Tag Archives: Mazda

2016 Mazda ND Miata Club Review: Joy On Four Wheels

January 13, 2016 ndubs77 3 Comments

The original Mazda Miata brought driving enjoyment to the masses. Like the great British and Italian roadsters before it, the Miata offered the full wind-in-your-hair experience, but it did so without all of the reliability problems suffered by the european cars. It was a simple, affordable, enjoyable machine. They basically materialized fun, and gave it four wheels.

Some have criticized the Miata for being soft as a sports car, though, even saying that it isn’t really a sports car at all. For the original NA Miata in stock form, I have to I agree. It’s a lot of fun, and is surely a great roadster, but a stock NA Miata lacks the handling composure that really defines a true sports car.

As the Miata has grown and evolved over the years, Mazda has worked to make it more of a sports car, while keeping it a great roadster as well. When I took the new ND Miata out for a spin, it became clear that Mazda has finally found the right balance for the total Miata experience.

In some regards Mazda has taken the Miata back to its roots. In other ways it has benefitted from many modern technological improvements. All in all, I am confident in saying that it is the best Miata they’ve ever made. Here’s why…

Continue reading 2016 Mazda ND Miata Club Review: Joy On Four Wheels →

Opinions, Uncategorized

Meet the “Fiata”, or Fiat 124 Spider as they call it

November 18, 2015 ndubs77 Leave a comment

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We’ve all know that Fiat was working on a new Spider for a while now, and that it would be based on the new ND chassis Mazda Miata. Well now it’s for real, and we’re calling it the “Fiata!”

Now, officially, the new Fiat roadster is called the Fiat 124 Spider. It is an homage to the classic Fiat 124 Spider, which was built from the mid 1960s until the mid 1980s. I’d say its styling does the old design justice…

As for the new Fiata, you can think of it as an ND Mazda Miata with a 500 Abarth engine swap done to it. Under the hood it shares the same growly 1.4L turbocharged four cylinder engine as the Abarth. It makes the same 160hp and 184 ft/lbs of torque. Not a huge horsepower leap over the figures of the Miata’s 2.0L SkyActive engine, but it will have a wider powerband thanks to all that turbo torque.

Everything else is similar, or even exactly the same as in the Miata. There are automatic and manual transmission options, as well as sporty and more luxury-focused models. The Fiat also weighs about 100 lbs more than the ND Miata, and will likely be positioned slightly up-market.

So what should we think of the Fiata?

Having just recently driven an ND Miata (review coming soon), I can attest that the platform of this car is fantastic.

I like the new 124 Spider’s styling a lot, but I was hoping for something a little more drop-dead-gorgeous. I get that they were going for the retro look, though, so maybe it’ll “pop” more for me when I see one in person.

I think the real deciding factor that will draw many to the Fiata over the Miata will be the power potential from that turbocharged Abarth engine.

Continue reading Meet the “Fiata”, or Fiat 124 Spider as they call it →

Car Shows

JDM Heaven at First Class Fitment

November 16, 2015 ndubs77 Leave a comment

There were plenty of awesome Japanese performance cars at First Class Fitment 2015, including two Nissan Skylines and a few FD Mazda RX7s, among others. It was a nice slice of JDM heaven with a little extra stance sprinkled on top.

Enjoy our highlights from the Land of the Rising Sun!

Continue reading JDM Heaven at First Class Fitment →

Car Shows

Highlights From First Class Fitment 2015: Part 1

October 21, 2015 ndubs77 1 Comment

First Class Fitment is a stance/modified car show held at the Airport in Princeton, NJ every fall. People come from all over the region, bringing nicely done rides of all sorts. The event is mostly stanced cars, as you might expect, but there are a few other gems sprinkled in for good measure.

This year was quite good. Lots of really well built cars with interesting details. That’s one thing I love about modified car shows, each car has so much personality. They’d all stand out parked on the street alone, but the ones that catch my eye at the show are always extra cool.

I took quite a lot of photos at the event, so there is much more to come. Enjoy the first gallery!

Continue reading Highlights From First Class Fitment 2015: Part 1 →

Auto Idolatry

Carlos Lago puts the new Miata against the BRZ. What will win?

August 6, 2015 Albert S. Davis Leave a comment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLtw2z_mZ6w

The BRZ and the new Miata are similar in that they are both bona-fide sports cars for less than the cost of a well-optioned Toyota Camry. They’re also both blessed with four cylinders, rear-wheel-drive, and a sporting chassis with good build quality. Carlos Lago takes both of them to the streets in this episode of Head 2 Head. Notable as well is that this was Carlos’s last film work with Motor Trend–he’s outdone himself. Then, he hands the narration off to Randy Pobst. Take 25 minutes on your lunch break, and watch this–but listen to what both have to say. I’m revealing nothing. I still want to drive both back-to-back myself, but this taught me a lot of what the ND has to offer against the BRZ.

-Albert S. Davis

SHOWCASE

You want your no-show jobs? Vito’s gotta go.–Miata at the Bing!

