9. Mazda MX-5 Miata
Introduced in the summer of 1989 as a 1990 model, the MX-5's quick steering, go-kart-like handling and sporty styling have helped the Miata land a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records as the best-selling two-seater sports car in the world. Following the trend of retractable hardtop convertibles such as the Volkswagen Eos and Pontiac G6, Mazda has added one to the MX-5 lineup. The retractable top adds only 75 pounds without reducing cargo room. Prices start under $21,000 for a 2008 Miata.

For the rest of the story: http://autos.msn.com/advice/article.aspx?c...1>1=10462

Nice! The 2008s are great - if I could get by with just a two-seater, it would be at the top of my list. Tons of bang for the buck!

Mustang? Sports car? Since when? LOL. Especially shouldn't be "#1"

Sorry for taking a jab at the Mustang, but it's hard for me to call anything with a live-rear axle suspension a "sports car" lol. Muscle car? Maybe. Pony car? Absolutely. Sports car? Not in my book.

This was quoted from Wikipedia:

A sports car is an automobile designed for performance driving. Most sports cars are rear-wheel drive, have two seats, two doors, and are designed for precise handling, acceleration, and aesthetics. A sports car's dominant considerations can be superior road handling, braking, maneuverability, low weight, and high power, rather than passenger space, comfort, and fuel economy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_car

^^^That doesn't sound like a Mustang at all lol.

Technically the Mustang/Camaro/Trans AM ect have always had their own separate segment, referred to as "pony cars", as they didn't exactly meet the standards of sports cars or muscle cars:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pony_car

^^^"The pony car is a class of automobile launched and inspired by the Ford Mustang in 1964. It describes an affordable, compact, highly styled car with a sporty or performance-oriented image."

I wouldn't count the Eclipse as a sports car either. AWD or RWD, fine...but I don't consider anything that's FWD a true sports car.

Haha, I knew Brandon would eat that list up. Thank you! And I strongly agree. I was just interested to see the Miata instead of the RX-8 in there.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Huzer21 @ Oct 26 2007, 02:36 PM) [url=index.php?act=findpost&pid=8316]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/url]</div>

I wouldn't count the Eclipse as a sports car either. AWD or RWD, fine...but I don't consider anything that's FWD a true sports car.[/b]

I agree 100%.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (MazdaGurl @ Oct 26 2007, 03:04 PM) [url=index.php?act=findpost&pid=8331]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/url]</div>

Haha, I knew Brandon would eat that list up. Thank you! And I strongly agree. I was just interested to see the Miata instead of the RX-8 in there.[/b]

No problem lol. I won't even get into what I think of MSN Autos lol.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (MazdaGurl @ Oct 26 2007, 03:04 PM) [url=index.php?act=findpost&pid=8331]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/url]</div>

Haha, I knew Brandon would eat that list up. Thank you! And I strongly agree. I was just interested to see the Miata instead of the RX-8 in there.[/b]

Given the criteria is based on hits to the MSN page, I think it has more to do with the fact that the Miata has 15 years on the 8.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Huzer21 @ Oct 26 2007, 02:36 PM) [url=index.php?act=findpost&pid=8316]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/url]</div>

I wouldn't count the Eclipse as a sports car either. AWD or RWD, fine...but I don't consider anything that's FWD a true sports car.[/b]

Completely agree with you. especialy on the New generation Eclipses. Everything quoted below does not describe an eclipse unless your speaking of a GSX. Eclipses are heavy, Slow, do not handel well. The only thing I agree with is that it has absolutely no passanger (and driver) space, and comfort.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

A sports car's dominant considerations can be superior road handling, braking, maneuverability, low weight, and high power, rather than passenger space, comfort, and fuel economy.[/b]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Greek8 @ Oct 27 2007, 02:46 PM) [url=index.php?act=findpost&pid=8462]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/url]</div>

Completely agree with you. especialy on the New generation Eclipses. Everything quoted below does not describe an eclipse unless your speaking of a GSX. Eclipses are heavy, Slow, do not handel well. The only thing I agree with is that it has absolutely no passanger (and driver) space, and comfort.[/b]

I agree with the fact the Eclipse should not be on that list, mostly because it's heavy, doesn't handle that well and is FWD.... however, you should go test drive one of the new V6 GT's, they're actually not that slow. Their new 3.8L 263bhp V6 is fairly peppy, the last couple comparo's I saw with it, it was trapping at the same MPH as a 350Z.... not what I would consider all that "fast", but quick enough, I would bet the new Eclipse would probably pull on a stock RX-8 in a drag race, although the RX-8 would more than make up for it in anything but a straight line.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (arctic_blue83 @ Oct 28 2007, 10:10 AM) [url=index.php?act=findpost&pid=8508]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/url]</div>

I agree with the fact the Eclipse should not be on that list, mostly because it's heavy, doesn't handle that well and is FWD.... however, you should go test drive one of the new V6 GT's, they're actually not that slow. Their new 3.8L 263bhp V6 is fairly peppy, the last couple comparo's I saw with it, it was trapping at the same MPH as a 350Z.... not what I would consider all that "fast", but quick enough, I would bet the new Eclipse would probably pull on a stock RX-8 in a drag race, although the RX-8 would more than make up for it in anything but a straight line.[/b]

Actually I draged a new Eclipse GT at Bandimere this past spring. I was a second faster. It couldn't do better than mid to high 17's on any run it did. I'm usually hitting 16.3-16.4.They do have more torque and get off the line quicker but that's just to compensate for the outrageaous wheigt issue it has. It's Depressed because after the 2nd gen got replaced with 3rd gen it felt like nobody liked it because it was strictly a chick car. Should be put on a Evo diet.

