Halton Hills Newspapers

Independent & Free Press (Georgetown, ON), 14 Aug 2014, Wheels, p. 1

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82 Main St. N. Georgetown 905-873-6127 Honest, Reliable Service Since 1989 To book an appointment www.bratinauto.com Free Local Shuttle Service OIL CHANGE MAINTENANCE SPECIAL 061214 *Most Vehicles Expiry August 31, 2014 (Includes 30 Point Inspection) Bratin Auto Ontario Drive Clean Test and Repair Facility for all light duty vehicles $4995* Expiry August 31, 2014 061214 AIr CONdITIONING PErfOrMANCE TEST $6995 Is Your Car Cool? ServiceS offered: • Brakes • Steering / Suspension • Computerized Alignments • Exhaust • Tires • D.O.T. Safety • ... and more 081414 Road Trips! Make Sure Your Vehicle is Safe! OIL CHANGE MAINTENANCE SPECIAL 061214 *Most Vehicles Expiry August 31, 2014 (Includes 30 Point Inspection) $4995* 081414 Ontario Drive Clean Test and Repair Facility for all light duty vehicles Thursday, August 14, 2014 Special pullout section 12 Pages Road Test To this day, in my experi- ence, nothing has caused quite the stir as the original Mazda Miata. Now in its 25th year of pro- duction, I think I've driven one every year for the last 25 years, not to set some kind of record, but for what it offers - the "spirit of a sportscar". I didn't invent that slogan, Mazda did, but it sums up what this charming little two-seat roadster is all about - having fun. You had to be there in 1989 when Mazda, out of the blue, debuted the Miata (now called MX-5) at the Chicago Auto Show. It was a breath of much- needed fresh air. It was the worst of times for the auto industry. The domes- tics in particular were palming off horrid automobiles such as the K-Cars, Topaz/Tempo and A- and J-body GM cars that, for the General, hastened its decline into near oblivion that almost resulted in GM ceasing to exist. While the Japanese, to their credit, stuck to quality over quantity, the same could not be said for the Europeans, especially the British. Arguably, England had created what we consider today as the two-seat sports- car, boasting names such as Triumph, Jaguar, TVR, MG, Morgan and Sunbeam. In truth, they were horrid pieces of yestertech with great cast iron lumps of engines, wire wheels that needed to be "re-laced" every six months and carbure- tors going back in design to World War One. The "platforms" were cold welded mild steel tubing or ladder frames with virtual- ly no chassis rigidity or crash protection, as we know it today. "Swaying like a reed in the wind" was a phrase I read long ago describing the chassis flex of an Austin Healey 3000, which was extremely accurate. The worst of all was the weather pro- tection, which consisted of a bunch of wire hoops over which was stretched a See 2014, pg. 3 By JIM ROBINSON Metroland Media Mazda's cheery MX-5 Miata roadster has been in production for 25 years and is the largest selling sports car of all time because it's all about the fun of driving. The last Tango in a Miata

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