[rice_classic]

Now I'm obsessing.



The Miata is a good car. But is love more than just ticking all the right boxes?

First of all I know I'm not alone, dozens of others in my circle of enthusiasts that have never wanted a Miata, have always wanted what the Miata is. But ask anyone of them (including myself) why they don't or never have owned a Miata the answer is; Well, "because it's a Miata". But what does that mean?

It checks all the boxes: Double arms front/rear, sporty high revver 4 banger, light, nimble, rwd, 4 wheel discs, 2 seat drop top which is both affordable and reliable. Frankly, If I had to guess, I'm looking at a recipe for the ideal sports car right there. However, it's still missing that certain 'je ne sai quoi'. Here we have a car that stands alone, unparalleled, through much of its life yet appears to be as unique as it is uniquely unremarkable. It's almost as if the designers came from a culture where it's considered sinful to create something that is exciting to look at, even when creating something that is exciting! I would imagine these same people would design the worlds fastest roller-coaster but somehow make it look like 1980's mono-rail with cars shaped like 1990's Camrys...and paint it beige.

So many, many people looked past this and frankly they would be right to because there was nothing else like it from anyone and once behind the wheel the car delivers on the 'joie de vivre'. But it never occurred to my desires that a Miata was for me. I don't know if it was a case of me being a teenager in the 1990's and not pursuing a career as a beautician but affordable fun in the mid-90's looked like MR2s, CRXs or even my dad's old Alfa Spyder. What's funny is that in 1995 I begged my dad not to sell his old Alfa Spyder because I was turning 16 soon and I wanted that little red convertible so goddamn bad, but he did and it took me years to forgive him. It never registered on my radar that the Miata was a modern equivalent because the Miata never registered with me aesthetically. Perhaps I'm not the best critic of beauty because 1995 the wallpaper on my computer monitor was a CRX si, I just thought that car was the bees-knees. I'd like to think that was youth based ignorance but it's 2014 and I'm my 3rd CRX.

For the record, the Alfa was crap compared to the Miata. However, I wanted the Alfa. It's very difficult to quantify in terms of emotional connectivity and not make comparisons to women but in sports car terms, the Miata is the sports car you should probably settle down with for a long term motoring relationship, introduce it mom, have a few sports car babies, because it's not gonna do you wrong, look at other straight men, get into trouble or break down. It's loyal. It's reliable. It's a goddamn Miata. So then maybe the problem is the Miata doesn't appeal to people with varying degrees of masochism or folks who need an external source to feed an emotional void. Paging Dr. Freud!

The prevalence in racing also further stirs the pot but is making the case for the Miata or Mazda? Mazda has factory programs and support for Spec Pinata, more so then any other manufacturer and getting into Spec Miata is cheap and easy and the racing is very competitive. Mazda isn't in F1 or Indy or NASCAR.. Mazda is in grassroots racing with what arguably the greatest grassroots racecar. Mazda is the RBR/Vettel of the grassroots motorsports world. But maybe that's it, maybe at some point we're all kind of hoping something else will win for a change, something that gets us excited, something... remarkable. But alas, we only get flashes in the pan, short bursts of brilliance but all with a one or more boxes resoundingly "un-ticked". We got the W20 MR2 NA and Turbo, the S2000, 300zx, RX7, Civic/CRX si, Integra GSR/Type R, 350z, Z3 and so on. But not a single one of them check all the boxes like the Miata did and still does. Too heavy or too expensive or unreliable or inefficient or fwd or short production run. None of these are like a Miata.

For 24 years, 24 YEARS (89-2013), nobody has had an answer to the Miata. Nobody. This correlation doesn't mean the Miata is great, oh no, this correlation means that Mazda is great. Mazda, the only company that felt the world needed a car like the Miata, a car nobody else was willing to produce and they continued to produce it during the good times and the bad times (like the last 6 years!). It is because of this that the answer to most sport-car questions is: Miata. Perhaps some of us are hoping for a different answer.


Are you ready for the twist?






And that's why the Twins matter. That's why the Twins receive resounding accolades. That's why the Twins are greater, much greater than the sum of their parts. They. Are. Not. A. Miata. Only time will tell if Toyota will show the Twins the same love Mazda shows their Miata.

The FRS is the Miata I always wanted.