The greatest thing since sliced bread

When I first saw a spy photo of the Mazda Miata in one of the car enthusiast publications back in 1989, I said to myself that's the car I've always dreamed about purchasing but nobody had up until then ever built anything that even resembled this type of car, I.E., not since the late 50's or early 60's and those cars were mostly unreliable bombs.

Surprise, when I went to the Mazda dealer to eyeball a new Miata in 1990, the dealer informed me that I would have to be on a very long waiting list or else pay a high premium to own one.

Time has a wonderful way of wearing away at immovable objects and eventually in September of 1991 I sold my red 1987 Honda CRX Si and purchased a shiny new red 1991 Mazda Miata with 5 speed, manual steering gear and limited slip differential at the sticker price. This was no minor task, because at this point most of the Miata's that were available were equipped only with power steering and standard differential. The difference between the two can be felt in any aggressive driving situation, i.e., the former is similar to a mini racer in the handling department.

I still own the car, still only drive it sparingly on warm, sunny days and even after nine years of ownership am still head over heals about the attributes of this little red car.

Of course I personally change the oil every three months and the radiator, differential, transmission fluids and air filter every two years but even after 23,000 miles have yet to encounter any reason to return the car to the dealer for any type of service. The only minor improvements I performed were to install an Alpine stereo, Jackson Racing Cold Air Induction, header, Borla Catback, Fittipaldi mono O.Z. alloy wheels, platinum tipped spark plugs and silicone wires, stainless steel brake lines, upgraded pads and a new battery.

The handling is still superb, the top and finish have retained their luster with only a waxing and polishing occasionally during the driving season.

Driving this car is like going out on a date with a high school cheer leader when you are 43 years old. If you're having a bad day, just jump in the car on a nice sunny day, put the top down, drive down the street and your whole attitude changes... It's better than taking St. John's Wort and Prozac combined.