Page 1: Overview
Page 2: Timeslip
Page 3: Engine
Page 4: Suspension, wheels, tires
Page 5: Interior/Sound
Page 6: Exterior
Page 7: You know you're an NA Miata owner when...
Page 8: Anecdotes, Thoughts, and Ideas
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This page is going to be for writings and pictures having to do with a Roadster being part of my life. Some of the stuff on this page will be from my own creativity, imagination, and belief - but some will be from others that have put the feeling into words better than I could. I'm sure some of you will be able to relate with what I put here, but I hope that everyone enjoys it.
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This is an anecdote that I had written after discovering a tight corner out on a back road. I found out gradually that the Miata was capable of taking this curve at more than twice the suggested limit for the curve (75mph is as high as I've dared to go thus far) with no loss of tire grip. The experience was something I wanted to try and translate into words, and after about 45 minutes of writing, this is what I came up with:
"Fast forward to the trip back. My brain has switched modes. I've been visualizing the curve in the back of my mind since it disappeared in my side mirror. The interior is relatively calm, despite the violent battle between my desire to speed and my fear of squad cars I can't see. The road back seems to last forever. I come up over the last hill, and feel myself starting to smirk as it comes into view. I blip the throttle and snick-snick it from 4th to 3rd, keeping a steady 55mph. 100 feet before entering the curve, the throttle is sent through the floorboards. The needle sails past 60 as I force my palms against the steering wheel, anchoring my back between the seat bolsters. 50 feet. The explosive sensation of adrenaline surges harder with every heartbeat, my teeth clenched. Now! My shoulder digs into the seat hard, as I struggle to provide the force required to shatter the laws of inertia. 65 mph, and although the engine screams ravenously towards redline, the tires scarcely make a peep. The blurring road lines create intense tunnel vision, and my surroundings melt away into darkness - as if they do not even exist anymore. I am now the car. The car is me. We are one, just as Mazda's engineers had designed us to be - right along with the desire to stay frozen in this moment forever. And as quickly as it came, it is gone, and everything settles back into reality. Shifting back to fourth, and easing back to 55, the adrenaline eases back to a simmer - evaporating into that indescribable feeling of joy and oneness.
I can't wait to go back."
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The Meaning Behind "Jinba-Ittai"
"Rider and horse as one."
This is the burning essence of Zoom-Zoom.
"Jin Ba Ii Tai" � Rider and Horse as one. These four kanji characters are the essence of the Miata.
The exceptional coordination between horse and rider is the same feeling experienced when driving the Miata.
"Yabusame", a longstanding artistic ritual ceremony, truly embodies the essence of Jinba Ittai (pronounced gym-buy ee-tie). An archer mounted on horseback gallops past a target and shoots an arrow on the fly. To achieve a bull's eye, the archer and horse must move as one. There must be a natural two-way communication and a high degree of synergy in their alliance.
The rider-and-horse idiom served as the focal point around which the original MX-5 was designed and engineered. While most sports cars aim for specific, unemotional performance targets-such as the time required to accelerate to 100km/h or the cornering-G provided by the chassis-Mazda engineers established wholly different goals to reinvigorate the lightweight sports car. In essence, this became a celebration of the simple delights of driving an open roadster. The fun was designed for anyone and any location during sport driving and daily life.
Mazda's emphasis is on the feel of a responsive machine that compliments any driver. The MX-5 stresses ideal dynamic balance achieved with minimal weight propelled by a small but energetic engine. Factors of secondary importance in other cars - such as the way the open cockpit is bathed in sunshine and seasonal aroma of fresh air, top the Mazda MX-5's list of major attributes.
The six key categories that guided the effort towards the desired "oneness" are styling (inside and out), touching (every aspect concerned with the tactile sense), listening (dominated by the engine's voice but also encompassing wind effects), cornering (handling dynamics), driving (everything from ride quality to acceleration response), and braking.
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Page 1: Overview
Page 2: Timeslip
Page 3: Engine
Page 4: Suspension, wheels, tires
Page 5: Interior/Sound
Page 6: Exterior
Page 7: You know you're an NA Miata owner when...
Page 8: Anecdotes, Thoughts, and Ideas
