I've owned a 1990 Miata since new. The so called "short crank nose" problem
is highly exaggerated. All years of Miata are excellent cars. Over the
years, Mazda has kept the spirit of the original, so you can't go wrong with
any
year. Hands down, it's the best sports car ever built. My '90 has required
zilch in the repair department, with over 70,000 miles on the clock. I've
owned numerous sports cars over the years, including, recently, two Porsche
Boxsters. The Miata is better built, more reliable, and more fun to drive
than
any of them, including my latest Porsche Boxster S, which I ended up selling
for about half its original $60,000 price tag (depreciation is huge on these
cars.) Why? because I was sick of costly repairs, slip-shod construction,
and problems Porsche insisted were "normal". While it would blow the socks
off
most anything on the road and was incredible through turns, it was not as
fun to drive as my Miata. Now, reluctantly, I'm selling my beloved Miata
because my wife has fallen in love with the new Miata with convertible hard
top.
After a recent test drive of this car, I was blown away by its improved
performance. While, I'm more of a hard core sports car guy, I'm amazed at how
well the convertible hard top works and if it buys my wife's support for a new
MX5, I'll sacrifice. :o)
My only recommendation to you would be to convince your wife to buy a manual
trans car. The Miata is a 'real' sports car and an automatic just doesn't
go with its spirit. That said, I've heard that the new 2006-2007 automatics,
with paddle shifters are pretty cool. So if she insists on an automatic, get
a new one with the paddle shifters.
Bill Wilkman
Crazy Sprite
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