the rotary has another advantage in that it is very compact, allowing you to
position the motor for a lower center of gravity and better weight
distribution.
there was talk of having driver control of the brake at EACH corner. could
one learn to drive faster with individual brake control? i bet they could.
-james c
----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael R. Clements" <mrclem@telocity.com>
To: "'John J. Stimson-III'" <john@harlie.idsfa.net>
Cc: <Nandaholz@aol.com>; <ba-autox@autox.team.net>
Sent: Friday, April 12, 2002 1:55 PM
Subject: RE: So what IS going to happen to the Miata in 2003?
> The RX-8 is a cool car, but it has 4 doors and more weight than the
> Miata. Since the primary benefit of a rotary engine is superior power to
> weight ratio, it belongs in a light, nimble car. With a rotary powered
> Miata, Mazda could really heat up Super Stock again at the Nationals
> level.
>
> I think the appeal of a rotary powered Corvette challenging Miata is
> obvious. The appeal of the RX-8 is for a more "sedate" (and perhaps
> larger) crowd.
>
> So what if the price jumps by $5k? The Honda S2000 is selling for $36k
> now. A super Miata would be the same price or less, lighter, with a
> better P/W ratio.
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: John J. Stimson-III [mailto:john@harlie.idsfa.net]
> > Sent: Friday, April 12, 2002 13:34
> > To: Michael R. Clements
> > Cc: Nandaholz@aol.com; ba-autox@autox.team.net
> > Subject: Re: So what IS going to happen to the Miata in 2003?
> >
> >
> > I think that Mazda is afraid to put the rotary in any other
> > car before the RX-8 is established. After all, what is the
> > real appeal of the RX-8, other than being the only rotary
> > powered car on the US market? The funky Saturn-esque rear doors?
> >
> > The new rotary might be too expensive for the Miata's
> > low-cost concept.
> >
> > I hope that Automobile is right...are they usually? I also
> > hope that when they say "just over a ton" they don't mean "a
> > ton and a quarter", which is where they're at now.
> >
> > --
> >
> > john@idsfa.net
> > John Stimson
> > http://www.idsfa.net/~john/ HMC
> > Physics '94
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