The A/C in the Miata is great. I mean really fucking great. It's cold enough to freeze the Middle East solid, that's how goddamned cold it makes the car.
The problem is that even on the minimum setting that's all it can do. It can't simply chill the car down a few degrees. It can't simply "make the cabin comfortable". It's simply "freeze your balls off" or turn off the A/C and within a few minutes of heat-wave level temperatures, you "cook yourself up but good."
I've been opting to freeze rather than boil, because I think it's easier to stomach "feeling chilly" than bathing in sweat. But it really is a tough decision...
Um, isn't the top removable? :)
Ah yes... clearly someone who's never owned a convertible. :-)
In "permanent temperate" climates, like California where I purchased the car, you can put the top down every day, and life is glorious.
However, if the sun is beating down, and the temperature is in the 100-degree range, putting the top down just makes you part of a fast-moving convection oven. The air blowing across your face doesn't cool you off. It may be blowing at 55+ MPH, but it's still hot-as-hell wind.
This actually reminds me of something I heard on NPR (on Car Talk) a few years ago. Since the AC and heating are on separate systems, you can turn both on at the same time as a way to regulate temperature and reach a happy medium. Put the AC on, then put the heater on a little bit (probably just by turning the heater knob to a non-zero setting).
This doesn't really excuse bad system design, but it works. :)
Crank both windows down an inch.
Just open the rear windows.
I'm not sure it's sarcasm, Dan, but a Miata doesn't have rear windows. :-P