When they started their donation drive, I had some spare cash and gave it to them happily. A lot of folks in my local Miata club also donated and got the club name put on the side of the car. Again, this was months ago when they first started soliciting donations. Before they decided to reset their donation tach. :sad2:

I've always liked FM, both as a company and as people. I think they're great guys. But when they reset their little donation clock after hitting their $10k goal? I was pissed off. All the happy feelings of helping them go to that race went away. It left quite a sour taste in my mouth.

I still like FM and will still buy parts from them, but I'd not give them any money for something like this again. :ugh:

I think it is lame as hell. Props to Keith for getting his hobby paid for but I think it is kind of taking advantage of their customer base. He should have gotten sponsorship from Mazda and Chevy and other companies, not individuals. Tacky.

This isn't even something down n dirty n grassroots like a lemons race. All the parts he is using are top quality and brand new :P

This said, FM has helped my power ambitions a lot and Keiths book got me through several projects. Still, this is lame. At the end he should have just auctioned the car and given any profit to charity instead.

I hope you guys never find out what Rick and I do with your "donations"

I'll donate by buying a new clutch for way more than I should spend on one.

fap material?

Pizza Party's at Dyno Days.

It's their right to solicit for donations on their website.

It's your right to ignore the solicitations.

They are a business in a (decreasingly) capitalist economy. Profit is their motive. If people *hand* them money, it is an infinite ROI and infinitely profitable.

If I could get people to hand me money for my hobbies, I would do it in a heartbeat.

At $3/month/supporter, you're sitting on a pretty decent profit margin before that little bit of non-subscribers advertisement money kicks in

and our white parties.

I'd prefer if you just give me your money as a donation so I could race without actually building and selling you anything.

Only if you promise to also overcharge me for products as well.

I wonder how many people read that the first round was for the Targa Miata and the "reset" is seperate to send Egor and that they didn't combine the cost of entering both cars into one fundraiser...

*Edit- It seems they changed #2 car from Egor to the s/c'd NC.

Nope I've never read that. They should make it bold.

I still think it should have been on a separate website.

No one said they didn't have the right. But previous and future customers also have the right to think it's tacky. Please reference my aforementioned jealousy.

I'm out of the loop here... I think that they're tach reads 13,500$ right now, and they tell us that they need about 24,000$. Were those numbers different before?

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1305834163

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Yeah, when they first started it, they had the tachometer gauge for the funds raised and under it they stated that once that goal was reached, they would reset it and start another one for the second car.

My fiancee saw the Facebook thing and suggested we send them $50. Why? Because we met them a couple weeks ago in Georgia and they were really nice guys. Keith helped me with some questions, and Bill hung out in the parking lot at Taco Mac and just chatted with us for a good bit.

Does this deserve our money? Probably not. However I still plan to throw in for their Targa effort. Why? Because I've owned one Miata or another since 1999 and until last year I cannot recall spending a dime with FM. If I did, it was under $100. However, I have owned several of their products that I bought as used pieces from other enthusiasts. The many times I have emailed or called FM with support questions, I was up-front that we were talking about a second hand part; they still always treated me as a customer.

I bought a "no electronics" FM turbo kit from FRT_Fun on this board, after a long discussion with Brandon at FM about buying the same setup new. Buying used saved me some money that I then was able to spend on a full 3" exhaust (new) from FM. So they have received a lot less of my money from me than my car would indicate, but they have supported me by phone and email throughout my install as though I bought every part new, directly from them.

I don't expect this kind of service from anyone and wouldn't be disappointed if I didn't receive it. I feel like this is a way that I can give back to them in a small way. They have spent time with me on many occasions and have not been paid for that time. I don't owe them, and they don't owe me, but I'm glad that they do what they do and make some great products for our community. It's nice to have a company that consists of good people making good products (mostly) in the US, for our hobby.

Nobody is forcing you to give. That said, I was also a little annoyed by the "resetting" of the goal. I'm not sure I fully understand the reasoning behind it, but hopefully they do well and get some good data that helps them to keep making good products. They have a good margin on most of their stuff, for sure, but it's still a small company in a niche market. I don't think they begin to compare to Prada.

Nothing wrong with it but he needs to be getting money from their vendors if he wants to make a dent. Rharris what is the link to the van man?

This inspires me. Maybe I can get a chumpcar or lemons sponsorship from sawzall? Only $500...

No harm in tryin'! Sawzall would be an inspired sponsor.

I'd threaten to paint "MX-5 = Fag Car" on the side unless Mazda donated $50K.