A long time ago from a country far, far away came open-top two-seat sports cars bearing now-forgotten names like MG, Triumph, and Lotus. They were frisky, affordable, and fetching, save for one minor detail: they shed parts like tabby cats shed hair. Not the most profitable, either. Few expected this segment to be revived (least of all by Mazda), but just before the sun set on 1989, along came this rolling Tylenol gelcap with made-in-Japan quality and a roadgoing personality so vivacious that it became "an extension of your body." It called itself Miata, a name that came to redefine "affordable sports car" and earn an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records.But 16 years is a little long for any car to stick around, and anyway, Mazda just invested a billion or two in that new RX-8 a couple years ago. So taking advantage of that, Mazda used its significantly newer and stiffer platform, fiddled with the parts a bit, chopped the top, and gave us a normal piston engine. Here we are with a newly modernized Miata - though its official new name is MX-5, much to the chagrin of the faithful.