June 12, 2015 Albert S. Davis 1 Comment

About a month ago, I entered the Miata into a MSNE autocross event, and after just three laps, the A/C compressor gave up and wrecked havoc on the day. When it decided to self-destruct, it took out the drive belt and I lost power steering too, not to mention quite a bit of my pride. After an hour of towing the Miata off the parking lot at the Meadowlands, arguing for a while with the Hasbrouck Heights Pep Boys (who are never seeing me again. Don’t go there), and deciding that manual steering was a temporary solution, I muscled the thing back on to Route 17 in Bergen County and discovered, thanks to the tow truck driver (and my own tomfoolery) that I was rather close to a place near and dear to many an HBO-watcher’s heart. Continue reading You want your no-show jobs? Vito’s gotta go.–Miata at the Bing! →

Car Shows

Highlights From the 2015 Greenwich Concours Day 2

June 5, 2015 ndubs77 1 Comment

On Day 2 of this year’s Greenwich Concours d’Elegance we were blessed with a sudden downpour that made everyone run for cover. However, it also covered all of the immaculate cars in some beautiful water droplets, making for some wonderful photos. Rain and clouds also really make the colors “pop”, so I actually prefer it to direct sunlight for shooting cars. I’d imagine that the gentleman in the silver Porsche RSK Spyder (below) might disagree, though.

There were some truly beautiful cars displayed on Day 2, including that bright yellow/green Lamborghini Miura you see above – we saw him driving around on the streets of Greenwich before the show, and promptly lost bowel control. Thankfully we all had a change of pants in the car.

I should also point out that the green Ferrari Daytona Spider (seen below) is the only one ever made in that color, so one of the rarest examples of an already rare car. The Pagani Huayra was also said to be “one of one”, but every Pagani is built custom to order, so every other Huayra is equally “one of one” – people just love to toot their own horn, I guess, but an incredible car for either way. (My Subaru is “one of one” too, if you count it’s unique stone chips)

I thought last year’s Greenwich Concours was the best in recent memory, but this one just may have topped it. There’s more to come from the event, but enjoy looking through our highlight gallery of Day 2!

Continue reading Highlights From the 2015 Greenwich Concours Day 2 →

Car Shows

A small selection of photos from the NJ Miatas Spring Meet.

Gallery May 5, 2015 Albert S. Davis 1 Comment

As most of you know, I bought a 1993 Mazda Miata a few months ago for dirt cheap, and I immediately joined a few groups to get into the community and meet other people who own Miatas. The first meet of the season for 2015 was last Sunday, and here’s my five favorite Miatas from the event. Many more cars were featured than those here–but these five absolutely caught my eye. Enjoy the short list–more photos from this event will be coming very soon. Continue reading A small selection of photos from the NJ Miatas Spring Meet. →

Car Games

For $6,800, Would You Buy An Elio or Something Else?

April 10, 2015 ndubs77 9 Comments

Our article on Elio Motors has been getting some decent buzz, and it’s inspired me to do a special, Elio Motors edition price game.

This is just for fun, but it’s also meant to illustrate the reality of the Elio’s $6,800 price. There are no other brand new cars even close to that range, and there sure as hell isn’t anything that will touch 80 MPG.

But with all that said, pretend you have $6,800 ready to spend. Do you buy yourself an Elio? Or do you scour the used car classifieds and find something a little faster or more practical?

See our picks below, and share yours in the comments…

Continue reading For $6,800, Would You Buy An Elio or Something Else? →

Car Shows

Our Highlights From the 2015 New York International Auto Show

April 6, 2015 ndubs77 5 Comments

We went to the 2015 New York International Auto Show this past weekend to get up close with all of the cars we’ve been hearing so much about and commenting on in the last few months. NYIAS is always a fantastic time, but this year was the best it has been in 10 years. The show is a bit of a tradition for us to do with our friends, and this year we chose to forgo the press days so we could go with the group. I’ll admit up front that we didn’t get to everything that was at the show, but we had a blast with everyone. Here are our highlights and opinions on the cars we saw.

Continue reading Our Highlights From the 2015 New York International Auto Show →

Auto Idolatry

Autocar Tries Out The New Mazda MX5 Miata

February 2, 2015 ndubs77 Leave a comment

Here is our first look at what the new 2015 Mazda MX5 Miata is like from behind the wheel. This is the 1.5L-equipped Miata, which will be a Japanese and European model only. Impressions on the US-spec 2.0L Miata are yet to come, but horsepower for the 2.0L SkyActive four cylinder has been announced at 155bhp. That’s not the 180-200hp that many of us were hoping for, but this is a Miata, so it doesn’t really matter that much.

In the video, he says the new car feels a lot like the original Miata, and I can think of no higher praise for this car than that.

Enjoy!

-Nick

SHOWCASE

What a feeling…Miata!

January 29, 2015 Albert S. Davis 2 Comments

I’ve got announcement for you, dear reader. The mild-mannered, straitlaced side of the Mind Over Motor duo has let his hair down a little bit. A few months ago, after a few stiff drinks and a hangover to rival Dionysus, I made the executive decision to get an NA Miata. I bought one so I could get better at driving stick (I wasn’t bad when I bought it but this is the only way to improve consistently when you haven’t driven stick your whole life), as well as to have a second car to drive around when I want a go-kart for the road.

It’s in great shape–far better condition than the last Miata Nick had. It’s a 1993 model with a new stereo and a new clutch, and it needs a little work. It’s a great car so far. While the little 1.6L DOHC four isn’t a ball of fire, 2200 pounds make life easy for it off the line and it feels sprightly up to 75MPH. The brakes are effective and the clutch feels very strong–it’s more than up to the abuse of a driver who’s new to manual transmissions (I hope). No real leaks, and the only issue is that it’s lacking a limited-slip rear differential. It also needs tires–the all seasons occupying the little 14-inch wheels need to go.

Flip up headlights, bright red paint, and a chassis and transmission to die for? It’s going to be an interesting ride. Stay with us, as a full review is coming this summer when the weather warms up. Continue reading What a feeling…Miata! →