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TR6 TR6 vs Miata

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Drove a Miata when they first hit the market. A friend who has a dealership stopped by to let me drive and possibly buy the car. At the time, I was driving an RX7. There was absolutely no comparison. I remember thinking that the engine was rather buzzy.
Now, Mazda has given them a bit more uumph and I'm sure it is a much better car. But I'm really not interested in finding out. To me, though they are a good car, they are a dime a dozen, and have no real personality.
I'm happy for those who love their Miatas, just as they should appreciate our love for British cars.
The ones I'll never understand are the people who buy 40 Yugos so to maintain one for the road. It's great to live in a country where we have a choice.
 
LBC's aren't for everybody and I have more than a few times recommended to people interested in buying a Triumph or MG that they not and instead invest in a good, used Miata. Knowing that these people had no abilities to do repairs, 2 of them did indeed take the plunge and bought nice Miatas and are tickled pink. It was the best choice for them and eliminated a ton of frustration for them. Another guy I misread, thought he didn't have what it took, bought a TR and is doing fine with his project. Ya gotta be a special person to own one of these babies. They just aren't for everybody.


Bill
 
I think people missed my point...The TR6 was an antiquated car when it was new, and it's perfectly classic now. The Miata has no classic feel, but will be a classic in 25 years. (There's that 30 year rule from the end of production.)

I like the "like beating up your grandfather" line. It's perfect.

And yes, I'm a TR guy through-and-through. I bought a Miata because a)it's a kick to drive, b)I don't care if it gets beat up and c)I paid $1200 for it.

As for the interior comment -- TRs have much more leg room, head room and storage room. Shoulder room in a TR6 and Miata are about the same.
 
I like my Miata and my Brit-car. They're both great.

This year, I'll spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars working on the Spridget.

And I'll probably wash the Miata....maybe.. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jester.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
Ya gotta be a special person to own one of these babies. They just aren't for everybody.


[/ QUOTE ]

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/iagree.gif

But then, I would, wouldn't I.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jester.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devilgrin.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
I think people missed my point...The TR6 was an antiquated car when it was new....

[/ QUOTE ]Well, yes, in a way, but so was just about everything else back then! Considering how tiny a company Triumph was compared to most other major manufacturers, they had their share of innovation at least through much of the 1960s. As I recall, upon the introduction of the TR4A with IRS, Triumph was about the only company in the world making a full range of both family and "sporting" cars with four-wheel independent suspensions. This at a time when most American-made cars (and lots of others around the world) were still using "live" rear axles and basic coil-spring / A-arm front suspensions. Not bad for a company whose entire R&D budget was probably about equal to that of Ford's Mustang interior door panel R&D budget. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
In their day, the TR2-TR4 were very competitive. The TR6 was generally considered a dinosaur, due to the chassis (the flex) and the fact that very little had changed in ten years. The same was said about the E-Type and MGB in the 70s. (Yes, the press liked the Jag V12, but that was about all they liked in the Series III.)

The TR6's main problem is that it had to compete with a unibody/DOHC Fiat Spider, the Datsun 240Z (a better performer,) and the mid-engined X1/9.

Still, they sold well, because they were (and still are) fundamentally fun and pretty cars. I'd rather have a TR6 than its more technically interesting contemporaries.

Oh, and the Mustang still uses a live axle!
 
I love my miata and my newly acquired MGB.
There's not much "controversy" going on in that thread at miata.net. Lot's of former LBC owners over there and more often than not, loving recollections of past LBC ownership.
The reality is that up until the miata was ut, your only option for a small sports car in a rag top was an old car. If you didn't have the time, place to work on it, you were forking out dough every time it needed fixing. Been there done that...
So was Mazda going to put out a traditional sports car that needed constant repairs? Of course not. What they did was put out a traditionally designed sports car as close to the definition as possible while making it safe and reliable as a daily driver/weekend canyon carver! Ingenious!
You can't fault a company for doing that.
I love british cars, but I'll never give up my miata.
And I already consider it to be classic.
 
And now Pontiac drops the Solstice in. Not a bad looking ride at all. But I'll never give up the TR6 either.
 
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