I just looked at the list and how in the world did the corvette get beat by the Mustang? How did anything get beat by the Mustang? In every review I've seen the 8 always racks up more points than both Eclipse and mustang. MSN does not know nothing when it comes to anything. Where is the 8? Miata should be farther up and why are there Lambo's. Who can afford them? The Sky is soo much nicer than the solstice.

Okay I'm done. First time seeing the list actually and it got me going.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Greek8 @ Oct 28 2007, 11:46 AM) [url=index.php?act=findpost&pid=8513]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/url]</div>

I just looked at the list and how in the world did the corvette get beat by the Mustang? How did anything get beat by the Mustang? In every review I've seen the 8 always racks up more points than both Eclipse and mustang. MSN does not know nothing when it comes to anything. Where is the 8? Miata should be farther up and why are there Lambo's. Who can afford them? The Sky is soo much nicer than the solstice.

Okay I'm done. First time seeing the list actually and it got me going.[/b]

They aren't rankings. It's merely what cars get the most hits on their new car research site.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Greek8 @ Oct 28 2007, 10:33 AM) [url=index.php?act=findpost&pid=8512]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/url]</div>

Actually I draged a new Eclipse GT at Bandimere this past spring. I was a second faster. It couldn't do better than mid to high 17's on any run it did. I'm usually hitting 16.3-16.4.They do have more torque and get off the line quicker but that's just to compensate for the outrageaous wheigt issue it has. It's Depressed because after the 2nd gen got replaced with 3rd gen it felt like nobody liked it because it was strictly a chick car. Should be put on a Evo diet.[/b]

I wouldn't say they're slow just because some guy at the strip can't drive.... I remember when I used to have my old WRX, me and a few buddies of mine always used to go to this Car Wash to hang out right outside Ft Hood, which was where pretty much everyone that was into cars used to hang out. I remember on my way back, there was another guy in a bugeye WRX following behind me.... well, we ended up going from a high roll (around 45mph), and I couldn't pull an inch on him... I was thinking "WTF"? So we pulled over, checked out each others cars, we both had vastly different mods (me=TBE, EM, UP & him=headers, TBE, EBC, CAI, pulleys ect), but obviously we were making almost identical power as I couldn't pull him from a roll, we were dead even..... so we went from a stop in the middle of nothing up on north Ft Hood.... from a stop, I raped him so hard it wasn't even funny, we're talking bus lengths. We stopped and talked for a minute after that, found out we both went to the same track (Temple Academy Dragway), and while I was running 13.3-13.4 he couldn't launch/drive his car for shit, and could only muster something like a 14.3 was his best. Our cars were dead equal. I ran a full second faster. Just because someone runs slow at a track, doesn't mean their car is slow, maybe the driver just sucks.

Although the RX-8 being RWD would make it easier to launch than the new Eclipse, if you went from a roll, I still believe the new Eclipse GT would pull. Here's why, these are two of the fastest stock RX-8 & new Eclipse's I could find:

http://www.dragtimes.com/Mazda-RX-8-Timeslip-2899.html
http://www.dragtimes.com/Mitsubishi-Eclips...slip-12681.html

Notice the RX-8 pulled a slightly better ET, but the Eclipse was trapping 4mph faster... that's a pretty decent gap in power, one car just got a better launch. From a roll, a car trapping 4mph higher should pull pretty easily.

True about drivers sucking. I also ran a second better than another 8 my first time running at the track back in 04. It would probably pull better from a roll yes but a want to say it depends at what speed and what rpm I'll be at. Say 35-40 mph roll would be a close match. A 25-30 mph roll idk. Anything under 25-30. I'd get killed but I may be able to gain. I'm no expert by any means and you have more experience with cars than myself but my bros gf's camaro will get a head on dead stop or a roll but I eventually start gaining on it. From a dead stop I was at its rear bumper and when I hit 3rd gear I was cruising past. From a roll it took a little longer but I started gaining. Same with a V6 stang. Not sure how a Eclipse would do.

I lalways thought that FWD would be easy to launch because you have all the weight of the front end gripping your tires down. Unlike a RWD where the only basic weight is, well the back of the car. Should find an Eclipse and test them. Undercontroled environment though. [img]http://coloradomazdaclub.com/forums/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif[/img]