If Mazda can do it with 2016 4th Generation Miata, why cannot General Motors do the same with Corvette C7?

In the biggest irony of them all, two auto companies set out on exact the same mission, used very similar approaches and ended up with results completely opposite of each other. 

These companies, Mazda and +General Motors came up with new generations of their sports cars, designed with the same objectives in mind: LIGHTER, better handling and faster.

Here are the results, with +Tadge Juechter in one corner and Takao Kijima in the other corner: 220 pounds in weight savings for 2016 Mazda Miata versus between 200 to mind boggling 500 pounds in GAINED WEIGHT for Corvette C7 and C7 Z06.

Winner, by knock out, TAKAO KIJIMA!!!  +Tadge Juechter carried away on stretchers in shame and disgrace.  The only sports car remaining is the new Mazda Miata, Corvette C7 in any of its forms is no longer a sports car.

How could this happen?  Both chief engineers declared LIGHTWEIGHT CHASIS and associated weigh savings, yet ended up at the opposite ends of the spectrum of automotive knowledge.  The answer is very simple, Tadge Juechter is not a competent automotive engineer, in fact, considering the results, he can safely claim the title of fully fledged CHIEF IDIOT.

Interestingly enough, Mazda engineers made the newest Miata a mid engine design, at least in the way Juechter claims it is...

 

Can Corvette obscene weight gains be attributed to any new safety or emissions regulations?  This is what typically idiot Juechter claims along with the Corvette nut huggers but the new Miata proves this excuse to be a complete bullshit.

The comparison between the new Corvette and Miata can lead to only one logical conclusion: Corvette design team lacks the person with corrective vision to improve upon the previous generation of Corvette to bring it closer to the objective that Zora Arkus-Duntov championed during his time at General Motors: light and agile high powered SPORTS CAR, capable of enduring grueling conditions of racing while supplying its average owner enjoyment of experiencing what sports car should be.

Ironically enough, both Miata and Corvette are mass market cars, with Miata outselling Corvette by very large margin, however, only one of these cars caters to the people who understand and want a sports car.

One cannot help but wonder if a person like Kijima was in charge of Corvette program and a single person in the corporate management understood and supported that attitude, allowing the competent engineer to accomplish his mission, what would the new Corvette be like?  A 3000 pound Corvette, with good aerodynamics, slight bump in the power would not need the collection of corporate fuel efficiency junk that adds complexity and negatively affects the reliability and quality of the newest Corvette.  The car would be flying, on and off the track and would provide enjoyment to the buyers, without warranty repair nightmares and extra cost added to this supposed "bargain" of sports cars.

The current Corvette cannot any longer be considered a sports car, it is a very complex and heavy GT car, with aerodynamics of a garden shed and aesthetics of Liberace's living room.  The word that is already permanently missing from the vocabulary used to describe the latest Corvette is SIMPLICITY.  Japanese did not invent a sports car but certainly know how to evolve it, unlike Tadge Juechter and company.