New Miata

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Man. What a good-looking car. Saw one on the freeway a few days ago as I approached from about a quarter-mile back and thought at first it was a Porsche. Then as I got closer I thought it was a new BMW. Had to get pretty close to finally see that it was a Mazda.

Mazda's such an innovative company. Coming up with a lot of new engine tech as well. Can't wait to see how the new gasoline compression ignition engine does.

On a related note, I pass a Dodge dealership (Bob Frensley) on one of my running routes. They have one of the new Alfa convertibles that looks like an older Miata close sitting out front. What strikes me about the Alfa is that the styling seems extremely dated compared with that new Miata. 28 grand sticker price and it's also only a 1.4L engine. Granted, it's turbo, but I'm sure it's not that powerful. And being Italian, I'd never expect Japanese-like reliability, either.

Anyway, just my musings this morning.
 
My Fiat engines in the 70's and Yugo in the 80s were stone reliable. Run 'em like a weed whackers and they kept on buzzing.

Today? All a matter of luck. Too many critical components in a car now, even for 6 sigma.

The current Lil fiat 500 is a clown car wished they sold a box on box "golf/Rabbit" type model here.

I think a turbo is out of place in the Fiat 124 / miata clone. Will say its a looker though.

The sports car ABSOLUTE bargain is the 370Z sport, its got a REAL SLA suspension and chassis.

Aspirational approachable dream is the Alfa 4C - I read - never driven one though.

Alfa - miata? Never read about that .... The ALFA 4c has NOTHING to do with a Miata. Its a race car through and through.
alfa-romeo-4c-coupe--9.jpg
 
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I had a glance at the ‘17 MX5 RF at the Mazda dealership. A really sharp car in the Soul Red Crystal. It just so happened someone came in and bought it. It was a quick sale for them. The new owner looked about 65ish so perhaps it was his dream car.
 
Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
My Fiat engines in the 70's and Yugo in the 80s were stone reliable. Run 'em like a weed whackers and they kept on buzzing.

Today? All a matter of luck. Too many critical components in a car now, even for 6 sigma.

The current Lil fiat 500 is a clown car wished they sold a box on box "golf/Rabbit" type model here.

I think a turbo is out of place in the Fiat 124 / miata clone. Will say its a looker though.

The sports car ABSOLUTE bargain is the 370Z sport, its got a REAL SLA suspension and chassis.

Aspirational approachable dream is the Alfa 4C - I read - never driven one though.

Alfa - miata? Never read about that .... The ALFA 4c has NOTHING to do with a Miata. Its a race car through and through.
alfa-romeo-4c-coupe--9.jpg




I have a feeling (correct me if i'm wrong), as Virtus_Probi points out, that the OP may talking about the FIAT Spider and not the Alfa 4c...

 
Originally Posted By: john_pifer
On a related note, I pass a Dodge dealership (Bob Frensley) on one of my running routes. They have one of the new Alfa convertibles that looks like an older Miata close sitting out front.
Seeing as Bob Frensley is a Dodge/Fiat dealer, then what you saw was probably Fiat 124 and not Alfa.


Quote:
What strikes me about the Alfa is that the styling seems extremely dated compared with that new Miata. 28 grand sticker price and it's also only a 1.4L engine.

Alfa 4C has a 1.75L engine and does 0-60 in 4.1 sec (on paper), so it's not that slow, IMO.
smile.gif


Oh, and the sticker on 4C Spider is $66K.
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted By: john_pifer
Man. What a good-looking car. Saw one on the freeway a few days ago as I approached from about a quarter-mile back and thought at first it was a Porsche. Then as I got closer I thought it was a new BMW. Had to get pretty close to finally see that it was a Mazda.

Mazda's such an innovative company. Coming up with a lot of new engine tech as well. Can't wait to see how the new gasoline compression ignition engine does.

On a related note, I pass a Dodge dealership (Bob Frensley) on one of my running routes. They have one of the new Alfa convertibles that looks like an older Miata close sitting out front. What strikes me about the Alfa is that the styling seems extremely dated compared with that new Miata. 28 grand sticker price and it's also only a 1.4L engine. Granted, it's turbo, but I'm sure it's not that powerful. And being Italian, I'd never expect Japanese-like reliability, either.

