I just purchased a 2009 Miata MX-5 with retractable hardtop. This is the first roadster I have had since the 70's when I had an Austin Healy 3000. I have been a member of the Chev Tracker group for many years, but as soon as I sell that little gem I will be dropping out of the group. I hope I can get as much useful information from this group.
Welcome. You might want to check out forum.miata.net also. Some good info there, but be forewarned.
While the forums for the older generations of Miatas are quite nice and well structured with sub-forums, the forum for the newest generation (NC) is inhabited by a very vocal group of hardcore modders. You're likely to get attacked and flamed there for showing any love for the stock vehicle.
Unless you're into hardcore modding, it may not be your cup of tea, but some information can still be gleaned from there.
Wow, I hadn't heard that about the Miata.net forums on the NC, interesting. Hopefully that will change with time. I know there are allot of us 'middle aged' guys purchasing the NC, some of whom surely are quite happy with it in stock form. Myself, I like all of the miatas in stock form, I just think they are the near perfect compromise and part of the beauty is that with a bit of thoughtful modification they can easily be fine tuned to where there's very little compromise from your individual tastes. Flaming anyone for their appreciation for the stock car is simply immature. On the other hand if someone came on there all excited with their new sports car and said it was the best handling sports car out there, that person might get ....... corrected.
You'll find no shortage of affection for your car here. Many of us old soft-toppers and hard-topers, clearly see the beauty (functionally) of your cars set up! The looks of the NC and the PRHT are subject of some debate but each new generation of Miata has rattled allot of the cages of the previous owners. In retrospect, I think Mazda has excellent vision for the little roadster. I hope they do another 'Mazdaspeed' version and they might have my perfect car ;-)
The ratio of NA / NB / NC cars is hard to say but it is safe to say that the NC portion is likely to be the fastest growing segment here in sheer numbers. We really need new (ACTIVE) blood here so, jump in and don't be afraid to ask anything! Congrats on the car purchase, I'm sure you're going to love it.
Tell us about your old Healey 3000 if you get a chance. Allot of us are classic sports car folks. Personally, if I could afford to, I'd own a Miata AND an old classic sports car!
Ferraris, Porsches, and other over-powered cars are very useful--as radar chaff. I've owned sports cars that were a bit quicker than your average Ferrari (of the same vintage) and (more often) sports cars that were a _lot_ slower. In either instance, it seems that people have some deep need to prove that their exotic is faster than my exotic (or even not-so-exotic). I can't tell you how many times I have given one of those guys a mock race, then "lost" and let him tear on, because I knew that over the hill or around that bend was a favorite police radar hangout. Don't you know those dudes were lock-jawed as I breezed past at the speed limit--as if I had /made/ them speed. Me? Got a ticket in Texas in the 60's for an alleged 105 mph in a 35 zone (beat it in court--or, rather, got an attorney to keep getting continuances until the docket was cleared and case dismissed) and another in Israel in the mid 70's for an alleged 190 kph in a 100 kph zone. Ignored it. Put it on the wall in my embassy office with all the parking tickets and miscellaneous fines I was ignoring.
Now that is funny! May I take it that you don't have a great deal of experience in the U.S. Foreign Service, and in the finer points of conducting foreign affairs in general?
No matter how badly Davoud was or was not acting while overseas, he probably could not have given the people there much worse of an impression of Americans in general than what it actually true.
I never thought about it that way. I would not like to be judged by the way I really am, now that is a scary thought. This is my nice side on r.a.m.m.
Not saying Davoud isn't a jerk, nor will I defend myself against such a label. I am just afraid that he did more to get them prepared for the way it really is rather than giving any false impressions.
Of course, this assumes that the Davoud has actually been more than 10 miles from his place of birth.
I am not saying he hasn't been overseas in a diplomatic position, but almost anybody can be almost anybody, online, with a supply of pictures, a good memory and a decent imagination. ;-)
I'm not absolutely sure that's it. Firstly, he hasn't "seen" me and he knows nothing about me. Secondly, he really doesn't know about life in the Foreign Service, which is another way of saying that he's commenting on something he knows nothing about. You would never do that.
And that's why I found his remark to be so funny. That, and the amazing fact that, by implication, he has led a Christ-like life since birth, so utterly pure that he has the brass to condemn someone for something so petty as a traffic citation. At least that's what I must assume; the alternative is that Mr. Edwards is a hypocrite, and since I don't know him, I wouldn't call him that. Ignoring a traffic ticket isn't a sin, even in the so-called Holy Land; just a misdemeanor for non-diplomats and SOP for diplomats.
I hope Mr. Edwards doesn't lose any sleep over this, but diplomats from every nation and in every nation are disregarding traffic tickets by the thousands, every day.
Incidentally, I got a citation once in Asia for I-know-not-what. The chief of the police station nearest the Embassy was a pal of mine, so I decided to stop in and say hello and pay the ticket. The entire police station was aroar with laughter; no one--no one--had ever come in to pay a fine before and they had no procedure for handling such a payment. Bribes and extortion, yes. Citations, no.
I actually kind of like this Davoud guy, and I can easily handle pompous.
Welcome to r.a.m.m., BTW. ;-)
He HAS made a number of very true observations of our country. This place has lots of problems, and having the people who live here just keep repeating that it is the greatest country in the world isn't going to solve any of them.
There is also a very good reason that Americans are generally hated throughout the rest of the world, and it is not our diplomats ignoring traffic citations that is causing this hatred to happen.
To the OP, don't worry. There is not a lot of traffic here anymore, but it is still usually on-topic.
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