The Mazda Miata has never been very quick. Or very aggressive. Bob Hall doesn't give a damn if you question the manliness of the car he helped create 25 years ago. In fact, he says, "Nothing makes me happier."
Hall answered some of your questions with Travis today at the New York Auto Show, alongside the 25th anniversary Miata and lots of older models of the famous roadster. He addressed the power, the Toyobaru and many other questions. Here are some great questions/answers:
How did the "chick car" stereotype come about? Do you guys believe that notion has been dispelled, or even existed?
Hall:
People that never drove the car, people who can't drive, people who count cylinders. If this is a "chick car," I'm glad it is. Nothing makes me happier. The best bonus is seeing people drive them with grins on their faces.
Huge Miata fan (have yet to own one). Many people will say that the Miata and the BRZ/FRS twins are completely different cars but others are very quick to compare the two. As a BRZ owner and a huge fan of the Miata, I'd like to think that the BRZ/FRS is the "Miata Coupe" that we never had. What do you guys think of the Toyobaru's?
Hall:
I like them both. My favorite is the BRZ, because of my Mazda bias. A flat four is a Subaru engine, not a Toyota engine. And Subaru has rear drive heritage in the 360. I like it a lot. I don't think they should do a convertible, since it would end up heavy. - BH
Why not a high power version just for fun at some point?
Hall:
It's not about power. If you can't go fast with 90 horsepower, 900 ain't gonna help ya. I genuinely feel that.
Bob, at what point did you decide that California license plate blue would be the original Miata's blue shade? Its still my favorite Miata color after all these years and not just because I've owned my Mariner Blue Miata for 25 years :-).
Hall:
The original theme was racing colors. Italian red, Japanese/American white, French blue. Tom decided it was a good color, close to what Talbot used. We took plates off crash test cars and then cut a snip, sent it to Japan and told them it was French racing blue.
The reader-proclaimed COTD:
Did you mean to make MIATA an acronym for Miata Is Always The Answer?
I mean, like, how did you know?
Photo: AP Images