Are the new Miatas selling?

Here in Canada the base car doesn't come in any colours (you can have white, black, or silver). To get red or blue you need to pay several thousands more. No green at any price. A shame. Miatas have always been pretty rare here though as a new one is realistically $40k.

You could always move to 'merica. But I know, I know. Rednecks!

Went to test drive one 2 weeks ago. The car felt light and stiff, pulls really well for the stated power. Interior really felt cheap, but light. Super fun to drive, very singularly focused for sure.

The huge navigation screen in the dash can't fold away which is really annoying. Terribly annoying. Hated that Nav screen.

I've seen one or two on the road at most, which is odd in this area (DC) seeing as there are plenty of (previous model) Miatas on the road around here and there is PLENTY of disposable income in this area. When the new Mustang came out I saw dozens of them within a week....same for 1-series BMWs, etc.

Mustang sales for January-September 2015: 96,225. So it's not surprising you immediately saw a lot more Mustangs.

Dave wrote: Here in Canada the base car doesn't come in any colours (you can have white, black, or silver). To get red or blue you need to pay several thousands more. No green at any price. A shame. Miatas have always been pretty rare here though as a new one is realistically $40k.

Actually, $45,000 by the time it is in the driveway when I spoke to the salesguy.

I was informed that the competition was the Mercedes SLK and as such the Miata represented amazing value. I guess that is a clever way to present such a steep price.

The same car that I was offered a test drive in, is still siting in the same spot 2 months later with disc that are so rusty that it drove me to start this thread.

My thoughts are that the Miata financial niche does NOT work in Canada. It is NOT an affordable sporty car for those that want to scratch the convertible itch, it is a high end luxury that needs to reflect off a much more expensive car to seem like a good value. Blame the triple whammy of the dollar exchange, the lower volume and the 13% sales tax for that, not Mazda necessarily.

The good news for Canadians is that in five years, importing a used Miata is going to represent great value over buying a new one. The S2000s out of the states certainly were.

In reply to irish44j: Mustangs and Camaros are the highest selling sporty cars on a yearly basis. The Challenger is probably still third right now.

Edit: I haven't seen any in my area yet. I do seem to see less Genesis Coupes and FR-S/BRZs, too.

NOHOME wrote: My thoughts are that the Miata financial niche does NOT work in Canada. It is NOT an affordable sporty car for those that want to scratch the convertible itch, it is a high end luxury that needs to reflect off a much more expensive car to seem like a good value. Blame the triple whammy of the dollar exchange, the lower volume and the 13% sales tax for that, not Mazda necessarily.

Interestingly, the 1990 Miata was a better seller in Canada per capita than in the US. It's right there in the sales figures.

As we know, the ND has pretty much the same MSRP as the 1990 Miata did in corrected US dollars. The exchange rate at the time was 85 cents, the 2015 rate is 79 cents. I should remember what the original MSRP was for the Miata in Canada, but the gentle healing powers of time have erased that info from my brain.

There were some interesting things going on in the mid-90's with the Canadian market, though. Fewer color options than in the States and far fewer packages. In fact, you basically could get a base model or a loaded model with a fairly steep price difference. A very large number of them were taken straight to the ports and exported. I remember a Mazda rep saying about 50% of the Canadian 1997 models were shipped out immediately. I could go on with stuff like this for a while.

Fact is, you've got a dealer who's gouging. MSRP in Canada starts at $35k. If it's going to cost an extra ten thousand dollars to get it in your driveway, you need to go visit a different dealer.

Keith:

I recall the early days of the Miata in Canada because I tried to buy one here. It was 23k, no test drive and wait till it arrives. (Tax on top)

I ended up buying the car in Florida. If memory serves me it was 17k plus 3% sales tax since I registered the car in SD.

The US car was a big deal in Canada Miata circles because it had an airbag, cruise control, power windows and posi. At the time, Canadians could not import the US version of the Miata into the country (I had some fun when I moved here two years later).

I got away with the weird purchase antics because I was actually a Nigerian resident at the time. I used the car to wander around North America during my work breaks ( 7 weeks on 4 weeks off) hence the plate NOHOME.

iadr said: That said, my impression of them is they are simply too small to be practical in modern traffic. They are a toy, the same way, the CanAM trike/bike thing is.

I wonder if I could go back to DDing a Miata? I think the minuscule size is one of the reasons I have pretty much stopped driving the MGB. I don't feel that overly exposed feeling in the FRS though and it is not that big.

Seen a few in the DC metro area.

I live in the land of giant work trucks, and I don't find the size of the Miata to be a concern. That's a mental thing on the part of the driver.

I've seen 2 other reds, a white and a black locally.

I've seen a few on the streets. Been to the local dealer and it seems they don't get many in, apparently no more than a couple at a time and the ones I've seen at the lot usually have the A/T. Not much of a selection.