You need to ease back a bit on the vehicle sheet metal thickness and door dings. The car manufacturers actually TEST and engineer the vehicles that they are building and thus selling. The sheet metal is fine on moden cars.

Parking under a tree and worrying about acorns is the least of anyone's worries. I would be much more worried about squirrels making a nest inside the engine compartment than I would acorns.

 

Thank you, but I will ease back if and when I see fit. We are all free to post our automotive opinions and experience here. And I post basically what my experience has been.

There are two large oak trees right outside my condo townhouse, and I constantly see what they do to vehicles parked under them.....yes, after factory "tests".

 

 

MMarshall, while size is similar, the sheet metal contouring is completely different. The outgoing model was very bubble and used a lot of rounded curves and stamping lines. This new one is much sharper, crisp lines.

Mazda has been able to utilize a soft suspension with good geometry and low weight to make it more controlled under certain circumstances than the FR-S/BRZ, which utilize a very firm suspension tune to try to achieve handling metrics. Just two different execution methods.

The Fiat version isn't close to coming to market, but we'll definitely be able to drive it/see it before it debuts.

 

Well isn't that a nice duo

 

Agreed. A friend had a 1996ish Civic that was parked under an oak tree by the previous owner. Absolutely destroyed the hood on that poor car, looked like a golf ball. There was a reason those 90's Hondas were really light weight, sheet metal was paper thin.

 

The basic shape is still somewhat aero, but I agree that it does have some sharper lines/angles.

(BTW, I just finished posting a detailed static-review of a new Grand Touring automatic model, but declined a test-drive offer...I'm going to wait till an unsold stick version is available, considering this car with an automatic to be a waste of time).


Yeah....Fiat doesn't have anything on its website yet (they seem to be dragging their feet on posting specs and other info, just as they did with the recent 500X AWD). But the sources I've seen indicate that it will be essentially the same car, a Fiat/Alfa Muitiair engine with a little more power then the Mazda version, and built in the same Hiroshima, Japan plant as the Miata.

 

<p>oh it's so tidy and beautiful...&nbsp;</p>

 

 

FYI, Mazda only sells the 2.0 liter version in the United States. By Miata standards its pretty brisk, 0-60 in 6 seconds, under 15 second quarter mile et.

 

 

I recently purchased a second gen and I love it. It's damn cheap, reliable, responsive, and very forgiving with the oversteer. I've pushed it pretty hard in the twisties on 185 road tires and oem suspension. When it starts to oversteer it's more gradual and easy to control.

 

Funny post. We have a live oak in our front yard and it has been dropping acorns for several weeks. We keep our cars in the garage, but I hear them hit my S5 like a bullet when I back out. No damage, but I could just imagine what they would do to something with thin sheet metal. I owned an '06 MX-5 and this new one is tempting, but we would have to keep it parked on the driveway. The live oak would destroy it.

 

^ Not to mention all the squirrels and chipmunks chewing up the wiring, fuel lines etc.