Before I begin: This was written about 8 days ago. I wasn't ready to publish it, but now I am. In a future post, there are going to be many updates concerning the car. So here it is, my new (and first) set of wheels.
The only thing on my mind now is my car. It's the only thing that's been on my mind, pretty much since I've gotten it. It's been about a month so far.
Originally I wanted a different car. Much older, a car of looks, not performance. In fact, it smelled a bit of CO because that car was built before smog regulations were created. But it was the (in my opinion) best of the classic British sports cars: The MG Midget. The year I might have gotten was a 1969, with beautiful chrome over a new black paint job. Much of it had been restored except the engine. But I tell ya, it was a looker. It grabbed attention. I wanted to be seen in it. But it's really more than I can explain. Classic British sports cars are... something of their own. Different than other other breed of cars. Reliable? No. They had something special; character. They had, well I don't want to say heart, but an emotional value. That's not specific to just the roadsters though--many cars before the 80's, moreso the cars before 1975, had character. It was something that NO new car today has. Lack of creativity, passion, and a shit-ton of regulations prevents new cars from possessing the character cars used to have. I'm really not the person to explain it; I wasn't a part of the era, but I do feel like one of the few young people who at least understands it. Honestly, understanding and explaining are two very different things.
Anyway, I was talked out of buying the old car for reasons of price and reliability, among others. I told my parents, who pay my insurance, the only other car I would favor is a Mazda Miata. Which, if you don't know, is the unofficial successor of British sports cars, minus the reputation of reliability. Since 1989, this little Japanese roadster has been the go-to vehicle for a great handling, easily tunable, and spunky convertible roadster. I bought a 2001 base model, and am now the third owner. It doesn't have the charisma as a classic European roadster, but instead it replaces it with modern reliability and improved handling.
I have big plans for it. This is the sort of car that has grown on me. Like I said, it wasn't my first choice, but now that I spend more time with it, I'm loving it more and more. And that's a tough battle; I can't express how much I pursued owning a Midget. It drove my mom nuts. She thought I would be spending money I don't have on "fixing" it, which, in terms of labor, I actually wanted to do. Tinker, fix. That's my cup of tea (woo, British joke).
Instead of money going into fixing a classic (which honestly, I think would have been a good investment! As long as it's maintained, the value would potentially go up), I will now be putting money into upgrading the Miata.
But I want to get this bit in first, because some people have a prejudice about this car. Some people think this is a girl's car. Let's start there: no. Personally, I've never seen a woman driving a Miata. Guys who drive Miata's are guys who like to drive cars. The car itself /is/ a driver's car. It's not a fast accelerating car, it's a driver's car. Mostly, I've seen modified Miata's, driven by young-ish dudes. Now, people say it's a girl's car because the face of the car is girly. I do concede to this train of thought: it's not a masculine muscle car or quarter-million super car. I do think it's not a beefy looking car, BUT 1. When I'm driving it, I'm enjoying the fucking drive, not looking at the front of the car 2. It's not a bad look either. I like it, a bit. The rest of the body looks good too. It's got the curvy shapes like a curvy woman, so you know what? I like my car how I like my women: curvy. By the way, I'm speaking in regards to my NB model (1999-2005). The NA (1991-1997) is less curvy and therefore less feminine. The NC (2006+) looks so cheerful, especially the new ones. Like a chipmunk. My opinion. Lastly, anyone who criticizes the Miata, any Miata, has never driven one. So to those people insulting its styling: piss off, go stare at another car.
As I mentioned, young dudes (like 20's, 30's) are the ones picking these up and beefing them up. Step one is turbo charging, a goal of mine. It's not my first step, but the one I would take if I could. A turbo, intercooler, clutch+flywheel, new exhaust, lower springs/shocks, cambered wheels, roll bar, and even new body panels (and new paint, for those who want it) are all part of the beefy upgrades, and all of which I wish to do myself (or with help). Help makes the process more fun and quicker, granted we know what we're doing. Otherwise it's off to the shop for professional advice and/or installation. In my case, the best turbo kit (best, period) is just over $5000. The kit includes everything for the install, hence, "kit." Obviously, this yields the highest gain in power, which, hey, is obviously what a gearhead wants. The more reasonable kit is $3000 for a reasonable power gain. In my case, any power gain is welcome. The beauty of those kits is that the lesser kit is upgradable; that's how they were designed! Either way, the exhaust system and clutch must also be upgraded, adding at least $1000 more. Hey, you don't skimp on this sort of stuff. You want quality and durability and reliability? You pay for it. It's worth it.
But is it worth it? This is where it's debatable. Subjective. Nobody /has/ to upgrade their cars. No one has to have a fast and fun car. And yet... millions do. Millions buy factory rockets, millions more upgrade and do the work themselves. Why? Answers vary wildly, but I can generalize: it's fun. It's a great feeling. It's pride and maybe talent and usually bragging rights, both in terms of performance and wealth. Most of know at least one "car guy" and many people will never get it; they just don't understand the fascination of cars. I'm not the one to explain it, but my simple retort is this: why are women fascinated by clothes and shoes and jewelry? I'll never get it, but I'm not really going to try. I'll just enjoy my car(s).
That's what been occupying my mind lately, among other things. The first item on my list is a paint job. The car does actually need it--there's chipped paint in places, a few scratches, and a badly-repaired dent on the rear quarter panel. On top of that, I don't particularly like the color: a typical, bland silver. So since it needs to be painted already, I'll go ahead and opt for a new, more stealth "Metallic Titanium" dark gray color. After that, I'll upgrade my shocks (the mechanic that inspected the entire vehicle said I need new front shocks) so again, since I already need it, I'll do myself a favor and swap them all and lower it with new springs. Unfortunately, rims are freakishly expensive, but I'll definitely want new ones with the new paint. The mechanic also said I need new tires. The list goes on. This is an expensive but very rewarding hobby.
And I want to share the hobby. Not share the costs, but to share the fun of putting it all together, and to share the feeling of acceleration. After all, that's why there's a passenger seat!
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