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The Miata gives me a new perspective on the world

The Miata: making everything a new experience and turning low-beam headlights into high-beams since 1989. That's what happens when you're basically sitting on the ground, something I've become intimately familiar with when driving our long-term 2016 MX-5 Club. I am not a tall person. Far from it. In most cars I drive, I crank the seat height up close to maximum as soon as I get in. That's easy in the Miata because there's no height adjustment at all. Couple that with the facts that the seat is thin and the car barely hovers off of the pavement, and my eyes end up sitting at the height of most car's exhaust systems. That results in a lot of examining other cars' bumpers in traffic. And one day recently, it almost led to me missing my exit from Interstate 94, part of the route I take every day to work. Everything just looks different from down here – it is quite literally a different point of view from what I'm used to. And then there's the issue of night driving. When you're this low down and stuck in traffic, the headlights of cars following look extremely bright (and incredibly close). They're not, of course, you're just lower than every other driver on the road so it seems like you're staring down high-beams in the rearview mirror. I still love the Miata. It's just not the best commuter vehicle, which should come as a surprise to precisely no one. But when a hole opens up in traffic, the Miata and I are the first to fill it. I just hope the other cars see me. Related Video: Mazda Long-Term Garage Convertible Lightweight Vehicles Performance

Mazda to celebrate 25 years of MX-5 with 15 Miatas in New York

Having first debuted at the Chicago Auto Show in 1989, the Mazda MX-5 Miata has been on the market now for an impressive 25 years. So to celebrate that quarter-century anniversary, Mazda is bringing no less than 15 examples of the legendary roadster from throughout its history to the New York Auto Show this year.
Mazda isn't saying just which versions of the MX-5 it's bringing to the Javitz center this year, but with three generations to choose from and over 900,000 units built and sold, there are plenty of examples - including production versions, special editions and concept cars.
What would really put the cherry on this birthday cake, however, would be if Mazda were to surprise us in Manhattan with the debut of the highly anticipated fourth-generation Miata that we're expecting to debut sometime this year.

2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata first engine shot revealed

We've dug deep for just about every scrap of 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata info available out of the car's California reveal celebration, but powertrain particulars have been especially hard to come by. While we still don't have engine specifications, the folks over at Autoweek have scored a nice scoop - the first underhood photos of one of the display cars.
In the image above, the ND-generation Miata is clearly shown to be powered by a Skyactiv inline four-cylinder, as expected, but its displacement remains unclear. The engine is most likely either the 2.0-liter Skyactiv-G engine offered in low-end Mazda3 and CX-5 models or the 2.5-liter Skyactiv-G found in those same vehicles' upper trims. In those iterations, the 2.0-liter generates 155 horsepower and 154 pound-feet of torque, while the larger-displacement engine nets out at 184 hp and 185 lb-ft. There is no sign of a turbocharger, a feature rumored to be fitted to at least one test mule. There has also been previous rumors of a 1.5-liter Skyactiv engine, possibly for overseas markets.
The 2.0-liter strikes us as the most likely scenario, particularly as Mazda has worked diligently to save every gram in the new car, dropping a pledged 100 kilograms (220 pounds) over the current model, even while adding content. It's entirely possible that the alleged turbo car was, in fact, a mule for the Miata's Alfa Romeo sister car, which is expected to have a wholly different powertrain. Or it could simply be a second engine option for an eventual Mazdaspeed variant, perhaps.