Bob Hall on the MX-5

[JBT]

A video that may dispel some myths. http://www.autoblog.com/2014/09/10/mazda-miata-fathers-hall-case-history-video/

[emx005]

Great vid. Thanks!

[Rocky]

That is an absolutely fascinating video that hugely enriches my knowledge of the development of the MX5.
Bob is something special, isn't he.
I was interested to hear his comment that they didn't want to rely on "state of the moment design cues" and that whilst he is too modest to call the shape 'classic' you can tell that he thinks it is.
'State of the moment design cues' - like 'Angry Bird' headlights - date rapidly, and the best designs avoid this sort of detail.
Love the colour of the car owned by his brother-in-law - looks a bit similar to Splash Green, but really suits the NA.
So much good stuff here, I will archive that one for repeated reference.

[JayMo]

I swear, that white one from about 14 minutes is staring at me... it is like the mona lisa, with its beady eyes looking at me even if I shift myself in my seat it follows me around Bob keeps talking but I am not hearing as I try and out-stare a Miata...

awesome video!

[Mr Morlock]

Yes it was interesting and I liked the way that he acknowledged Hirai san and his team who built this terrific car. He still sticks with "less is more" and reference to especially well done on the new car. Little tid bits like building the car to be low on insurance premium by virtue of low repair costs are probably not all that well known. The remark about MGB never being adapted was also revealing whereas the MX5 has not stood still. The MX5 was a remarkable achievement by men with passion and a small budget.

[smy0003]

Great video. You really get a sense that the original teams enthusiasm transferred directly to the NA.

[rjastra2]

The remark about MGB never being adapted was also revealing whereas the MX5 has not stood still.

Interesting as during its lifetime (18 yrs?) it had a 3 revisions with number of dashboards, a few different engines (4 , 6 cylinder and a V8) and two body types (roadster and GT). One of the first production cars to incorporate crumple zones.

[JBT]

In essence, the MGB stood still from birth.
The only change to the engine was from a 3 bearing to a 5 bearing crank.
It also caught up with the 20th century by going from a 3 synchro to an all synchro (4 speed with optional overdrive) gearbox.
The MGB had MG TD suspension.
The MGC (6 cyl and only produced for a few years) had a torsion bar front set up. The MGC was expensive and a production and marketing failure.
The V8 was only available in the MGB GT V8. Bluddy expensive and a very limited run. If you wanted a roadster you couldn't have a V8.
It became embarrassingly bad by the time production ceased with those huge rubber coated bumpers and an ancient B series BMC engine strangled by polution controls.
The 1980 1800cc USA model could barely crack 80 mph I'm astonished that they sold any at all.
The body never changed in structure and it was not designed to crumple with those enormous chassis rails that run from front to rear. It did eventually have a steering shaft that crumpled when that became mandatory.
Any other changes were purely cosmetic. It had several different dash layouts for various years and markets - but none of that improved how it worked or what was behind it.
It died the death of a thousand cuts due to steady regression, abysmal production standards and appalling BL management.
It sort of came back to life in the early 90s with a limited run (2000) of the MG RV8 (3.5 ltr) with revised front suspension and an astronomical price when Rover took over, but it failed again. Most RV8s were bought by people in Japan.

I've owned two B roadsters and one GT in the past and don't miss them for second.

The MX-5 is everything the MGB/MGC should have become.

[Mr Morlock]

good to hear JBT talking about a subject close to some of us i.e. classic sports cars. It was a great car in its day, the B, but it suffered the same problem as just about all British cars in that they never really understood the Japanese approach of continuous improvement Bob Hall is very entertaining and he really is a classic sport car guy who does not see it being all about overpowered in your face sporty cars many of which were born in the USA. That does not mean everyone shares his opinion on all of these things but he does have great credentials.

[Lokiel]

:
I was interested to hear his comment that they didn't want to rely on "state of the moment design cues" and that whilst he is too modest to call the shape 'classic' you can tell that he thinks it is.
'State of the moment design cues' - like 'Angry Bird' headlights - date rapidly, and the best designs avoid this sort of detail.
:

That was the problem with the NC IMO, it looks like a car that was designed based on the trends of the time, and is why it wont be coveted as highly in years to come as the NA and NB which are more "classic/timeless" styles (the NB did take some cues from the RX7 FD which was a new design but the FD is now considered a classic too, it's still one of the most beautiful 2-door sports car ever built).

I think Mazda privately acknowledges that they "lost their way" with the NC since the ND has returned to a more classic shape rather than looking like a "convertibalised" Mazda 3.

[greenMachine]

Great vid!

Yeah, the B was a major missed opportunity, imagine if Bwob worked for them, what might have happened. But it stagnated, the fiddles did nothing but make it legal, did nothing about it's performance and attractiveness to the sporty car fraternity. Great if you liked old British sports cars, not so much for the rest of us.

The more I look at the ND, the more I like it. Now, if I can just get that money tree in the yard to start bearing fruit ...

[JBT]

I think Mazda privately acknowledges that they "lost their way" with the NC since the ND has returned to a more classic shape rather than looking like a "convertibalised" Mazda 3.

Oh puleeze, enough with the enceeaphobia.
IMO, the ND looks more like the NC than anything else...mind you, the indicator repeaters look a bit like the ones on my Mazda6.
It also seems very similar to the NC under the bonnet, has carried over the same, slightly tweaked, general suspension design and similar single hand operated soft-top arrangement - must have been successful over the last 9 years then.

[Mr Morlock]

I am feeling a bit of pain for the NC guys as well- its a very cool car. Also it would not have really made a difference with Bob Hall working for the Brits because the problem was in the thinking of the car bosses. USA was exactly the same- just interested in pushing our cars that were half baked / badly built etc. The revelation in For Love of Cars was that the Stag cooling system was ok from a design angle but fatally flawed by assembly techniques - well thats what the show said!

[Lokiel]

:
Oh puleeze, enough with the enceeaphobia.
IMO, the ND looks more like the NC than anything else..
:.

"enceeacism" would be a more appropriate "not-a-real-word" here, I'm not "scared" of NCs, I just don't like the bloated look of them, their wheel arches or their plasticky interior (ie. all very shallow aesthetic reasons, giving absolutely no credit to any of the engineering improvements of the NC over the NA/NB).

While we're doing "IMO"s, IMO, from the side, the ND looks closer to the NB than the NA or NC.

[sabretooth]

Great vid - straight from the horse's mouth, too.