Don't hate the young

Recently I’ve been sleuthing on the Miata.net forums. Because I may or may not have one of those incoming on a boat from Japan. What better way to learn all about the MX-5 - again - than to read the mountains of discussion materials.

Needless to say, the demographic of Miata owners skews older. That is why the car itself is so cheap to insure, despite the fact it's a properly pure sports car. The Mazda roadster shares this distinction with the Chevy Corvette, which is also famously cheap to insure, despite the mega amounts of horsepower. Demographics is king when it comes to insurance. The premiums for my previous BMW M2 was astronomical, thanks to modern M cars being widely popular with the younger crowd. A crowd that’s statistically crashing at a higher rate.

That’s the cost of doing business, as far as I am concerned. Perhaps it’s a tale as old as time, but I’ve seen a divide in the car enthusiasm sphere: older folks seem to carry disdain for the younger enthusiasts. Case in point: Miata Reunion is one of the biggest annual MX-5 gatherings. This year the event will be held at Laguna Seca in conjunction with Gridlife. For those who don’t know, Gridlife is basically a Forza Horizon festival come to life. No surprise then the attendees skew young.

Which presents a problem for a quite a few MX-5 owners - on the older side, obviously - considering attending the 2026 edition of the reunion. They prefer a classier experience, and rather not intermingle with the “unwashed masses” of the typical Gridlife crowd. Understandable, but ultimately a close-minded way of looking at things. Even if things naturally silo themselves into categories, car enthusiasm should be one giant tent that is welcoming to everyone. It’s sad to see preconceived notions can prevent some people from the opportunity to experience something different.

Besides, haven’t we - those of us on the other side - all been a young enthusiast at one point? If anything, we should be super welcoming and happy that car enthusiasm continues to survive onto the generations proceeding. You don’t have to agree with their style and methods, but this whole thing of ours is dependent on future generations joining in on the fun. The cool cars that we want to buy, and for the manufactures to continue making, is predicated on demand.

Toyota has plans for a next generation GR86 coupe precisely because so many young guys are buying the current version and crashing them. Bully!

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Tanning bed.

Long live the roadster

Due to adverse circumstances of my brother, I am going to be taking stewardship of his Mazda MX-5 for awhile. It’s quite the fortuitous timing, because I’ve been pining drive a manual transmission car these days. I can now give up dreams of buying a Honda Civic Type R, and enjoy one of the purest sports car experiences money can buy.

And I’m reminded of just how sweet the Miata is. I am no stranger to the ND generation of the classic Mazda roadster, though it’s been more than five years since I sold mine. My brother’s MX-5 is the improved “ND2” version. The primary difference from my 2016 “ND1” is that It’s got a more powerful engine, with a higher 7,500 RPM redline. There’s a federally-mandated backup camera now, which in a car the tiny size of a Miata it’s rather superfluous.

The other bits of the car are largely the same, which is just fine. The manual gearbox is just as satisfying to row as I remembered. This rod-actuated AISIN six-speed unit is truly one of the best available on the market. The feel is solid, yet it snicks into each gear with precise ease. Ultimately, I don’t regret getting the M2 Competition with the dual-clutch automatic instead of the manual, but barring having my brother’s MX-5 around, I really want a manual car in my life.

Maybe the Type R dream isn’t dead after all.

What else? I was surprised at how little steering feel there is. The rack itself doesn't transmit much information, but because the MX-5 is so small and light, sensation from the suspension can be felt directly in the hands on the steering wheel. Therefore, I don’t bemoan the lack of actual steering feel. I’ve yet to drive an electric-assisted rack that can hold a candle to the hydraulic unit in my old Subaru WRX STI. And that includes a bloody Porsche 991 GT3.

If pure sports car is what you are after - no requirements for any utility factor - it’s hard to imagine why you’d spend any more money than an ND2 Mazda MX-5. I’m glad Mazda makes it, and I’m glad my brother has bought one. Long live the roadster.

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I am titanium.

New car unlucky

It seems my somewhat rash action of trading in the 911 GT3 for a BMW M2 Competition have inspired my brother to do the same. He recently sold his Audi A3 to CarMax for a surprisingly large sum (the used car market is absolutely on fire) and is now the proud owner of a brand new Mazda MX-5 Miata.

Emphasis on owner, because he’s not really driven the car much since he bought it home some two weeks ago. On a cruise to Monterey during the weekend of purchase, the car threw a check-engine-light on the highway and went into limp mode. A brief stint at the dealership found everything to be okay, though after a few days the CEL returned, and as of writing the car is still at the servicing department, on a hoist with the transmission taken out.

At least they’ve provided my brother with a courtesy car.

