In the beginning, I had a thing against most Japanese cars. To my wife, I would say that they are tiny and felt like little tin coffins. My preference is easily seen in my previous and current choices: 1979 Cougar XR-7, 1967 Olds Toronado, 1996 Chevrolet Caprice 9C1 and so forth.
Then I hit a deer in my daily driver, a 1988 Audi 90 Quattro that caused enough damage that I would not be able to easily fix it. So the hunt for a new car began.
Were it not the spring, I would have not considered a convertible as quickly as I did... so I must attribute my find to serendipity as much as my tenacity in searching for a new car. I looked at Sebrings, Ford Probes, Nissan 240s and 300s, newer and older cars alike. My requirements were a little odd as well: good gas milage, convertible, fun to drive, easy to maintain/repair. Then I found the car that meets all of those criteria and then some:
Introducing my (as of yet unnamed) 1991 Mazda Miata...
Yes, I know what many people think: Miatas are tiny. They're chick cars. And yes, that may be somewhat true. But there are a LOT of guys that drive them as well. The Miata is a salute to the great roadsters of the past, the Triumph Spitfires, the MGAs and MGBs, the Alpha Romeo Spyders. Its a modern reincarnation of the classic English 2 seat roadster. Simple, fast and nimble. And it sparked the renewed interest in 2 seat automobiles. Without the popularity of the Miata you may not have such things as the Dodge Viper, Chrysler Crossfire, BMW M series and others.
And with 800,000 made between 1990 and today, they are easily the most popular roadster ever produced. They are reliable, simple and easy to maintain. The parts are cheap, and enhancements abound and run everywhere from cheap to super expensive. They are run at autocross races, road races and on the weekend drive through twisting mountain passes. And this one is arguably the most fun I have ever had in a car.
This is her the day after I brought her home:
She is so tiny compared to the much larger Chevy Caprice 9C1 and my '89 F-150 4x4 in the back ground.
Here is the view from the right. This side shows the paint issues more clearly, but amazingly, thats about the worst of her damage/issues. Mechanically, she is quite sound
And still young at 164K on the clock.
Here's her insides. The top is in great shape, other than a tear in the plastic rear window. That's fixed with clear tape for now.
The only real body damage is this dent and the broken lens. The dent is not that bad and is luckily in an easy to get to location in the trunk.
In fact, I fixed the dent that night with a rubber mallet and my handy 5lb sledge hammer. Its still just a tiny bit wavy, so once I get some time with some real body tools I'll get that last bit straightened up as well.
The tail light has already been replaced as well.
So there she is after her first day with me. I have to admit that, my prior bias against tiny Japanese cars aside, she is an absolute blast to drive, nimble and responsive and hugs the curves like you would not believe.
I am looking forward to getting her back to her former glory and squeezing some extra HP out of her soon.
Das Aggregator!