Artwork by: Rebecca Zook
Artwork by: Rebecca
Zook
O.K.
Where was I? Ah yes... I was enjoying my fast food lunch today
(oh boy!) and thinking about Miatas, Miata clubs, newsletters,
the internet, etc. I guess it must just be something about the
effects of fast food to my thought processes! Anyway, I was
pondering how the Miata is different than other cars, and Miata
clubs are different from other car clubs. I think one of the key
ingredients to the Miata's success has been its multi-faceted
personality. The Miata is both sporty and laid-back, and can be
driven for excitement or relaxation (or both at once!). It's that
Kansei thing. I was thinking about the telephone survey that
Mazda's ran last year with the 'M'-Speedster. They seemed to be
trying to pin the Miata into one category, and that just won't
do. The Miata is many things to many people. This multi-faceted
personality has served Miata enthusiasts well, and kept Miata
clubs and on-line forumns filled with interesting activities and
discussions.
When the Miata Club of
America was first started, there was another group interested in
starting a Miata Club for SCCA racers. These guys instead joined
the MCA to start their racing program, and this program remains a
part of the Miata Club today. Indeed, racing and race track
activities seem to be a big part of the Miata Club, especially in
the Midwest and South. Consider that most National rallyes,
including the upcoming Miata Games, have taken place at race
tracks. The Miata is a sporty car, still one of the best handling
in the world, and a kick to drive fast on twisty roads. And it's
a given fact that racing improves the breed. So, what's my point?
To many people, this is what the Miata is. But it is also much
more! And racing - and fast driving - is not enough to keep Miata
enthusiasm going. There has to be some slow dancing too.
So here's
another way to look at the Miata dichotomy. The Miata is fun to
drive because sometimes you can drive faster than other cars, and
other times you can drive slower than the other cars! Slower?
Sure. While the masses are confined by their self-imposed
restrictions to hurtling down the Interstate in their closed
capsules, worrying about being late and getting a speeding
ticket, "open"-minded Miata owners can take scenic back
roads and explore new places. We can stop in small, forgotten
towns, eat in hole-in-the-wall diners, smell the tree blossoms,
feel the sun on our cheeks, the wind in our hair. On a foggy
morning we can feel the mist on our face, and in a light snow we
can really see the flakes coming down. Or we can take the surface
streets across town, watch and wave as the other cars go by,
notice and be noticed. We are not anonymous!
Mazda's M2 design studio made
some coupe Miatas a few years back. The Miata designers at Mazda
R&D in Irvine were not pleased with the results and decided
to do their own version. Thus the 'M'-Coupe, this year's Miata
show car. Mazda may or may not sell it in this country. Some
might buy it for its sportiness, it's race-track prowess, but in
my mind much of the fun will be gone. Such a car would be a
modern day version of a 240Z, or perhaps a miniature RX-7. Both
cars were very popular in their time, and sold well. Both are
still raced today by amateurs and professionals on race tracks
around the country - or down twisty mountain roads. And the
national car clubs for each of these makes is hopelessly extinct.
Local pockets remain, but the fire or their enthusiasm has been
reduced to a few smouldering embers. The cars were changed,
"got serious". They just weren't fun any more. And they
never learned to slow dance.
David