Why do so many people consider the Mazda MX-5 "Gay"?

T I think the current MX-5 is the best of the lot - at least for looks. It appears less "cute" and looks more aggressive.

Maybe more aggressive, and thats nice and all, but completely on looks alone the 01+ is by far the best looking. Sure its a bit girly, but its genuinely a good looking car. The current MX5 is a bit boring in my opinion, especially the front.

00miata.jpg


Even in diarrhea brown its not ruined!


I just cant think of another cool dirt cheap 4 cyl lightweight rwd car like it
uhg.....
 
Miata's have a history of flaming:



[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z54M_X77ZY[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDHNT7mY5zk[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaJyW7p6AKg[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1r4u6UkMdU&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]
 
so basically what you guys are saying is that it's Mazda's own fault for marketing this car to women???

I can see why women would like a small convertible car, but as was said before, 90% of people know nothing about cars (had to explain to my colleaugue that yes, even a diesel engine needs oil, and yes, every engine has a dipstick :roll: ) don't know about the MX5s awesome handling
 
Not only that, but they're inheriting the "small roadsters are for girls" mantle from the Miata's spiritual predecessors.

In the US, the following classic roadsters sold mostly to women:

MGB (non-V8), MG Midget
Porsche 914
Triumph Spitfire/TR6
Austin Healy

And along came the Miata to pick up where the MGB (last of that group to be sold in the US by not a small margin) left off. The initial marketing for the Miata implied that it was an MGB, but built with Japanese reliability.
 
Because the design is so staggeringly inoffensive. Designed to please everyone, but as a result not exciting anyone... It may be good car from the driver's seat, but it's also a car without balls.
 
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Miata/MX-5's (in the US anyway) are some of the cheapest cars to tune/modify on the market. Check out ebay, and then go look at the parts interchangeability of the car. Mazda parts binned the crap out of their designs, and licensed many of their setups to Kia (making the parts even less expensive).


In Oz they always sold around the $40k mark, now they're from $43-50k, which is more than a WRX and 3MPS and a little less than an RX-8 or WRX STi. There was also the Sylvia (200SX) available for around the same price with a lot more power and extra seats. They hold their value well, mind you, so its not a bad investment.

As for tuning, I was kind of thinking of how hard people were finding it to turbo them when they first came out. You could only get so much performance from NA but the engine was reluctant to take boost, or so I heard.
 
As for tuning, I was kind of thinking of how hard people were finding it to turbo them when they first came out. You could only get so much performance from NA but the engine was reluctant to take boost, or so I heard.

the opposite is actually true. Stock from the factory mazda has eeked out just about all the NA power you can get from the motor without major work but both motors 1.6l B6 and 1.8L BP LOVE the boost even with stock compression ratios and fuel system. I know of atleast two people pushing 350+ on their BPs(not stock fuel but some stock internals). Hell the super franken swap in the GTX community is an automatic 1.8L block with a 99+ head and the flyin miata turbo kit it makes the BPD (323 GTR motor) look like a little girl

check out
http://www.flyinmiata.com/
 
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Might want to take a look in a Miata engine bay. Unless these guys are cutting the firewall and pushing the engine back, it can't go further back. Most of the kits out there make the car a 53/47 weight distribution.

From what I understand you do have to cut the firewall, but I don't really have any concrete proof and am too lazy to do research so I won't insist on my (possibly) wrong opinion.
 
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I just cant think of another cool dirt cheap 4 cyl lightweight rwd car like it, i want something like that as my new daily driver, but the stigma (this coming from someone who puts up with a camaro with T TOPS!) just makes me a little uncomfortable.
Ok, let's walk through it:

Cool? Icecool.
Dirt Cheap? Errm, not really... Ok, count the depreciation in and it is dirt cheap.
4 cyl? Yes.
lightweight? Definitely.
rwd? Of course.

Caterham! You don't know it yet but you want a Caterham. :cool:
 
Caterham? Daily Driver? I hate to be that guy that moans but that's just not going to work :p
 
Ok, let's walk through it:

Cool? Icecool.
4 cyl? Yes.
lightweight? Definitely.
rwd? Of course.

