who could Hall go to to create a British inspired
roadster for American and Japanese drivers?
He'd need to find a designer.
Then he needed to find someone with
American automotive pedigree?
Or, he could find them all in Mark Jordan.
Basically, the Michael Jordan of car stuff at the time.
In 1981, Jordan, a family legacy at General Motors,
was in charge of the most successful
arm of GM in Europe, Opel.
And the idea of resurrecting the roadster
was all the convincing he needed.
The two helmed the initial stages of concept and design,
pushing for a light-weight sports concept,
and in less than a year,
Mazda approved the Offline 55 Project.
Offline 55 wasn't a code name for the car,
instead it was a new system of development where Mazda
would pit their North American design team
against their team in Tokyo.
Just like my dad pitted me and my siblings
against each other for his affection.
It was an effort to change the way that
Mazda brought new concepts to the streets,
and hopefully expand their clout in international markets.
Hall brought on Tom...
Tony Montana as chief designer
for Mazda North American operations.
The two men put together plans for a small sports car,
heavily influenced by the Lotus Elan and
available in both a soft and a hard top.
They called it the Duo 101.
Get it: duo, both, both kinds of tops!
In 1984 they took all the drawings of their car and
headed to Tokyo to be judged.
The Tokyo team brought in two plans:
a front engine, front wheel drive car, (pbbt)
and a mid engine, rear wheel drive layout.
Yamamoto was impressed by both teams and
wanted to take the competition one step further.
Cooletay, a fight to the death!
Just kidding, he just had both teams make clay models,
and the American team won.
There was one theme that would guide Mazda through the MX5's
development and future redesigns: Jinbai Attai.
- Jinbai Attai.
- Rider and horse, one body.
- It originated from the Japanese martial art
of horse-mounted archery and
helped Mazda realign how the world saw cars.
Jinbai attai dictated that the car be as small and
compact as possible, as comfortable as possible,
and keep the front engine, rear-wheel drive layout
for the perfect, 50-50 weight distribution.
Under these tenents, the Mazda MX5 was
unveiled at the 1989 Chicago Auto Show.
As reviews came rolling in,
interest mounted almost exponentially.
Dealers found themselves with multi page waiting lists
of hair dressers saying "Finally, a car made for us!"
Mazda Miata, the Diet Coke of cars.
Sure, it's mostly for girls.
But some cool dudes like em too
- The Mazda MX5, now known in the States simply as Miata,
was also very affordably priced.
The minimally equipped base model was
available at under $14,000.
And really, who needs AC if the top's down all the time?
A radio?
F(bleep) it, I got an engine, the sound of the wind,
and the birds celebrating my arrival.
That's all the symphony you'll ever need, Dad!
Another thrill of the Miata?
Ease of maintenance.
A home mechanic could do most of the maintenance themselves.
It was so easy that modification began to proliferate.
Now anybody could enjoy the thrill of a traditional,
comfortable, responsive roadster.
And those who did, instantly fell in love.
- Love 'em, and love 'em, and don't care who knows it!
- Mazda loved their Miata as well.
A new performance division began in November 1991
in Tokyo under the name M2 Incorporated.
Also known as Mazda 2.
M2 created niche autos derived from Mazda's volume products.
Sort of like AMG or M Division for BMW.
They made three kick ass version of the MX5
that were only available in Japan,
so (bleep) the rest of the world.
One thing the M2 release did do was establish that
the Miata was a bad ass race car.
After 10 years of accolades for the first gen Miata,
the NA, the redesigned MX5 was previewed at the
Tokyo Motor Show in October of 1997.
The second gen Miata featured a more powerful engine and
borrowed styling from the FDRX7.
The most distinguishing difference were the head lamps.
The first gen bad ass pop ups no longer passed
pedestrian safety tests and were replaced with fixed ones.
(bleep)ing pedestrians!
Further, the new design was more aerodynamic
and significantly reduced drag.
And it got VVTI: variable valve timing.
It's like Vtech.
By the year 2000, enough Miata lovers were taking
their cars to the track that NASA, the race guys,
not the space guys, set a special class for the Miata.
And Spec Miata was born.
People love racing these cars! (lauging)
And remember the M2 Division from before?
Well, they're called Mazdaspeed now.
And in 2004, they rolled out another performance Miata:
the turbo-charged Mazdaspeed MX5.
It made 178 horsepower and had a front mounted inner cooler.
And guess what?
If you couldn't get one from the dealer,
you could build your own.
Mazda continued making a bunch of Miatas, but whereas
the first two generations of the MX5 set a bar for the
resurrected car class, by the mid-2000,
they were competing with other companies.
Jaguar had been making the XKR since '96.
Toyota turned out the MR2 Spyder, with a y, in '99.
(bleep) in 2004, we saw the release of the Audi TT roadster,
the BMW Z4, the Porsche Boxster S, and the Nissan 350Z.
And nobody was talking about the MX5.
Various iterations and face lifts graced the
third generation Miata between 2005 and 2014.
But Mazda seemed cursed by its own success.
People knew it was a great roadster,
but that meant they could never be surprised.
Mazda had to reinvent the car that
they used to reinvent the roadster.
The fourth generation MX5 debuted in 2016.
It's four inches shorter and 220 pounds
lighter than its predecessor.
That's like having me not in the car with you anymore.
The car was launched with both a six speed manual
and a six speed automatic.
It had 150 horse power and has returned to
its road-hugging reputation as
the most exhilarating little monster on the road.
And look at it!
You got an aggressive little cute monster.
With the little squinty eyes.
- Woof!
Additionally, a partnership with Fiat Chrysler meant that,
in 2016 the MX5 had not only re-redefined the roadster,
but it also gets credit for
reinvigorating the entire Fiat brand.
It's fun, it's cheap, it's reliable.
You can't go to a track without seeing a Miata.
And you can't see a Miata driver
without an ear to ear smile on their face.
I mean, unless they like got a divorce,
or their dog died or something.
That's everything you need to know to get up
to speed on the Mazda Miata.
Tell us how we're doing.
Tell us what cars you would like to get up to speed on.
Do pop up headlights really endanger pedestrians that much?
Don't forget to subscribe and share.
What is the biggest thing that you
have ever fit inside of a Miata?
Do you think I would look like Donkey Kong
in Mario Kart if I drove a Miata?