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In Reply to: I disagree posted by Mike Zamarocy on May 28, 2000 at 04:20:46:
: Another thing to consider - the Japanese are VERY GOOD at being COPYCATS! They hardly ever are the inovators. Take these examples:
Credit where credit is due, Mike. The Japanese are much better at implementation than innovation, yes. But they're also better at implementation than anyone else in the world.
: RX7 - Porsche 924/944
2nd Gen, absolutely. But the first and third Gen cars were rather different, and innovative in their own right.
: S2000 - Z/M's
Well, the Z/M's were themselves Miata ripoffs. "Hey, Mazda's selling a $#!+load of Miatas...quick, someone hack the top off a ti!" Ironically, the cars we love so much are a result of putting that top back on.
That said, I see a lot more SLK than Z3 in the S2000. And Honda remembered the S500/S600, which were neat little cars in their twisted way.
: Miata - Lotus Elan (60's)
The Miata is a typically Japanese implementation of the '60s Elan, though scaled up to MGB proportions. Next time you come up to the bay area, you should drive mine. It may be a copy of an old concept, but it's a very, very good one. And it starts when it's foggy, and the headlights are bright enough that you can see where you're going, and it doesn't leak.
You forgot:
Datsun 510 - 2002
And I'd argue that the 510 was (and perhaps still is) a far more succesful racer than the 2002.
: 1) most Euro cars, specially the Brit sports cars and older BMW's (1600, 2002, 320i) HAD SOUL and PERSONALITY! Something a "perfect", startup every morning, Japanes car will NEVER have!
In general, I agree...but an early (1.6) or any other than stock Miata has more soul than you'd think. You're absolutely right in that anything mass-produced like a modern sports car won't have the charm of old-school cars like a GT6 or a Midget.
And with that, passed an era of when sports car owners, no matter what brand, would wave, honk, flash their lights, of give a THUMBS UP to each other. There went the comraderie!
You need to get out of LA and come drive our roads. That cameraderie is alive up here in the hills.
: 2) take the Miata for example! To make it LIKE a sports car, the Mazda engineers went around recording exhaust sounds from Brit sports cars, and DESIGNED their Miata exhaust to SOUND like them!!! So IF they want a car to be a certain way, they COPY it!
It's called research, and I give them credit for making it sound "right." That they took the time to listen to 106 different cars to find out what "right" was (and they weren't all british, BTW) is a sign of how thorough they were. (I think the winner _was_ a Triumph, however) I really think the Miata is an exception to the usual Japanese rule. Mostly because it came almost entirely out of Mazda Irvine, not Hiroshima.
: 1) I'd have bought the Coupe no matter WHAT badge was on it. It reminds me of the old MGC-GT or GT6 which . . . . .
Hey...have you ever seen/touched/owned a MGC-GT? Everyone compares the Z3/M Coupe/Roadster to the MGC's because of the 6, but I don't think I've ever seen or heard of a CGT. BGTs yes, but a C?
:And the Z/M Coupes give me back that old wonderful feeling!
Your Coupe doesn't start if it's foggy? You're right in general, though. The Japanese rarely come up with a good idea on their own, but the implement the hell out of whatever concept they get, sometimes to very good effect. -Zandr
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