My new "motorcycle"

[Ben70_imp]

Very nice, VLJ! Congratulations. Good to see you out and about, in style no less.
Any place on that thing for RLETs?

Ben

[VLJ_imp]

Nice car VLJ. Really pretty color. Bet it's a chick magnet.

My brother has a 2012 Miata, hardtop convertible. Push a button and the hard top disappears in the trunk in seconds. Pretty amazing set up really. he loves his, I'm sure you are going to love yours.

Wish you were still able to ride, but I guess this is the next best thing.

More like an idiot magnet, so far. Remember when that guy at work thought my CB1100 was a 250? Well, so far I've had three comments/responses to this new car....

First guy, in a Safeway parking lot. Simple head nod and thumbs up, after gesturing to the car. No problem there.

Second guy, in the ghetto section of Antioch last night, also in a parking lot. He gets out of his beater Impala, stops, does a classic double take after seeing the car, then he waits for me to get out. Grinning, he asks, "Is that the new Maserati?"

Third guy, at the dealership today. Man and his wife halt their conversation as I roll up. When I climb out, he ambles on up to me. Arms folded, he nods toward my car and asks, "Whatcha think of your new Supra?"

So, two out of three so far, total nimrods.

Okay, there was a fourth reaction, and it was exactly the one you mentioned, the one anyone would want. I'm at a red light, and a red Jetta crosses in front me. When the car was midway through the intersection, a teenage blonde girl poked her head out of the passenger-side window and waved her pinky at me, or the car, I'm not sure which.

Quickly waving your pinky is now a thing?

Hmmm. I must have missed the memo on that one.

Oh, and my 2011 MX-5 had the same retractable hardtop as your brother's 2012 model. Yep, that thing is just ideal. Wish they still did it that way, rather than the stupid retractable targa top they do now. Just like with our bike discussions regarding windshields, all the talk of the RF model's flying buttress piece behind the seats has to do with the obnoxious extra noise directly around your head that that big, blindspot-creating hunk of plastic creates.

That's why I went with the soft top. You know how I am about windflow and buffeting.

pdedse, my left foot is undamaged, so the clutch thing is a nonissue. My right foot? Still a balloon, so I still wear a slipper-style sandal. Can't angle my ankle enough to heel-toe shift yet, and the swelling of the foot and ankle combined with the cumbersome sandal prevents such shenanigans anyway. So, instead, I just shift normally. Not exactly shooting for a race pace here at the moment, ya' know?

Oh, and yes, that Soul Red Crystal Metallic is absurdly gorgeous. It can be just about any amazing red you like, depending on the lighting, especially when shadows play upon the car's contours. Richest red I've ever seen, bar none.

Two things surprise me and crack me up about this car, especially seeing as how I bought it to replace a motorcycle. First, the rearview mirrow is as buzzy and worthless as that of any motorcycle's mirrors I've ever used. I'd say it's actually worse. Even below 60 mph it shakes and vibrates like an epileptic hummingbird. The side mirrors are fine. It's just the center mirror that spazzes out. Also, this thing's ride is former than my XSR or Z900. Don't even begin to compare it to the plushness of the CB1100. You feel every last pebble in the road with this thing. Tar strips, expansion seams, drainage striations, you name it, they're all transmitted straight into the seat, as well as through the steering wheel and your feet. You feel everything.

Yep, as it turns out, this thing is a serious, no foolin' around, proper sports car.

[KiowaEagle_imp]

Nice pickup VLJ! I'm happy that you're able to find a satisfactory substitute to riding. That care looks like serious fun, especially with a six speed. Enjoy!

[Stichill_imp]

Heeeyyy, nice ride VLJ!

As LongRanger said, I bought the sibling Fiat 124 Spider last summer. Both built on the same production line in Hiroshima with different body panels, drive trains, and certain suspension parts. No doubt about it, Mazda has the chassis dialed in to perfection.

Really hard to beat top-down motoring. It's kinda the same, kinda not the same as riding. I have to admit I like not wearing a helmet if the goal is to get some sun and wind on your face.

If your car has LED headlights paired with yellow-ish incandescent fog lamps, I found an inexpensive plug-n-play solution to upgrade the fog lights to LED so the color matches the white of the headlights....PM if interested. Speaking of lighting, I leave my headlights on at all times. It's amazing how many people do not see these cars...it's almost as bad as a motorcycle.

It's not a car culture around here, so I feel like most people ignore me in the 124. I've had maybe two people at gas stations say something.

On the pinky-waving thing: I have a feeling that's [url=https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=pinky%20wave]not a friendly compliment but an impudent gesture from the teeny-bopper.

