Category Archives: Miata

Say ‘goodbye’ to these cars and trucks for the new year

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Filed under: Car Buying , Coupe , Sedan , SUV , Crossover , BMW , Buick , Cadillac , Chevrolet , Dodge , Ford , Honda , Mazda , Mitsubishi , Nissan , Volvo , Tesla As we prepare to flip our calendars from 2011 to 2012, it’s time to say goodbye to a handful of vehicles that are being sent to the Great Parking Lot In The Sky before the 2012 model year completely takes hold. And while we’re not exactly upset about having to bid farewell to things like the Mitsubishi Endeavor , Mazda Tribute or Chevrolet HHR , there are a few vehicles that we’re truly going to miss. The Mazda RX-8 , for example, has grown to be one of our favorite sports cars since its introduction in 2003. We love its lightweight construction, high-revving rotary engine and surprisingly functional suicide door design.

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Say ‘goodbye’ to these cars and trucks for the new year

2012 Mazda MX-5 Miata

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2012 Mazda MX-5 Miata The Miata is best enjoyed with a manual transmission bolted to its 2.0-liter four-cylinder. The Miata is best enjoyed with a manual transmission bolted to its 2.0-liter four-cylinder. The engine produces only 167 hp and redlines at 7200 rpm, but it’s the way the power is delivered that makes the Miata so much fun: the sixteen-valver pulls hard all the way to its 7500-rpm fuel cutoff, with great induction noise piped directly into the cabin.

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2012 Mazda MX-5 Miata

Video: The art of threading the needle, as demonstrated by a Lotus Exige

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Filed under: Motorsports , Videos , Lotus , Mazda , Australia Professional racing drivers are a different breed than the rest of us mere mortals. While fear – of dying, of killing or of simply making a fool of yourself – keeps most men and women from pressing their automobiles to the very limits of their capabilities, some people choose instead to embrace the fear, turn it into adrenaline and hit the track. That includes Barton Mawer, who was chasing down a Lamborghini Gallardo for the overall lead in his Lotus Exige during Australia’s Island Magic Enduro 2011 race at Phillip Island. Only one problem: in his path were a pair of slower cars; a Porsche Boxster and the Mazda MX-5 of Team Chapman Racing.

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Video: The art of threading the needle, as demonstrated by a Lotus Exige

Here’s your inevitable Subaru BRZ convertible rendering [w/poll]

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Filed under: Convertible , Performance , Subaru , Design/Style Word has it that the chassis engineers assigned to the Subaru BRZ and Toyota GT 86 make sure that the twins’ underpinnings were built to be stiff enough to handle having their tops carved off. We can’t imagine strapping a few extra hundred pounds of reinforcements and a top mechanism components would do much for the vehicle’s acceleration or handling, but droptops offer their own benefits. Besides, ditching the roof would be an easy way to keep the vehicle relevant as the nameplate ages and would give the Mazda MX-5 Miata some much-needed competition.

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Here’s your inevitable Subaru BRZ convertible rendering [w/poll]

Tokyo: EV-STER rear-wheel drive electric sports car looks to recapture Honda’s sporting spirit

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Filed under: Concept Cars , Convertible , Performance , Japan , Tokyo Motor Show , Honda , Design/Style Honda has whipped the sheets off of its EV-STER, a rear-wheel drive electric roadster not dissimilar in size and scope to the late, lamented Beat kei car . If you’re looking for a successor to Honda’s S2000 or a Mazda MX-5 Miata rival, this isn’t it – the EV-STER is significantly smaller than those cars, and with a pure electric drivetrain, this showcar is more suited to top-down fun in the city than the open road. Purely a concept for the moment, the EV-STER offers a 160-kilometer range, a 0-37 mph (60kph) time of 5.0 seconds and a top speed of 99 mph, though Honda isn’t offering much in the way of hardware specifications. Attractive in both general form and detail, we could admittedly do without the yoke-style steering interface employed here and in Honda’s other Tokyo Motor Show concepts.

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Tokyo: EV-STER rear-wheel drive electric sports car looks to recapture Honda’s sporting spirit

Rumormill: Alfa Romeo planning lightweight Mazda MX-5 Miata rival

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Filed under: Convertible , Performance , Europe , Rumormill Few rumors have circulated quite like the prospect of a new Alfa Romeo Spider. While the previous Brera-based model stands as one of the most beautiful cars ever made, dynamically speaking, most found it deeply flawed. But the Milanese automaker has long been rumored to be working on a more successful successor – even commissioning Pininfarina to create the sleek 2uettottanta concept pictured above.

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Rumormill: Alfa Romeo planning lightweight Mazda MX-5 Miata rival