The Miata is dying
Well, I’ve had the 1990 Mazda Miata since November 6, 1998. It lasted well. From zipping around Redmond, Washington (and giving me my first experience with Pneumonia – after driving with the top down in December) to heading for Bodie, California, and living in Salt Lake City, Utah. The car did amazingly well!
It’s been almost 7 years, and I can’t complain. It was a fun car. Small, yes, but that probably saved me in more ways than one. When I’ve had larger cars, they would be filled with junk all the time. With the Miata, there was never enough space.
I still remember what a Miata mechanic told me once "If you meet a woman who can go away for the weekend with you, and all of your bags for both of you fit in the car – MARRY HER!" Well, most times I could barely fit all MY stuff in the car when I went away for the weekend.
There was one time when Dave Staheli and I went to Costco when we lived in Utah. We somehow forgot that we took MY car, and not his… It wasn’t until we got within 20 feet of the Miata that we both gasped and realized that we had bought WAY too much stuff to fit. Well – we put the top up on the car, jammed the back window area full of stuff, tied the trunk down, and I fit stuff between and around Staheli where ever it would fit. We made it home, but what a laugh!
Then, when Staheli and I were moving from Utah back to Redmond, it was my turn to nap while Staheli drove. Being that we were crossing a desert, and my brain was always on the lookout for car problems while on road trips, I was suddenly awakened from a great deep sleep by the change in sound/noise/feel of the car. I instantly thought something had happened. When I looked around, we were in the middle of NO WHERE. I immediately said "What happened" and frantically looked at the dashboard to try to figure out what was going on. Staheli was very calm and said "Nothing, the car is okay. I’m getting pulled over." Well, let’s just say that he got a ticket and leave it at that.
Another thing that always cracks me up about the Miata is that because of it’s size – and the fact that I’ve had two cars stolen – I was ALWAYS thinking that someone had taken it. That’s because it hides behind EVERYTHING! If you park a white Miata next to a Honda Accord, you cannot see the Miata until you pass the Accord! hahhaa You’d think I’d have gotten use to it, but it happened ALL the time.
So, it’s been a fun car here in Southern California. It never got me any women. I did get lots of comments about it though. I was always surprised when people at the store or gas station would say "What a cool car." Blasting the music with the top down, sitting so low to the ground, being able to fit into ANY parking space… I’ll miss it, but it’s got serious problems. Yes, I didn’t take great care of it – but it has over 180,000 miles on it, and it’s a sports car that was driven hard before I got it. I wasn’t trying to make it last for another 10 years. It’s just time to let it die.
It’s been almost 7 years, and I can’t complain. It was a fun car. Small, yes, but that probably saved me in more ways than one. When I’ve had larger cars, they would be filled with junk all the time. With the Miata, there was never enough space. I still remember what a Miata mechanic told me once "If you meet a woman who can go away for the weekend with you, and all of your bags for both of you fit in the car – MARRY HER!" Well, most times I could barely fit all MY stuff in the car when I went away for the weekend.
There was one time when Dave Staheli and I went to Costco when we lived in Utah. We somehow forgot that we took MY car, and not his… It wasn’t until we got within 20 feet of the Miata that we both gasped and realized that we had bought WAY too much stuff to fit. Well – we put the top up on the car, jammed the back window area full of stuff, tied the trunk down, and I fit stuff between and around Staheli where ever it would fit. We made it home, but what a laugh!
Then, when Staheli and I were moving from Utah back to Redmond, it was my turn to nap while Staheli drove. Being that we were crossing a desert, and my brain was always on the lookout for car problems while on road trips, I was suddenly awakened from a great deep sleep by the change in sound/noise/feel of the car. I instantly thought something had happened. When I looked around, we were in the middle of NO WHERE. I immediately said "What happened" and frantically looked at the dashboard to try to figure out what was going on. Staheli was very calm and said "Nothing, the car is okay. I’m getting pulled over." Well, let’s just say that he got a ticket and leave it at that. Another thing that always cracks me up about the Miata is that because of it’s size – and the fact that I’ve had two cars stolen – I was ALWAYS thinking that someone had taken it. That’s because it hides behind EVERYTHING! If you park a white Miata next to a Honda Accord, you cannot see the Miata until you pass the Accord! hahhaa You’d think I’d have gotten use to it, but it happened ALL the time.
So, it’s been a fun car here in Southern California. It never got me any women. I did get lots of comments about it though. I was always surprised when people at the store or gas station would say "What a cool car." Blasting the music with the top down, sitting so low to the ground, being able to fit into ANY parking space… I’ll miss it, but it’s got serious problems. Yes, I didn’t take great care of it – but it has over 180,000 miles on it, and it’s a sports car that was driven hard before I got it. I wasn’t trying to make it last for another 10 years. It’s just time to let it die.