News Roundup - November 14, 2018

So over on Google+, I was never a big fan of the Collections feature. Nevertheless, back when I got my Acura earlier this year I set up new collection to share news stories regarding Acuras. Not sure what I'll do with that since I've moved on from Acura, but I do continue to follow some Acura race car drivers and teams - maybe something dedicated just for them (or they could end up here despite being the "wrong" brand). I followed that collection up with a new collection focused primarily on the Miata MX-5, though some general Mazda news gets in there along with Fiat 124 Spider news (since it is essentially an MX-5).

Since starting those, Google has announced they are shuttering Google+ for consumer use in August 2019. So I've been trying to decide what to keep going when that happens and how that will be achieved. This post is my first test of possibly sharing some news items via this blog to try to replace the Miata collection.

Fiat Steps Back To The 80's

Interestingly enough, I'm in the middle of going back and watching Miami Vice via Hulu (that is worth a couple blog entries). I guess someone with Fiat's marketing team has the same interest as they have apparently produced a new campaign that is a send up of Miami Vice using Sting and Shaggy and substituting a Fiat 124 Spider Abarth. Alas, Fiat is getting smacked around by accusations of sexism, which make a typo even worse.

Get Yer Fiats Out: Hilariously Unlikely FCA Marketing Tie-up Includes an Unfortunate Typo

Fun and Frugal?

Not real big in re-posting top 10 articles, but this one came across that looks at two qualities - sportiness and gas mileage. When I had a MINI, I always enjoyed the challenge of squeezing out gas mileage while also having a fun to drive car and that continues with the MX-5. I'm currently sitting at an average fuel economy of 34.5 mpg. My big challenge right now is trying to get the combination of trip odometer + distance to empty to equal or better 400 miles. The closest I've made it is 398 miles just after a fill-up after a particularly good run through a tank.

Anyway, in the linked article, the Miata MX-5 makes the top 10 list for the combination. I noted that the automatic ranks higher than the manual for highway driving. I see that more and more in recent years. According to the specs, the Miata gets 29 combined, which is quite a bit lower than what I am experiencing.

* note they reference a 2016 model year for this article.

10 Sports Cars With The Best MPG

Modded Miata Makes The News

I'm not that into modding cars, especially things that are visible or engine mods. Thought this one was interesting though as the modifications focus on functionality (making it go faster and handle better). Exterior mods are not too bad imo. 

This Must Be One Of The Best First-Gen MX-5s You Can Buy Right Now