mikeb

not too bad

rotarygod

As far as the Miata looking like a girls car, it is one and always has been. Nothing new with this one.

murix

Seeing as the Miata has made a record for highest selling sports car, I think Mazda has done all right by going back to the first gen. I like it. The only real question left is what does it weigh. It has to be light. The 17" wheels are already cause for concern. The MSM was just below 2500lbs which is bad. If the new one starts there and goes up it will lose a lot of what made it fun.

The Sky and Solstice weigh around 2850lbs. Too heavy and not enough power. That is more of what I would call a hair dressers car until they supercharge it. I throw the Audi TT roadster in there as well up until they put a V6 in it.

DrKillJoY

reports are saying that the new miata will weigh less than 25 kg more or about 50 lbs.

Japan8

Ditto. I'm really digging the look of the Solstice. Too bad I don't do two seaters or convertibles...

Japan8

Reactionary gives a nice artist/designer analysis, but those don't always pan out in the market. Among the enthusiasts here... it's a loser.

The interior is brilliant. I'd love to see it up close, in person. The exterior... blah. All of that about the shapes and design cues... that's nice, but it doesn't look interesting to my eye. The oval opening below the bumper is dull. the rounded hood is ok, but with that front end... it just makes it more dull. It something to break it up more. I dunno. The rear... looks like an updated current Miata. Zzz. The side profile isn't bad though... close.. nice try Mazda. My vote is for bomb... the magazines will give a writeup similar to Reactionary, but the market reception will be lukewarm.

What do the Miata guys think of this?

Rotarian_SC

I don't really like the front. It is way too bland. I don't like the back, but I like it more because I don't really think you can do much with the back unless you go Elise like. It just reminds me of one of those math diagrams of two strait lines with half a circle rounding off each end that you would have to find area and permiter of. That is not a good connotation. I would have preferred the car to look more like an Elise or an exotic design, but that is probably not what sells cars. I hope they don't put a Rotary in it. I couldn't pay much for something that looks like that but I would really want to if it had the power the Renesis does. It would be torture.

However the interior seems to look great.

CERAMICSEAL

Well I've got a 99 that's about to get a dose of renicine (Just coined it, don't steal it) and I'm salivating at the thought of owning this one; to convert of course.
I think it's better looking than the present one.

ZoomZoomH

iTrader: (1)

i'm impressed that they actually kept a good number of designs from the Ibuki concept into this car.... contrary to many of my fellow rx8'ers, overall I like it, it's a throwback to the 1st gen while looking new, a 'true' successor to the NA Miata, as someone has said already.

btw the engine of choice for this car is a 2.0/2.3L (not sure which) MZR found on the Mazda3, tuned to make about 160+ NA HP

brillo

I for one like it. its a little conservative on styling, but thats not all bad. Hell if you want more bling, you can get a body kit, god knows there is more miata aftermarket than any other car on the planet. It didn't copy our front end totally, so we still have some identity, the proportions look good, I wish I had a better head on short as well as a side view, but more importantly, I should finally be able to fit in it with the additional head room and the tilt steering wheel. The interior is suppose to be closer in size to the S2000

ZoomZoomH

iTrader: (1)

ah, found the spec here:

http://www.autobild.de/aktuell/neuhe...578ec3d45aa1c6

(it's in German, but I think we can wing out at least what the spec sheet says: )

Technischen Daten des neuen Mazda MX-5 2.0
L/B/H 3995/1720/1245 mm
Radstand 2330 mm
Spur (vorne/hinten) 1490/1495 mm
Anzahl Sitzplätze 2
Motor MZR 2.0 DOHC 16V
Leistung* 118 kW/160 PS bei 6700/min
Max. Drehmoment* 188 Nm bei 5.000/min
Bohrung x Hub 87,5 x 83,1 mm
Kraftübertragung manuelles 6-Gang-Getriebe
Lenkung Zahnstange
Aufhängungen v/h Doppelquerlenker/Multi-Link
Bremsen v/h innenbelüftete Scheiben/Scheiben
Reifen vorne/hinten 205/45 R 17
Felgen vorne/hinten 7J x 17
* Daten können sich mit Erteilung der EG-Typgenehmigung ändern

Lock & Load

Were is Hans or Fritz when you need them

cheers
michael

Reactionary

You're almost right, except for the bomb part. This miata, if it looks like the pics, will be an overwhelming success with consideration for what's going to be a more glutted market. I am pretty sure the situation will be like that for the Scion tc. Remember, the tc concept was unanimously harshly criticized by all the major American car mags as well as just about every tuner mag. I don't think many of you remember this. Look at the tc now. It's a success, even though its demographic is pretty limited. So the response will partly be like that for the Scion tc, except the new Miata will receive accolades for its exterior design as well as exceed sales expectations.

The new Miata's demographic will be far wider than that for the Scion tc. It will get teens, college students, 30-somethings, and middle age people. It will get the high school and college girls and, like the new SLk, younger professional women. But it will also get younger and older males, and it will do so based on the broadly appealing physicality of the design and not on significantly increased HP (on which the new SLK greatly depends). And there is no doubt it will get the enthusiasts and, like no other Mazda, the tuners. Simply put, its appeal will be broader than any other convertible out there.

Damn it, I was planning to buy a Honda CRV in 2 years. Now I'm actually thinking about this Miata, which would be crazy for me to even consider. I have never seriously considered a Miata before. This one is going to be a keeper. It will be mentioned decades later for its design, just like the 3rd generation RX7.

Lock & Load

I wonder if down the road Mazda will put the Mazda 6 MPS turbo 4 CYLINDER ENGINE into the Miata ,now that would be interesting

cheers
michael

New Yorker

I'm on my third Miata, and I just have to say… wow!

socalightning

Darn!! ...I wish I would have jumped into this thread sooner. I think it's a WINNER! I wanted to say that before "reactionary". :D Hope Mazda delivers on the handling and performance too.

ZoomZoomH

iTrader: (1)

the car borrows suspension designs from the 8.... so it's gotta be amazing :D

Japan8

I dunno. You aren't taking the the Sky and Solstice into account much here. Seeing how well the new Vette came out and the serious effort they are putting into this car... it just might be a winner. As much as I have loved Mazda for a long time, the Miata has never been my taste in cars. As much as I don't like convertibles and 2 seaters, the Solstice gets my attention. From the pics, this Miata doesn't... just like its predecessors. Maybe it'll be different in person, but I doubt it.

chinx

i LOVE it!

as for the sky and solstice...i liked the solstice a lot when i first saw it as a concept, mainly the coupe. but as time went on i lost interest in it. i admit it looks good, but i don't love it. the sky looks like that opel mid-engined car lotus built

c2k4-8

I think it's the best looking Miata ever. And I'm gonna be jealous of the interior.

ZoomZoomH

iTrader: (1)

feast upon these **official** photos of the NC Miata, to be introduced at the Geneva Auto Show in March!

http://www.autoweek.com/files/specia...x5/pages/1.htm

BlueEyes

The plastic in the interior looks kinda cheap to me.

mitchfried

No DIN opening for the radio. Another OEM conspiracy.

Reactionary

Yeah, the plastic that runs the length of the horizontal tunnel all the way to the base of the center console looks little cheap, but most carmakers are cutting costs that way these days. Couldn't be much crappier than the Mustang interior. The details in the interior are so cool that I can accept the cheap plastic.

Zoom Zoom, thanks for the awesome website with all the pics. Now, do I get the tan interior or the black interior? Hmm.