[aerius]

buy a mazda mx-5 instead.  better in yust about every measurable category.  no, not quite as cute, but not bad looking, either...

My friend had one for the summer.  Fun in corners, but not nearly enough power, and looks kinda frumpy.  I'll take the Solstice GXP which is way sharper looking and can practically run with a Porsche Boxter.

[TONEPUB]

buy a mazda mx-5 instead.  better in yust about every measurable category.  no, not quite as cute, but not bad looking, either...

My friend had one for the summer.  Fun in corners, but not nearly enough power, and looks kinda frumpy.  I'll take the Solstice GXP which is way sharper looking and can practically run with a Porsche Boxter.

Until it gets to a fast corner....

[aerius]

Saw this one on the way home from work today.  Thanks to the red light, I got my camera out in time.

[doug s.]

the miata, at 170hp, is only 7 hp shy of the solstice, at 177hp.  but, the miata, @2490 lbs, is over 400 lbs lighter than the solstice, at 2900 lbs.  the miata beats the solstice in every single category - acceleration, handling, braking; & it gets 5%-11.3% better gas mileage.  (epa city rating is 20% better, epa highway rating is 7% better.).

http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=31&article_id=2907&page_number=2

http://www.edmunds.com/apps/vdpcontainers/do/vdp/articleId=107290/pageNumber=1

http://money.cnn.com/2006/02/02/Autos/carreviews/mx5_vs_solstice/index.htm

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/coupe/112_0512_compact_convertibles_comparison/

if a solstice "...can practically run with a Porsche Boxter...", the miata will be that much closer...   

ymmv,

doug s.

buy a mazda mx-5 instead.  better in yust about every measurable category.  no, not quite as cute, but not bad looking, either...

My friend had one for the summer.  Fun in corners, but not nearly enough power, and looks kinda frumpy.  I'll take the Solstice GXP which is way sharper looking and can practically run with a Porsche Boxter.

[aerius]

the miata, at 170hp, is only 7 hp shy of the solstice, at 177hp.  but, the miata, @2490 lbs, is over 400 lbs lighter than the solstice, at 2900 lbs.  the miata beats the solstice in every single category - acceleration, handling, braking; & it gets 5%-11.3% better gas mileage.  (epa city rating is 20% better, epa highway rating is 7% better.).

That's the stock Solstice, I'm talking about the Solstice GXP which has 260hp and can nudge out a Boxter in the 1/4 mile.

[TONEPUB]

For me, it's about long term durability and engineering excellence.

10 years from now a new Boxster will still have classic styling
and if properly cared for will look and perform like the day it drove
off the lot.

The Pontiac will be long in the junk heap and if it's still running
be worth nothing.

While the Miatas are not the equal of the Porsche (even though the
specs might suggest otherwise) they still are great cars and
get a lot of respect from hard core car enthusiasts.

Lots of build quality in the Miata as well.  It's not uncommon
to still see first gen Miatas zooming around with 175k on the
clock.

You can't buy cars or hifi based on specs. You will always be
dissapointed.

[Daygloworange]

Styling is styling no matter what. Whether it's Pontiac or Porsche.

The Boxster is obviously derived from the 550 spyder RS 61 and the like models from Porsche. The Miata could arguably be influenced directly from the MGB or Triumph's.

Even the '53 Corvette looks similar to the 550 Spyder.

The Porsche 914's an 914/6's were a great platform to elaborate on, that died. Ditto for the 928, 924, 944 models.

By far the most famous model is of course the 911.

If you were to take an engineering course on how not to design a car from a platform perspective,( engine in the trunk, outside the wheelbase, terrible suspension geometry ) you'd be describing th early Porsche 911's. It took them 40 years and half a dozen suspension revisions and motor upgrades to make it a performance car.

GM did a lot of cool stuff that could have had tremendous potential. The Corvair, the Fiero, Buick Grand National come to mind real quick, but for many reasons, GM abandoned those projects.

There's styling, there's performance, there's engineering, then there's longevity.

All different topics.

Cheers

[TONEPUB]

You obviously haven't driven one of the early 911S cars....

But it's really like audio to me.  Everyone has their favorite for
obvious reasons and is doggedly loyal to whatever it is they
have.

FWIW, I haven't been a Porsche owner for a long time now,
but still a big fan of the brand.

And my wife says if I stop buying expensive CD players
I can have another Porsche...

[Daygloworange]

Jeff,

I'm not bashing on Porsche. I love the 914/6 (my fave) and the 928 S with the 32 valve/5 speed combo.

I've driven a light weight RSR 911, a Carrera all wheel drive, and a 930 slant nose conversion turbo 3.3 liter with all turbo suspension.

There's no doubt that you can learn to drive a 911 real quick, but it's a very different car to drive due to the engine hanging over the rear tires.

A modded 914/6 however with the engine amidships, is a whole different ballgame.

The 928 with the transaxle in the rear is a well balanced as well.

What my point is, is that despite Porsche having better engineered models out there. They disappeared as well.

Cheers

[TONEPUB]

Point well taken.  I'm a big 914/6 fan too!  One of the most fun cars I ever
drove.

I used to work with Porsche, and as you can well imagine, they are stubborn
people.

As Hurley Haywood once told me, "there are six people in the world that
can drive a 911 to 100% of it's capability and you are sitting across the
table from one of them"

[Levi]

Lowered cars are great.  They offer low center of gravity making cornering fun but sometimes they can be a pain.

Needless to say, my car didn't make this ramp.

I ended up scratching the subframe and parked on the street today.

[Wardsweb]

1993 Mazda Miata - great bang for the buck. Fun to drive, low insurance and paid for.

[Levi]

That's a nice paint job for a 1993 Miata.

[Wardsweb]

That's a nice paint job for a 1993 Miata.

My buddy owns a body shop, so we took the car apart and did the paint the right way.