what really happened

There is probably more aftermarket support for the 4.6 now than when I had mine, but it seemed like you could do much more with the old pushrod 5.0 which would mean buying a '95 or earlier. My main point was that the '99 had much better heads than the '98 and there shouldn't be a big price difference between the two.

I weigh a lot. I need that extra power.

$4.41 for 91 octane in NorCal. Glad I only needed 9.5 gal.

As the previous owner of a '98 Mustang, I urge you to set your sights higher. Even a '99 has 40 more horsepower than the '98 due to better designed heads (265hp vs. 225). Really, I wouldn't settle for less than 300hp in a Mustang. And yes, I drive a car that only has 167hp but the Miata has a lot going for it that the…

I'm sorry about your friend. I hope he still enjoys driving.

I have an MX-5. It's a 2006, the model year when Mazda thought they could get away with dropping Miata from the name. People still call it a Miata, incorrectly, but I don't like to make a big deal about it. Calling it an MX-5 just confuses most people.

And I like convertibles…

There are also differences between insightful comments and pedantry.

50th anniversary of Shelby, not the Mustang.

It just sits there in that showroom though. It wants to be out on the road. I can see it in its eyes… headlamps… whatever.

Maybe now that Saab is dying the dealer near me will sell the Sonett they have sitting in the showroom. I couldn't buy it, but maybe someone would get it back on the streets again. It looks perfect.

Will it have a windscreen? If not Santa Ana would be appropriate because of the dust blowing in your face.

My dad used to sing that line and I didn't think I'd ever hear of it from anyone else. He apparently liked the movie enough to name my sister "Alisa".

This is like watching Women's Clean and Jerk. They're powerful, impressive, world-class athletes. But would you want to take one of them home? I'm glad to have one who's graceful, light on her feet and has all the right moves to make me… you know what I'm talking about.

6th Gear: I got myself a Miata last year. Are you suggesting I get a second Miata? It would have to be CHEAP. But it could be a fun project car if I had the time/money/motivation/skills/tools/garage space to work on a project car.

Or, to paraphrase and Evangelical saying, putting Christmas lights on your house doesn't make you a Christian any more than putting a bumper sticker on yourself makes you a car.

Putting Christmas decorations all over everything isn't some kind of religious plot to turn people into Christians. It's marketing. If you don't like Flickr's marketing, complain to Flickr.

There shouldn't be a badge there at all and that's not the right badge for a Mazda of that age.

I think the Milano/75 was the last true-to-its-roots Alfa design with its perfect F/R weight distribution and rear-mounted transaxle. The SZ/RZ and 8C might be exceptions but so few were made they were practically unobtainable. Maybe the 4C will be a revival of what Alfas used to be but it seems more like and Italian…