I was on the phone a few weeks ago, talking with my friend John Schieffelin, whose enviable resume includes a lengthy stint as president of the Vintage Sports Car Club of America. The subject of our conversation was my 1993 Mercedes-Benz 190 E, which had taken up residence at a local shop. The Baby Benz, after more than a decade of flawless performance, had suddenly come down with a series of maladies, the most expensive of which was a transmission failure that had left me stranded.
“You know what you need?” John asked me. “You need a Miata.”
Hmm. I’ve heard of these Miatas. A lot of people seem to like them. Fun to drive, reliable, affordable, easy to get parts for, and simple to repair when things do break, from what I hear. Who knows, they might just catch on.
I’m kidding, of course. Even I’m not that out of touch. It’s evidence of how quickly time passes that the oldest MX-5 Miatas are now sort of Vintage Sports Cars themselves. It seems like yesterday that all the car magazines were saying what my friend John had told me: Buy a Miata! You won’t regret it! Enthusiasts by the thousands bought them and joined the cheering section. Overnight, the car’s very name became an acronym for Miata Is Always The Answer. Mazda built its one millionth in 2016, after which it seemed to lose interest in counting.
Now, I’m a lifelong fan of British cars, and British roadsters in particular, and I know that the British car aficionados’ approach to the Miata can be … complicated. Do we love it because it’s such a terrific homage to the cars that inspired it, like the Lotus Elan, and keeps the flame burning? Or do we think it’s unnatural to be able to enjoy the sports-car life without having to carry a fire extinguisher and a set of tools? I’ve heard both points of view, but acceptance seems to predominate. Romance without risk is just too good a deal to pass up.
I got my first seat time in a Miata several years ago, during a three-day driving event called the America’s British Reliability Run. The fates having been duly tempted, the venerable saloon that my friend, Dirk Burrowes, and I had entered suffered clutch failure on the first day. Organizer Dave Hutchison, himself a big British car fan, kindly arranged for us to complete the run in his Union Jack-bedecked, British Racing Green Miata. Did it live up to all the hype? Absolutely, and without calling attention to itself in a field full of Austin-Healeys and MGAs.
I’d been casually scanning the classifieds for Miatas since that day, but John’s encouragement made me begin a search in earnest. I’d seen so many appealing examples for sale in my price range when I was just browsing, I foolishly expected the hardest part would be deciding which one to buy. The problem was, now that I was spending my own money, I’d become picky. Is that a dent? Looks like someone painted this one with a Swiffer. How many hundreds of track days has this poor thing survived?
Then I saw a familiar-looking Miata in Sunburst Yellow, a one-year-only color that, to my eye, is just right for that car. It looked just like the one a friend owned, and some quick text messages confirmed that it was in fact the same car. A phone call followed, a price was quickly agreed upon, and the deal was done, just like that. I knew the care this car had received; when my mechanic gave it his blessing, it was just an afterthought.
The Miata is just as I’d remembered it — nimble, with beautifully direct steering, a light clutch, and one of the most satisfying stick shifts ever made. It’s almost a guilty pleasure enjoying its crank windows, its perfect exhaust note, its easy-to-fold top, and its total lack of touchscreens. It’s not fast, but like so many classic sports cars, it feels faster than it is, and that’s enough for me.
Better to be late to the party than to never get there, I guess.
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