Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Congrats on 10K posts Paul and here's to many more!
Nice to see other Miata enthusiasts out there. My father is a Mazda dealer so I've quite a bit of experience with the line. A couple of years ago he found me a 91 Miata, but she's up to 230,000 kms (of which I've only put about 5K), so I might look into something a bit more recent. My sister has one in Merlot (aha it is a chick car! ), and it is a terrific looking finish! I can definitely see the DCM comparison.

Congrats on 10K and thanks for all of your informative, interesting, well-thought, well-written posts.

I've learned a lot here and you have a lot to do with that.

My life is better since meeting you Paul, so I am way thankful you are here!

Whenever I pick up my 12 string I smile!

Now to get the 330 into you!

Paul, small world. Amazing you work with Mr. Matano. I think the Miata's design was brilliant.

What do you both think of the "new" miata?

Looks cool, but I fear it's morphing into a regular car in size and feel.

Now that we're a little off topic, I got to drive a friend's Honda S2000 recently and that was a very fine "miata-like" sports car, although they're a little pricey when brand new.

My "sports car" for the last five years has been my Honda VTX 1800cc motorcycle, sort of a Harley type bike with a big block v-twin motor. It's got the same size piston's as an old Mopar 440, in fact they are the biggest pistons that Honda has ever made for anything. To get the same performance out of a 3500lb car you would have to have about 500hp.

Gary, I'm afraid I've not driven it yet!

The senior designer on the project, TJ Nakamuda (another friend from my old Mazda days in the mid-'90s) and Mr. Matano both turned up for my last birthday get-together. TJ was visiting from Japan (Mazda is in Hiroshima).

TJ's responsible for the Miata hardtop-convertible, one of the most elegant packaging solutions I've ever seen in an automobile.

The Gen3 Miata is a bit larger. I find the styling to be a bit too plain for my taste, but these things can grow on me after awhile.

The Gen3 has an integral roll bar that is much like the style bar I designed and sold back in '99, in concept.

Nothing wrong with 500 hp (or more)!
Also, not that hard to coax out of a 440.

Mmmm...Charger....

Not mine, BTW.

That Charger model year was the beginning of the worst cars that Chrysler ever built, which eventually led to the government bailout and the ascent of Iacocca the Phoenix, whose tears healed the great automaker (little Harry Potter reference there...).

I had a friend with one back in Chicago in '72. He ended up driving it through the dealer's window one night, and nearly going to jail for his anger. In the three months he owned it and made payments, it had spend nine weeks in the shop.

'68 Charger. Now THAT was a beast. And I think that the '66 was one of the prettiest large fastbacks ever designed.

Great car the '68 Charger, but I was very partial to my '66 Chevy Malibu SS 396.

Let me guess, Stan...Marina Blue?

Was there any other color then? Ah yes, the metallic Marina Blue, and mine was a con-vurtible.

My '66 Chevy replaced a real fine Chevy I owned before it. The road safe, consumer safe, heating system off the manifold, '65 Corvair. With the automatic shift on the console. What a car!

It unfortunately had a rather untimely demise. The engine and a good part of the rear weren't in working condition after it became partially submerged in a neighbors swimming pool.

My '66 Chevy replaced a real fine Chevy I owned before it. The road safe, consumer safe, heating system off the manifold, '65 Corvair. With the automatic shift on the console. What a car!

It unfortunately had a rather untimely demise. The engine and a good part of the rear weren't in working condition after it became partially submerged in a neighbors swimming pool.

They call that "water lock". LOL

My best friend's brother owned an identical SS to yours. He wrapped it around a pole on Chicago's Lake Shore Drive in the rain. He survived somehow, though.

My auto history...best car I ever had was a 1964 Chevy Impala....had an IROC kinda a pos but fun...a 1957 Chevy 150 wagon (a lot like a Nomad) with a 327 Vette motor..kept me broke..but also fun..wife had a 1965 Mustang.. my folks had a 1964 Pontiac Grand Prix that I really liked..never see any of those or the Bonnivilles from that era around..must be all dead and buried...now it's Volvo land!