Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/22 for details.
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/22 for details.
Options
Comments
All other factors being equal, is the MT cheaper to insure than the AT? Wasn't that the premise?
Seems like after a few weeks you 'd be done with this car except as a nice commuter.
I think they also offer a regular manual transmission, but it's not the one from the MX-5 unfortunately, which is a sweet little gearbox.
He might say that among the fuel sippers, his car was the funnest.
Same for the TDI.
You can't argue with success, however. Why ANYONE orders that car with an automatic escapes me.
The can of gnats can be fixed with the simple replacement of the muffler with a used coffee can. Duct tape is your friend. :shades:
But both of them were one hell of lot of fun to drive.
On the other hand, I would hardly hold up a Bug-Eye Sprite as an example of a "good" manual gearbox---they don't have first-synchro, they are noisy, and they break.
True enough about my own self-image in a Miata being my own problem, but as we used to say in the Army: "There it is".
The Miata gearbox is nearly faultless however--I wish I could install one in my MINI.
Basically reliable car, though, I have to give it that.
They are plenty fun, though. I guess they're common and neanderthal friends will call 'em girly, but who cares?
Ride is a bit stiff, but I have the suspension package with the big rims. If I could choose again I'd stick with the base rim size, but I wanted the Torsen LSD and you had to upgrade.
Gas tank is a bit small, too, so the low fuel light goes on at 260 miles the way I drive it. :shades:
My '93 was lighter, more pure. Slower, but I miss it. Ride was actually better.
I'd like to see Mazda make the ND lighter and more open, lower cowl and window sills. Then just add a SkyActiv engine and you've solved the range issue.
That'd be perfect. I'd buy my 3rd. :shades:
In my 94 miata, I find the gearbox a bit stiff until it warms up a bit, but my car does occupy the garage for long periods of time between drives, so that may play into it.
I totally agree that miatas should be ordered with a manual, because it makes it an absolute blast to drive. I think the car would lose most of its magic with an automatic...
Maybe my miata is different, but I find it to be a visceral car. The interior is a bit of a blend of leather and "car" smells. Manual steering and a 5 speed to keep things interactive. Granted it might not have the exhaust note of an Alfa or a Ferrari, but I have heard much worse too...
When I bought it used in 2003, I figured I would keep it a couple of years and then sell it, but here I am 9 years later and at this point I wouldn't consider selling it (I have had 2 legit offers on it over the years too...). My wife and I take our annual trip to Big Sur in it, my kids love to ride in it (mostly because they get to ride in the front seat...a pretty big damn deal when you are 6...), and it costs next to nothing to keep it...
I have been razzed by some that it is a "chicks" car... whatever... it is a blast to drive and I have enjoyed it more than just about any car that I have ever owned, and that's the way I measure its worth.
If there were a statistic of driving enjoyment per dollar spent, the miata would likely top that list...
Replace the oil and get a new turret and should be buttery smooth again.
Pics 18 to 29:
http://www.miata.net/garage/trans/18.htm
And DO NOT let your wife know you borrowed the turkey baster to remove the old fluid. No no no.
For the record, I am the Turkey Baster owner and operator in our house :shades:
It will give me an excuse to get a new one prior to Thanksgiving...
off-topic, but I grew up in an area where clammers used bathroom plungers to harvest soft clams (intertidally in salt ponds). I was a teenager before I realized the plunger had other uses away from the clam beds.
New one on me - I thought they were just intended to pop out parking lot dents.
The ordinary "bathroom" plunger is used in 1-2' of water in salt ponds. It is the traditional method used on the south side of Cape Cod, MA to about Narragansett Bay, RI. It is used to harvest soft clams ("steamers") speciesMya arenaria by sucking them out of their holes without breaking the delicate shells. Hard clams are harvested with rakes.
I was about 15 before I learned that people put plungers into toilets - and found that image of using clamming gear for such a purpose to be very disturbing.
I'm now at the point of comparing clam/mussel/oyster harvesting areas for eventual retirement.
With some of these bivalves, you are slicing through the abductor muscle to shuck them. Its basically no different that a scallop. So I still save abductor muscles, mostly from oysters, and treat them like small, or bay, scallops. Nobody can tell the difference and I feel better about using something that everybody else throws away.
Its not entirely off-topic. When I help someone negotiate a price on a car, I often get repaid with oysters (or bottles of whiskey). Unlike clams, each oyster is slightly different and requires a slightly different approach with the oyster knife - so they are more challenging and interesting to handle.
Had to be done. :P
according to edmunds...
http://www.nydailynews.com/autos/stick-shift-long-decline-slight-comeback-articl- e-1.1127373
Now that you mention it, you never see cool accessories for the home based on automatic transmissions.
Speaking of modifications, what my MINI 6-speed really needs is a smaller gearshift knob (was this made for Jesse Ventura?) and a short-shifter kit.
Now, a Civic SI with a sport-tuned DCT, THAT would be fun.
I understand 1st and 2nd, but what does it mean once you shift into 3rd? :surprise: