Sports car?

Although several years after retirement, I bought this last December.
 

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We just bought a Mazda Miata 2016 Club Edition. We have been driving Miatas for 20 years, so nothing new for us, but this one feels a lot sportier. This is our one and only car.
 
FIREd said:
We just bought a Mazda Miata 2016 Club Edition. We have been driving Miatas for 20 years, so nothing new for us, but this one feels a lot sportier. This is our one and only car.
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I test drove a Miata when I was shopping and bought my Audi TT. I'm not sure if it was the salesman/dealer or the car, but I was not impressed. It didn't help that the car had a dead battery or that it was out of gas or that that the car did not feel very responsive. I had expected to buy the Miata because I had always liked the looks of the cars.

The funny part is that I had a Datsun 1600 years before an loved it. That car didn't have much power but was a lot of fun to drive.
 
Hermit said:
I test drove a Miata when I was shopping and bought my Audi TT. I'm not sure if it was the salesman/dealer or the car, but I was not impressed. It didn't help that the car had a dead battery or that it was out of gas or that that the car did not feel very responsive. I had expected to buy the Miata because I had always liked the looks of the cars.

The funny part is that I had a Datsun 1600 years before an loved it. That car didn't have much power but was a lot of fun to drive.
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I found the new Miata plenty responsive (especially compared to the previous models that we have owned in the past). We had so much fun during the test drive that we bought the car on the spot. But I have no idea how it compares to other sports cars like the TT. There are plenty of cars with more power out there.
 
JoeWras said:
I see a couple of you are familiar with the BMW Z series. As mentioned above, I help out a friend by "exercising" their 2006 Z4.

To me, the steering feels "notchy," and I'm wondering if this is normal. I.E., it feels like it wants to stay centered until I give it a bit of a tug.

Now when I take a turn it is a joy, but I'm not at all familiar with the BMW feel. Additionally, my last experience with a rear wheel drive car was with 70's era American barges (Caprice, Catalina, etc.)

I'm wondering if something isn't sticky in the geometry, or if it is just my unfamiliarity with the car and brand.
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Joe, It's not normal. It's defective. Sounds like the common problem with BMW electric steering. See the attached link where owners have experienced and are trying to solve the exact same issue. Be glad you get to drive it but don't own it.

https://www.bmwcca.org/forum/index.php?threads/sticking-steering-unsolved-mystery.5921/
 
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freedomatlast said:
Joe, It's not normal. It's defective. Sounds like the common problem with BMW electric steering. See the attached link where owners have experienced and are trying to solve the exact same issue. Be glad you get to drive it but don't own it.

https://www.bmwcca.org/forum/index.php?threads/sticking-steering-unsolved-mystery.5921/
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freedomatlast: BINGO!

This is what I love about this ER forum. Great, kind people with information for just about everything.

This is EXACTLY the issue. I think the problem right now is pretty subtle. I have my eye opened for everything with this car, and I'm a wanna-be car guy in a distant past who got distracted by other things in the meantime. This little thing just didn't seem right, and my instincts were correct. Everything else on the car is sweet.

I'll let the owners know in due time about this. They have some health issues and don't need another thing to worry about at this point. I suspect it will ultimately just be the new owner's problem because I don't see them being able to drive anymore. They'll need to know that when they sell, someone will ding them for this and to not be surprised. I think I'll sneak a peek at the VIN next time and check for recalls too.
 
kitesurfer2 said:
"its more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow"...says everyone with slow cars :)
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Says everyone with a high HP car. I like driving my cars at their limit rather then at my limit. (2 can play at that game :cool:)
At least we can both have fun in our own ways
 
Have been a "car guy" since about 3 years old. Always had various "toys" throughout my life. Upon retirement we decided we wanted a nice fun car for travelling. Dodge Challenger Hellcat. It's like strapping a JATO rocket to your living room sofa. So much fun.
 
kitesurfer2 said:
"its more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow"...says everyone with slow cars :)
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I have a little different view on this. For me these super high powered street cars are kind of silly. They were fun early on in my driving life, though. I started with a three-carb Austin Healey 3000 as an undergraduate and subsequently had a lot of fairly powerful street cars including a Lotus Elan SE, a Porsche 911, and a Shelby/AC (real) 289 Cobra.

After spending 15 years racing sports cars (starting with the Cobra in vintage) I realized that, other than the occasional stop-light drag race, it is pretty boring to drive a fast car on the street. It is the challenge of the competition and chasing a track record through the turns that is fun. I actually looked forward to a 160mph blast down the straight as an opportunity to relax a little.

