Can confirm. Got a miata as my first car. Spun it three times within the first year, and then realized that I should probably start driving cautiously while luck was still on my side.

The question is more interesting if you interpret it as 'What first car costing as much as $25,000 could possibly be a good idea?'

This or the miata, basically. Buy a cheap lightweight RWD car, let it be destroyed in a crash (hopefully without injuries), buy a second cheap lightweight RWD car, let it be destroyed in a crash, rinse and repeat until kid has learned to drive.

Volvo is doing something similar with their 'classic' range. I can't be bothered to look it up, but I think that they sell the old models as 'classic' in the gap between a new model being announced and it going on sale, or something like that. Volvo's conservative styling means that you can sometimes buy a new car…

Huh? No, you misunderstood me. I get the fact that some people do think it’s a car with a girlie image or a gay image, but as a straight male miata owner that doesn’t bother me. Those who think so usually aren’t car people, they don’t know that it’s a car reverred for its driving feel and cornering abilities but…

No, seriously. I don’t dislike this game because it’s controversial. I dislike it because it’s built to appeal those with a complete lack of self-distance. It’s created to appeal to the saddest people on earth, those who think that putting on a veneer of being resentful and hateful somehow make them less sad than they…

These days, yes, the Miata doesn’t sell at all as well as it did when it was first introduced, but I still wouldn’t brand the model as such a ‘mediocre seller’.

Well, Guinness crowned it 'the best selling sports car' back in 2000 already, and now the total sales are up to twice that level. It only makes sense that the best selling sports car is one of the cheaper ones (the previous record holder was the MGB), but the Miata was kind of unique in that it's a cheap sports car…

The SS.

It's a car that's said to be complete and utter shit in almost every possible way, but it's also arguably Aston Martin's most distinctive design ever (both on the inside and on the outside) and if I recall correctly they only ever built 600 units. I can hardly think of a more reasonably priced collector's car than…

The Mustang has definitely sold more units, but it would be a massive stretch to call it a sports car just because it has a large-displacement engine. The Miata was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's best selling sports car in 2000 (I think that the prior record holder was the MGB), and…

A mediocre seller? Really?

Funny you should say that, since the models I'm interested in (mostly used) are the GT, the GTV, the Brera and the 4C, and the 159 if I'm in an unusually sensible mood. I agree that the MiTo and the Giulietta are boring, but they're Alfa's attempt at selling cars to non-Jalops.

Oh, but I wouldn't fault Americans for it. There's nothing wrong with prioritizing quality, just like there's nothing wrong with prioritizing value for money, comfort, straight line speed, cornering, safety, boot space or anything else. But when I state that I want an Alfa and someone replies with a comment about the…

Yup, correct. If I wanted reliability, I’d probably just get myself a used Toyota, but then I’d end up killing myself out of boredom in a couple of months.

Huh?? Is the 3.2l V6 a Fiat engine?

Because they were built like shit? Yup. As I said, you’re missing the point of Alfas if that’s a big deal to you, in the same way that you’re missing the point of a Zonda if it’s important to you that it can fit your labrador and three kids.

Side note, since I can't edit: I don't think that I've ever heard anyone who isn't an American complain about the build quality of an Alfa. Maybe they've been absent for so long that people have forgotten how special they are? Yes, they were built by people who had a bottle of wine each for breakfast, but complaining…

Yep, which is one of the reasons why I want one.

Aw, shit.