Oh boy, this is a FUN thread!
I own Spridgets and have driven Miatas -- I wish I had (at least) one of
each.
My street Midget is loud, slow, rough-riding and positively the most fun
thing on four wheels (for about an hour). Long trips in this beastie make me
cringe, unless they're all twisty mountain roads. It's paid for, though, and
it carries me to work every day without complaint. Repairs are easy and parts
are cheap. Not that it breaks much, but it is a 23 year-old car who's POs
were cheapskates.
The Sprite is louder, rougher riding, and a huge adrenaline rush embodied in
steel and paint; part of that has to do with where I drive it -- Summit
Point, Road Atlanta, Roebling Road, etc. Nice, quiet country roads, each and
every one. ;-) It used to have enough engine to give a stock Miata all it
could handle; my latest low-buck special is a tad weak for knocking out the
new kid. Lack of power doesn't detract measurably from the fun factor,
though. It breaks all the time, big parts like cranks and axles.
Subsequently, it needs a lot of working on, but we have to learn character
somehow, right? ;-)
I've driven Miatas on the street occasionally, and on-track at Charlotte
Motor Speedway and the North Carolina Motor Speedway -- the road course/oval
hybrids we get to play on here in the overlap between club road racing and
NASCAR. A Miata feels like it weighs twice as much as a Spridget, gives the
illusion of accelerating through molasses, but driven smoothly, is very fast
without much drama. They lack the immediacy of the Spridgets, but I can sit
in one all day without getting butt-burn. They never need working on.
Performance driving qualifications aside, Miatas aren't for everyone, just as
LBCs aren't for everyone. There's no reason a driving enthusiast should snub
a Miata, or an MGB or Spridget, for that matter. Miatas aren't British; if
British is what you want, they just won't do. One of these days, I'll find a
decent Miata for a decent price, and I'll have a great car with almost as
much charm as my LBCs, and I'll still have LBCs that are still as good as
they ever were. I dread the day when I might have to choose between the
two...
Ernest Davis <wily1@aol.com> 10/20/95, 14:24
'72 Midget (daily driver)
'66 Sprite, (track-school car)
'62 Sprite (roller)
One Big Van
One Big Pile of Parts
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