The Mazda Miata, also known as the Mazda MX-5, is one of the most popular cars in the world. The Miata has been a hot seller since February 1989 and continues to be presently. From the time the Mazda Miata hit the market until early 2005 it sold more than 700,000 models, which is an amazing number of this one type of car on the road! The Miata was first unveiled at the Chicago Auto Show in 1989, and from there it took off beyond anyone's wildest imagination.
The Miata was designed to be a through and through roadster, elminating unnecessary weight. It's been said that the design of the Miata was inspired by the Lotus Elan, which was a 60's roadster that is still considered one of the best handling sports car of its time. The Miata was designed in California with collaboration from designers in Europe. The Miata has a traditional front engine rear wheel drive design and a 4 wheel independent double wishbone suspension. The Miata is available in different engine sizes such as the 1.6 Litre, 1.8 Litre, or 2.0 Litre longitudinally mounted engine linked to a manual transmission. An automatic transmission is available in the Miata, but the standard transmission is standard as this was truly designed to be a roaster.
The Miata sports a unibody shell that is conventional, though light. The trusswork of the Miata is quite unusal, it's called the Powerplant Frame and it connects the engine to the differential. This frame work minimizes flex and creates a tight, very responsive feel. The handling of the Miata is very neutral thanks to a 50:50 rear/front balance. This balance makes the Miata very easy to drive. The weight and balance of the Miata make it quite popular in stock racing events for obvious reasons.
The popularity of the Miata never seems to fade, even though it's been in production for quite some time. The Miata has made it into the Guiness Book of Records as the worlds best selling sports car. There's no doubt about it, the Miata is here to stay.
