Re: Miatas

[Will Owen <nashwill912@domain.elided>]

George Graves said, concerning the Miata -

"Like most Japanese cars, it was designed by the numbers by engineers
who take the train to work, and therefore there was something left out.
That "something" is, in my humble estimation, the passion that makes
all of us rabid Alfisti."

Emphatically not true, in this case. The guy in charge of the project to create the Miata was an American sports-car enthusiast, whose single-minded purpose was to build, in effect, a strong, reliable English sports car.
A sort of cross between a Lotus Elan and an anvil. Mazda's bosses gave him the authority to override any objections by the train-riders, of which there were many (both commuters and objections). One example of his
single-mindedness was the imitation Minilite wheels on the first-generation cars: his calculations told him that seven spokes would be lighter than eight, at no cost in strength, so seven is what they had. The
second-generation cars lost these and several other nice details as cost-cutting measures.

Maybe Alfa Romeo should hire this man...

Will Owen
Pasadena, CA
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