[Obliviontoad]

For cars, it is said... Miata is always the answer. I do not find much to argue the point. Its as if a Triumph Spitfire was still being made today, but it started every time, ran well, didn't break down, and the electrical system worked. Have fun in that.

[Guth_imp]

Figured Guth, of all people, being an S2000 guy, would appreciate this...









My new 2020 MX-5 Grand Touring, 6-spd manual, black soft top, black leather interior. Bought it yesterday.

Cancer robbed me of my first dream car, back in 2011. Had to unwind the deal and give the car right back to the dealership when I went on disability leave. My recent collision, when the idiot clobbered me while I was riding my Kawi Z900, robbed me of motorcycling. This is my way of reclaiming some of what life has taken from me.

I took it to my motorcycle roads up in the mountains last night. With the top down, it's fairly similar to riding a fast bike up there. The physical sensations aren't all that different. Same basic speeds in the twisties, albeit not on the freeway. There, the bikes tend to want to go much faster. In the mountains, however, this thing is just as fast as the bikes, only it does it much more safely, of course. Much better lighting, too. Plus, hey, similar to throwing on an extra liner when it gets cold while riding, here you just put the top up and/or hit the seat heaters.

Not the worst trade-off in the world, I have to say. The only definite downsides, vs a bike: no lane splitting; upkeep on that soft top; reduced fuel mileage; not as much of a physical workout.

Whole lotta obvious upsides.

Well, you got that right (more than you can imagine) — congratulations!

Good call on the ND. Mazda did right by that car, increasing the power by way of letting the engine rev more freely, just as I feel it should be with a sports car. Naturally aspirated cars like these are becoming more and more of a rarity these days so I was glad to see Mazda go the route that they did with the latest version of the ND. I realize that a sports car is not a direct substitute for a motorcycle. The laws of physics see to that. But I have had every bit as much fun driving the S2000 as I have the riding the CB1100. That MX-5 is no doubt sure to plant plenty of huge grins on your face going forward VLJ.

My time aboard the CB1100 wasn't the only thing cut drastically short over the past couple of years as the S2000 has been spending far too much time in the garage itself. Hopefully that all changes soon enough for me.

Unless something drastic happens to it (or to myself), at some point in time the S2000 will become my only truly fun Honda as I fully expect that my riding days will come to a close before my driving days. I'm okay with that as I have a great time with either the CB1100 or the S2000. I personally know that I could live out the rest of my time on the road with just the S and be completely thrilled. I've already had a history of moving back and forth between sports cars and motorcycles so this is nothing new for me.

In my case, it started with my very first car — a 1972 Triumph Spitfire. (Here are my parents getting ready to take it for a spin back around 1979 or so, this was before I saved up enough money for a better set of tires (blackwalls of course).



After high school I had stopped riding motorcycles so all that was left was cars. My first major purchase after graduating from college was a 1967 Camaro convertible (I've always loved the ragtops).



That car drew a lot of attention. Women literally screamed and waved when I was stopped at lights, etc.. (It was definitely the car, not me, drawing the attention.)

Eventually I wanted something more involving to drive, so I made my very first new car purchase. A "sporty car", the 1987 Honda CRX Si. Man did I ever have a blast in this car.



Of course as you all know motorcycling (and Honda's) would return to my life. But eventually the familiar duality crept back into the picture, lol.

[VLJ_imp]

You know what I love about those old convertibles, which you can definitely see in this picture...



...and also in this one...



...compared to its modern sibling...



The beltlines on most modern convertibles are so high that they make even taller drivers look like Danny DeVito. It's as if some kid in elementary school stole the keys to Dad's ride.

Now look at that pic of your parents in the Spitfire. That's how it's supposed to be. The occupants can hang their elbows out.

Miatas are like that...



Stichill, ND Miatas don't have foglights. Instead, they have LED DRLs...

[Stichill_imp]

I agree re: belt lines too high. Reminds me of the ‘58 Bulgemobile parody:



That’s interesting, VLJ, didn’t know that.

Here’s before/after on the Fiat fog light swap.

[redbirds_imp]

Great looking cars. Back in 1969 I wanted a Fiat 124 Spyder. Nearest I ever came to having a rag top.

[Guth_imp]

The biggest thing impacting car design these days are the safety regulations that designers now have to meet. (Although regulations alone aren't to blame for the proportions of the current Camaro.) The MX-5 / Abarth 124 variants have dealt with today's regulations far better than so many other designs out there today. But even if Mazda wanted to build a NA or NB replica these days they wouldn't be able to pull it off. If Honda were ever to build another S car there is no way they would get away with the low hoodline found on the S2000 for the same reasons.