Opinions & Editorials
What Do I Know? - Don't Let Us Down, Mazda!
By by: A.J. Teixeira
Feb 23, 2005, 13:28

This is an exciting time for triple Zoom fans. Mazda seems to be hitting one home run after the other, with interesting designs and even a corporate look and identity that other manufacturers can only envy.

I sat in the MazdaSpeed6 at NAIAS and it left me drooling, wanting a test drive. The MX Crossport concept has to be among the most handsome of the new slate of SUV concepts (build it, Mazda). Even the little Mazda5 should give the minivan segment a little excitement of its own.

But the heart and soul of the company has to be the Miata. With more than half a million of these little roadsters on the road, it single-handedly saved the pure sports car. It proved the business case for all the models that followed, and the roadster segment now thrives.

Having said that, I’m a little sad that when someone now mentions a back-to-basics roadster, with emphasis on light weight, many people think Elise instead of Miata. It weighs more than 400 lbs less, and that has a lot to do with excluding extraneous features that do nothing to add to the driving experience. We can do without these seldom-used luxuries.

Lately the Miata has lost its focus. I’m not sure that a turbocharged model is what Bob Hall had in mind when he imagined the original. Prices have crept up near $30 grand, and weight keeps inching upward as well.

Sure, maybe Mazda is chasing more profitable segments, but so is everyone else, and it has to be getting crowded. Let’s go back to the original idea, one of a back-to-basics roadster with mechanical simplicity and the price that goes along with it.

Let me pose this question. Who is the true automobile enthusiast?

Is it the young professional who buys an M3 with an automatic because they can’t drive stick shift?

Or the Mazda3 owner who scrapes up every penny to afford the wonderful 3s 5 door?

I say it’s the latter. There are a ton of budget sports car fans that would be delighted to see the return of the $13,800 sticker price that helped launch the Miata. Let’s be reasonable and allow for inflationary adjustments, but you get the point.

I bet dealers wouldn’t mind having customers lining up for a fantastic value like the original, instead of watching current models collect dust on the lots with optimistic sticker prices. Even rebates haven’t helped.

If Mazda can bring back the affordable roadster, they’ll have a hit on their hands. These young enthusiasts can grow with the brand, especially with the MazdaSpeed options that keep expanding.

By now, many of us have already seen pics of the new Miata that will be unveiled at next week’s Geneva show, and it’s hard to tell if the car will be larger and/or more expensive, but I can say this: A bigger, bloated new model with an inflated sticker price would be such a disappointment. Don’t let us down, Mazda.

For more discussion on this story, click on the link to our discussion forums to the left.

© Copyright 2003 by YourSITE.com