Word: miata
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...your yuppie BMW back up. I know you're every bit as patriotic as I am. And like you, I believe in free trade: you should buy whatever damn car you please. (And, yes, I know your Japanese car may have been built here, and that your Miata, built over there, is part American because Ford owns 25% of Mazda...
Having charge of a Miata is like taking a puppy for a walk. People want to pat its stubby little muzzle (which looks as if it is not quite ready for the big world, since it lacks a conventional front bumper). They tell you about sports cars they owned, and when they get to the part where they sold the old XK 120, they look stricken...
...down, says the voice of reason. Have a nice cup of decaf tea. Try to remember that a car is not a puppy. True, the dreamer muses, but if adult automobiles bred and had young, the result might be a Miata: short nosed, rounded and soft looking; mischievous, with a funny, not quite serious growl...
...revving, 116- h.p. engine up through five gears, sounds like one-fourth of a Ferrari. Or, memory says, like an old MG-TC or Porsche Speedster. Which is to say, cunningly tuned to bring a grin but not a police cruiser. This is true, more or less, of the Miata's performance. Steering is solid and very quick; cornering is flat, without sway or slosh; and straight-out acceleration (0 to 60 m.p.h. in 8.6 sec.) is brisk but not pavement scorching...
...sense of nonsense. They buy BMW or Saab Turbo convertibles, ragtop versions of sedans that are irreproachably expensive and slightly stodgy. If you must pick up your elderly aunt, her Doberman and her scuba gear at the airport, you can manage it in one of these. In the Miata...