Anyway, just my musings this morning.


lol.gif


It's a rebadged Mitata
 
Originally Posted By: Alfred_B
Originally Posted By: john_pifer
Man. What a good-looking car. Saw one on the freeway a few days ago as I approached from about a quarter-mile back and thought at first it was a Porsche. Then as I got closer I thought it was a new BMW. Had to get pretty close to finally see that it was a Mazda.

Mazda's such an innovative company. Coming up with a lot of new engine tech as well. Can't wait to see how the new gasoline compression ignition engine does.

On a related note, I pass a Dodge dealership (Bob Frensley) on one of my running routes. They have one of the new Alfa convertibles that looks like an older Miata close sitting out front. What strikes me about the Alfa is that the styling seems extremely dated compared with that new Miata. 28 grand sticker price and it's also only a 1.4L engine. Granted, it's turbo, but I'm sure it's not that powerful. And being Italian, I'd never expect Japanese-like reliability, either.

Anyway, just my musings this morning.


lol.gif


It's a rebadged Mitata

Hakuna Matata?
 
Originally Posted By: wemay

I have a feeling (correct me if i'm wrong), as Virtus_Probi points out, that the OP may talking about the FIAT Spider and not the Alfa 4c...


I was totally discombobulated here, I read Alfa and thought Fiat.
Apologies to the OPer if he meant Alfa!
 
Originally Posted By: Virtus_Probi
Originally Posted By: wemay

I have a feeling (correct me if i'm wrong), as Virtus_Probi points out, that the OP may talking about the FIAT Spider and not the Alfa 4c...


I was totally discombobulated here, I read Alfa and thought Fiat.
Apologies to the OPer if he meant Alfa!




But,,,,, it is Fiat. They own AR.
 
I drove the FIAT 124 at a local car show last year. The car was quite fun to drive, but was still very comfortable for a little two seater. The engine does sound good in the Abarth form, though has little top end. The Mazda and Fiat are both great looking cars.
 
I bought a Fiat 124 Abarth last year. Love the car. Its a mix of both Fiat/Mazda combined. Still own my first Miata that I bought in 1992.
 
+1 on the new Miata! They look sharp, priced right, and look like a hoot to drive. I saw a detailed road test on Motorweek on it. They had nothing but nice things to say about it.
 
Originally Posted By: PimTac
But,,,,, it is Fiat. They own AR.


I'm just going to stop posting in this thread, put on a dunce cap, and sit in the corner for a while.
 
My bad. The car I’m talking about is the Fiat 124 Spider...not the Alfa. As somebody else said, I need to put on a dunce cap and go sit in the corner!

Yeah, I realize it’s virtually the same car. But the new Miata looks so good...and so “forward-thinking” in its design (in a very good way), that it just dates that Fiat 124 horribly.

Some car OEMs get it wrong when they redesign a car (BMW in the “Bangle era). Mazda got it right with the new Miata, IMHO.
 
Originally Posted By: john_pifer
My bad. The car I’m talking about is the Fiat 124 Spider...not the Alfa. As somebody else said, I need to put on a dunce cap and go sit in the corner!

Yeah, I realize it’s virtually the same car. But the new Miata looks so good...and so “forward-thinking” in its design (in a very good way), that it just dates that Fiat 124 horribly.

Some car OEMs get it wrong when they redesign a car (BMW in the “Bangle era). Mazda got it right with the new Miata, IMHO.


Styling is subjective and it's supposed to be inspired by the 1970's 124 Spider. I think they did a great job and personally I think it looks a lot better than the Miata, the torque of the Fiat turbo also make the car a lot more fun. Personally, I wanted a Scat Pack Challenger or a Boxster, but I was overruled. The Fiat is still a fun car.

60001226-500-0.jpg
 
Originally Posted By: john_pifer
What strikes me about the Alfa FIAT 124 Spider is that the styling seems extremely dated compared with that new Miata.
28 grand sticker price and it's also only a 1.4L engine. Granted, it's turbo, but I'm sure it's not that powerful.


So, why don't you think that a 1.4 liter 4 cylinder engine that makes 160 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque isn't powerful?
The Miata 2.0 liter 4 cylinder engine makes 155 hp and 148 lb-ft of torque, in comparison.

114 hp/L versus 77.5 hp/L
Sounds really powerful to me.

BC.
 
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