Re: Elans and Miatas--
>Ever see an Elan with its clothes off? I didn't think so.
>The Elan (and the Europa) used exactly the same principle,
>except that they hung fiberglass panels instead of steel
>(and they used MacPherson/Chapman struts instead of dual
>A-arms).
Yeah, but I think Mazda had the brains to use decent materials
for the metal frame (they had to get that extra 800 lbs. some-
where, right?)--the Elan frame is made of fairly flimsy
sheet metal. I think the body panels on our Rx-7 are stiffer.
Something tells me there won't be many Miatas pulling out
their lower-arm attachment points in the rear (a fairly com-
mon failure in raced Elans).
>"Miata? Isn't that the car that looks like a little Lotus?"
>he asked.
>"No," I said, "it looks like a big Lotus."
Interesting point--you really don't think of the Miata as
"large" until it sits next to an Elan. We parked next to
a blue Miata (the colors are almost a match) at an auto-
cross last year, and from a distance it looked like a
pair of scale models; one 3/4 scale, one 1/2 scale. The
Mazda is longer, wider, and taller. I don't think the
size difference justifies the weight difference, though.
If the Miata had come in under 2000 lbs. I'd probably
sell my mother to get one. Since it didn't, I think we
can wait until the dealer gouging subsides a bit.
Anybody have any strong reactions to the "new Elan"?
Looks too much like a Fiero for my taste, and I can't
see paying that kind of money for FWD (gag), even if we
won the lottery and could afford to. But the published
power figures are reasonably impressive for that size
of car. Too bad the GM influence shows so much.
KCB
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