100% correct

Dirt Cheap? Errm, not really... Ok, count the depreciation in and it is dirt cheap.

maybe where you are from even with this so called "depreciation" you still can't touch them here for much less than 16k which if compared with a miata would get you a nearly new one or a nice used one with every chassis and suspension part you could want and a few power adders to boot

Caterham! You don't know it yet but you want a Caterham. :cool:
this is true of everyone on the planet
 
I just cant think of another cool dirt cheap 4 cyl lightweight rwd car like it, i want something like that as my new daily driver, but the stigma (this coming from someone who puts up with a camaro with T TOPS!) just makes me a little uncomfortable.

I know i shouldn't be concerned with what other people think and know that its a badass car, but when it comes right down to it, i dont want to spend thousands on something i'll be embarrassed to drive around in.

Buy a Miata and put a bumper sticker on that says "My other car is a T tops 'maro!" :dunno:


Most of the Caterham replica kit cars actually use all Miata drivetrain and suspension so you wouldn't be fooling anyone! lol :mrgreen:
 
Because the design is so staggeringly inoffensive. Designed to please everyone, but as a result not exciting anyone... It may be good car from the driver's seat, but it's also a car without balls.
Unless you were quoting someone else, I don't see how making an inoffensive looking car makes it "gay". If that were the case, Toyota would be crowned #1 under that criteria and nobody will call them boring.
 
the opposite is actually true. Stock from the factory mazda has eeked out just about all the NA power you can get from the motor without major work but both motors 1.6l B6 and 1.8L BP LOVE the boost even with stock compression ratios and fuel system. I know of atleast two people pushing 350+ on their BPs(not stock fuel but some stock internals). Hell the super franken swap in the GTX community is an automatic 1.8L block with a 99+ head and the flyin miata turbo kit it makes the BPD (323 GTR motor) look like a little girl

check out
http://www.flyinmiata.com/

:thumbsup: When I found out my 1.6 automatic had lower compression, a bigger factory radiator, retarded ignition timing, and cams built for more torque first thing that popped in my head was "oh this bitch is getting boost."

IIRC the miata engines all have beefier rods and pistons than even the boosted 323 engines (hence the franken swaps I guess).

Oh and before anyone says anything about my owning an auto miata, I got it for $600 delivered to my house with a blown automatic, it's currently in bits waiting for the funds to fit a 5 speed.
 
MX-5's aren't gay! :D I always thought people were idiots for saying that! :roll:
 
Caterham? Daily Driver? I hate to be that guy that moans but that's just not going to work :p

I used to own a 7 and and, apart from when I needed more than two seats, it was my daily drive.
 
Main problem with the Miata from my point of view is that there are far too many of them. The car just simply is not unique or interesting in any way. When you see on on the road, all you think is 'hey I wonder what that cool car is behind that miata?'. They're filler. They blend in too much, they're bland. I hate that the most about any car.

I have to have something a little more unique that stands out.
 
Main problem with the Miata from my point of view is that there are far too many of them. The car just simply is not unique or interesting in any way. When you see on on the road, all you think is 'hey I wonder what that cool car is behind that miata?'. They're filler. They blend in too much, they're bland. I hate that the most about any car.

I have to have something a little more unique that stands out.

Blending in is usually a good thing, i suppose you think Lamborghini's are genuinely "cool" cars? If i knew someone rolling around in a 80's or 90's lambo (despite it being an interesting car by itself) i would be more likely to laugh at them then think "wow, cool".
 
The Miata reminds me of a commercial for antiperspirant a while back...

(to paraphrase)

"good enough for a man...but made for a woman"

:)

Steve
 
Blending in is usually a good thing, i suppose you think Lamborghini's are genuinely "cool" cars? If i knew someone rolling around in a 80's or 90's lambo (despite it being an interesting car by itself) i would be more likely to laugh at them then think "wow, cool".
I'm not even sure what to say to this. Of course Lambos are cool cars... they are the deffinition. Yeah, you might look like a poser in one, but you could say the same about any exotic. So what is your point? Exotics are 'not cool' and normal cars are?

Besides, I wasn't strictly refering to an exotic. Just give me something not normally seen, something more unique. I think it shows that you've put a bit more thought into a car beyond "I want one because that's what everyone else has!".
 
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