The Mazda MX-5 (or Miata) was introduced in 1989, and has since single-handedly rejuvenated the market for two seat open top sports cars. Prior to it's arrival, there were no real players in the affordable roadster market, as no manufacturer had stepped in to fill the void left when the British stopped making these type of cars. Right up until the late 1970's, British sports cars had the market almost all to themselves. Triumph, MG and Austin Healy were among the big players in this market, but all were gone by 1981. Part of the reason for the demise of the British sports car was due to increased competition from the Japanese. Fine cars such as the Datsun 240Z and the Mazda RX-7 which were both well built and reliable, as well as good looking, and stole sales from the established British players, especially in the USA.
Unfortunately for the British car industry, the 1970's were notable for the degree of industrial unrest and poor management/staff relationships, leading to appalling productivity and quality control, not to mention innumerable strikes. At times it was a miracle any cars got built in the UK at all during this period. On top of all this, the leading manufacturers had not invested in product development, so that by 1980, MG, one of the biggest players was still selling the MGB, 18 years after it was first introduced.
In the 1980's, in Europe at least, the "sports car" market was dominated by "hot hatchbacks" such as the Golf GTI and the Ford Escort XR3i. Mazda felt the time was ripe to introduce a "proper" sportscar and set about doing so.
Using a clean sheet of paper, Mazda decided on rear wheel drive, for the proper sports car experience, allied to a full convertible body with a no-frills two seat interior. Stylistically, the pop-up headlights and front air intake give the MX-5 the appearance of the 1960's Lotus Elan, but the car has now become established in it's own right as a sports car great. The chief designer even went as far as taping the exhaust notes of several old British sports cars to find the perfect note for the MX-5's exhaust note.
Launched in 1989, the MX-5 (or Miata as it's known in North America) was an instant smash hit. The pin-sharp steering and handling allied to a moderately powerful but free revving 1.6 litre engine and a convertible roof, sent the motoring press into raptures. Sales took off in a big way and people fell in love with their Miata's. A testament to the cars success is that over 500,000 were built in it's first ten years in production.
The styling remained unchanged until 1998, when a mildly re-styled MX-5 MkII was introduced. Slightly bigger than the original, the most noticeable change was the deletion of pop-up headlights, possibly due to legal reasons as it was felt that pop-up headlights would be banned on new cars in the USA. Personally I feel the original is still the prettier car. During it's life-span, the only major change to the original car was the introduction of a larger 1.8 litre engine in 1994, which didn't offer much increase in performance. The increase in capacity was mainly to compensate for the increased emissions equipment added for legal compliance in certain markets.
Between May 1999 and May 2000 my wife owned a secondhand MX-5 in silver, the same as the Gate model shown here. In Ireland there is a huge market for secondhand cars imported directly from Japan. Originally imported "Irish spec" cars are hard to find and often command a price premium. The Japanese spec cars are all RHD (same as the Irish cars) and are usually better equipped, with extras such as air-conditioning, not found on the Irish spec cars. Of course they don't have the service history that a well maintained Irish car would have, but then again they are alot cheaper, and being Japanese, rarely go wrong!
In Japan, the MX-5 is known as the "Eunos Roadster", (I'd love to know where they thought up the name "Eunos"!). My wife's MX-5 was in perfect condition for a 1993 model, and only had 40,000 miles on it. It had a 1.6 litre engine, but the red-line on the rev-counter started at 7,200, which is the rev limit for the 1.8 litre model. It certainly felt quicker than the 1.6 litre Irish spec cars I've tried, so maybe it had been tuned a little! I stuck four new Bridgestone tires on it as the ones it came on were worn out. The new tires improved wet weather grip no end (important in rainy Ireland!) and the car handled fantastically! The rear wheel drive was so much more fun than front drive, as you could control the car on the throttle, and occasionally get the tail to step out. Great fun!!!
The biggest problem I had with the car was that it was too small for me! I'm 6'2" tall and have a physique moulded by years of Guinness and cider drinking! Hence the tiny cabin was a real squeeze for me. Still, I did fit in, just! The other problem was getting the keys off my wife, as she was very protective of her silver sports car! She only sold it as she was pregnant with our first child and needed a more practical car, especially during the later stages of her pregnancy as she could barely fit behind the wheel! She replaced the Mazda with a 1994 BMW 320i, which was almost as much fun to drive, and as it had a good deal more power, it was quite a bit quicker.
Gate make this model of the MX-5, and it is quite good. Gate are the budget brand of Gateway Global, who also make AUTOart and UT. This model looks good, but is very sparsely detailed. However, as the real thing is a no-frills sports car, the basic design is very accurate. My main dislike is that they haven't captured the rear lights properly at all. On the model they are not rounded or textured enough (the real cars lights protrude more around the reversing lights) and they appear too wide. To me, this slightly ruins the models appearance from the back, which is a pity. Gate also released the 2nd generation Mazda MX-5, one of which I also have in my collection. AUTOarts parent company Gateway Global have now discontinued the Gate brand so I don't think this model is available new anymore (as of 2005). However, it was not a limited edition so it should still be easy enough to find on sale.
My wife's old 1993 Mazda MX-5
(actually a Eunos Roadster, the name Mazda sell the car under in it's home market Japan where her car was sold new)
