Personally I'm extremely grateful the Miata came along. British
roadsters were dead long before the Miata, and the Miata managed to
singlehandedly bring back the entire segment--small, light, fun to
drive roadsters--that we can enjoy both now and in the future.
I thank the Miata for the Z3, MR2 Spyder, SLK, S2000, Solstice--no
wait, not the Solstice. ;) And perhaps a resurgence in convertibles
in general.
Interesting side note. When I was due for an upgrade of my daily
driver recently, I thought, wouldn't it be fun to have the same
thrill of my TR6 in a reliable daily driver? I went and test drove an
MR2. Fun car, yes. But nothing like the experience of the TR6. At
that point I realized it was the visceral experience that was
missing--the MR2 was quiet and sterile feeling. So I drove a friend's
M Roadster.. wow, that was visceral *and* modern. Unfortunately I
need a trunk and bike racks, too, so I went with the 99 coupe
version, but overall it does have that same raw, visceral feel of the
TR6, although I do miss the smell of gas. Plus it looks damn
reminiscent of an MGB GT--an admitted inspiration of the designers.
Thanks Miata!
Steve
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