But I have always had performance cars. Too many to remember. Several Merkur Scorpio sedans, a Jensen Interceptor, a couple of Shelby Mustangs ('66 GT350, '68 GT500KR Convert). More and more I look for convenience, like a little passenger and luggage space. Last time I was shopping I drove a Honda 2000 with its wonderful motor and considered a Miata with (like the Honda) its great handling. But for my last car I chose a Mazda RX8. Adequately fast, a little bit of passenger space, and a reasonable amount of trunk space. Recently it developed headgasketitis, though, so on Thursday of this week I took delivery of a Subaru WRX. Even more space than the RX8, lots of toys, good handling, though a bit more motor than IMO a street car needs.

My street car criterion is I want to see a 55-85mph time of around 3 seconds, which translates into roughly a 3-second passing exposure on a two lane road. That is adequate. (I used to kid my engine builder, asking him how much HP my engines showed on the dyno. His answer was always the same: "Adequate.")

I thought about the Porsches, Beemers, and Benzes but for me all of those just add "prestige" and cost without IMO adding much value. So I wrote a check for about $30K for a new 2017 WRX and so far I am a happy guy.

Re the Fiat 124. I did drive one of those a couple of weeks ago. Not really interested because it's a convert and I drive a lot on noisy urban freeways, but the saleskid was bored and convinced me to take him for a drive. Apparently it is basically a Miata with a different engine and different bodywork, but it is assembled on the Miata line in Japan. So maybe not your "Fix It Again Tony" Fiat from days of yore. It's performance is adequate, its handling is good, but like the S2000 and the Miata there is not a lot of space. From the road tests apparently the Miata can edge it out for performance, but not enough to provide a meaningful advantage on the street. So anyone looking for something a bit unusual might benefit from finding one to try.
 
After visiting the Morgan factory, I thought of getting a Morgan when we were thinking of buying a place in England. I thought that would be cool to drive out with an open top. Perfect for English country road.
 
Fedup said:
After visiting the Morgan factory, I thought of getting a Morgan when we were thinking of buying a place in England. I thought that would be cool to drive out with an open top. Perfect for English country road.
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Not the three wheeler ? :)
 
kitesurfer2 said:
"its more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow"...says everyone with slow cars :)
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RetiredAt55.5 said:
That's funny.

And also true!
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Yes. I'm not that much of a car guy (but I do get into the technical/historical aspects of it), but my brother loves to buy/sell cars. He has a Cobra replica car, and is thinking about de-tuning it. It's hard to drive on the street when you just push the pedal a little, and it's 20 over the limit. He say's it takes far too much effort to control it, it would be easier if it had 100 fewer HP (or less HP in general, but 100 is a number, so you say 'fewer'? - I'm minding my grammar here, I think - correct if I'm wrong about that after a few refills of Elijah Craig!).

-ERD50
 
OldShooter said:
I have a little different view on this. For me these super high powered street cars are kind of silly. They were fun early on in my driving life, though. I started with a three-carb Austin Healey 3000 as an undergraduate and subsequently had a lot of fairly powerful street cars including a Lotus Elan SE, a Porsche 911, and a Shelby/AC (real) 289 Cobra....
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Woah! a REAL Cobra?! As I said, I'm not really a car guy, but I can't help being impressed with that. I mentioned that my brother has a replicar Cobra, cool, but not the real thing.

Funny, one of the girls at the hair cutting shop is named "Shelby", and she has a Shelby Cobra model sitting on the shelf. I made the connection, and started up a conversation, and she can tell you ALL about Shelby Cobra's.

-ERD50
 
Car-Guy said:
With a forum name like "Breedlove", and after reading your post, it's would seem clear to me you are probably not related to Craig Breedlove. If you grew up in the 60's and loved really fast cars, you'll know who that is without looking it up.
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We visit the Museum of Science and Industry every few years, and they have Craig Breedlove's "Spirit of America" on display there. Set the world's speed record at the time:

800px-SpiritOfAmerica_CraigBreedlove.jpg

I always have to tell what I had heard - that Craig Breedlove said they had an oil line painted on the salt flats for him to follow (probably an EPA violation today), and at speed, he drifted a bit to one side. He recalled that as he corrected, there were tremendous g-forces pushing him to the side of the 'cockpit'. When they went back, the determined he had only drifted off ~10 feet!

-ERD50
 
I bought a new GMC Canyon pickup and went on a month long road trip from Texas to visit extended family in Minnesota, the Dakotas and Montana.
 
OldShooter said:
I thought about the Porsches, Beemers, and Benzes but for me all of those just add "prestige" and cost without IMO adding much value.
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I don't think you can lump the Porsche's in with the Beemers and Benzes. The Porsche's are generally acknowledged as being some of the best handling cars out there.

Whether they represent value for money is entirely another question and I would agree with you that there is some great engineering that goes into a lot of the Japanese cars.

Personally a bit of prestige is also important for me (and more for the wife!)...I suspect that makes me a bit shallow but hey-ho. Anyway I will let you know after a couple of months with the new beast.
 
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