Why We Should Savor Sports Cars Like the Mazda MX-5 Miata - Automobile
Kioyshi Fujiwara, Mazda’s managing executive officer hopes that’s the case for the 2016 MX-5 Miata. His sentiment, expressed at our first drive of the car , could be taken for marketing-speak hyperbole, yet it does portend a future in which we happy few cling to such real drivers’ cars in the face of a non-enthusiast majority buying bland... In the couple of weeks since that first drive, the center of the automotive world has moved just a bit further away from Miata-style driver-car relationships. Transportation secretary, Anthony Foxx, has “set plans” to “encourage development and commercialization” of two autonomous braking systems--crash imminent braking and dynamic brake support--according to the National Highway Traffic Safety... ” What’s more, the new Miata’s small fixed, triangular side window and the body’s side surfacing directs air to the driver’s chest and not his or her head, says deputy program manager Hitoshi Takamatsu. While most new vehicles are designed to isolate the outside world, the Miata is designed to enhance the driving experience and make you more aware of your surroundings. Nobuhiro Yamamoto, the Miata’s program manager, says the two seats have been moved closer to the center console covering the car’s backbone chassis, to make it feel as much like a Formula 1 car as possible. Source: www.automobilemag.com