Sometimes the luck of the draw is just not in your favor, but that’s not something my brother can control. Good news is it’s a brand new car, so the MX-5 will get repaired to proper standards without costing him a dime. The powertrain warranty covers the next five years of driving, so there’s really nothing to worry about. If my brother’s car buying patterns continues (I certainly hope not), he won’t even see the end of that five years with the Miata anyways.

If the dealership cannot fix the problem, then Mazda will be compelled by California lemon law to buyback the car. If that comes to pass, my brother will simply get another MX-5. The ND2 generation of the iconic Mazda sports car is indeed too sublime and fun to forsake just because the sample he purchased happens to have a few gremlins to sort through.

I look forward to many blasts through the local mountains with my brother once his new car is fixed.

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This is not going to help my wanderlust.

Modifying the Miata shall begin

It's been nearly two years since I bought my Mazda Miata, and to date the only modification I've done is switching out the stock shift-knob with a titanium unit from WC Lathe Werks. Other than that, the car is utterly stock. 

What happened? I used to love modifying cars. Ever since reading my first issue of Import Tuner (RIP) back in my early teens, I was hooked on vehicle upgrades and go-fast products. On my first car the Toyota Corolla - not exactly a car worthy of modifying - I put lowering springs, new shocks, wheels, LED tail-lamps, sway bars, strut bar; the list goes on. It turned the otherwise mundane and anonymous grocery-getter into a car of my own special identity. There were some special days indeed wrenching on that car with friends, putting on new wheels for the first time, and countless detailing sessions to make it all look spiff and proper. 

What changed with the current car? Adulthood, I guess. I'm not nearly as cavalier with money as I were and can be back in college. Back then whatever I earned from work I would spend it completely, in contrast with today where I have to allocate funds for various adult stuff like retirement accounts and rainy-day funds. Other areas of interest like photography and traveling also grew more dominant as to where I want to allocate spares dollars. Car modification took a complete back-burner: I've already got the car, and it takes me to places; why should I put more money towards it than necessary? 

I've lost what a joy it is buying and putting on new car parts, though it can't replace the joy of having properly funded investment accounts. Nevertheless, I would like to make a cautious return and will begin slowly modifying the Miata. It shall begin with the wheels, as one does. I shall update with what exactly in a future post. 

Give it the full beans

I don't drive my car hard enough.

For whatever reason, I tend to baby my cars; it took me a long time to realize this, but it's true. Doesn't matter when I had a 305 horsepower all-wheel drive machine, or the current Mazda Miata: taking the tach needle past 3K is a rare affair. Cars are meant to be driven, I would tell myself; I guess I forgot the other part: give it the full beans as often as I can. 

It makes perfect sense. The 2-liter motor in the Miata is an absolute joy to rev out, and it pulls all the way to redline with gusto, unlike its chief rival the Toyota 86. The fact it's only got 155 horsepower means visiting the upper reaches of the tach won't necessarily mean immediate jail-time, unlike my previous car the Subaru WRX STI. That car had an engine that too, begged to be revved, but for an entirely different philosophy. The EJ257 motor carries so much turbo-lag that belong 4,000 RPM it is utterly gutless. However, in the STI by the time second gear is over I'm already in vast illegal speed territory. 

The fact the car got piss-poor gas-mileage also didn't endear me to prod the accelerator pedal for long before upshifting.  

On the Miata though I have no such excuse. No matter what I do with the gas pedal, the car dutifully returns miles-per-gallon in the upper 20's. Therefore give it the Italian tuneup often I shall.

I've got travel withdrawals

Due to various circumstances and scheduling issues, I've yet to do any traveling since the end of May - first world problem, I know. The next trip isn't until Thanksgiving break, so the wanderlust pangs are going to be insufferable. I think in the future it'd be wise to split vacation time to bookend the summer instead of taking it all in the beginning. That said, spending the solid two weeks in Seoul this early June was absolutely worth the travel withdrawals I'm experiencing now.

To abate the wanderlust in the interim, I shall do a bit of exploring here in my own backyard of California. Autumn is officially upon us and the foliage colors will no doubt be amazing. it'll simply take a few hours worth of driving to get to such places, since San Francisco distinctly lacks any seasonal visual difference. That tree with amber-colored leaves you encounter in San Francisco is the exact tone year round. 

Driving to destinations is just as well, since I've been meaning to put more miles on the Miata. In two months time the car will be two years old, but the odometer has barely rolled past 12,500 miles. That's roughly 7,000 miles per year, compared to 9,000 per during my time with the Subaru WRX STI, which is already few by average standards. A stark perspective on how little I'm taking the car out to drive - the whole point of why I bought the car in the first place. Sports cars like the Miata are meant to be driven and enjoyed on the open road, and I must do more on to that end.

Otherwise, might as well trade it in for a typical commuter car.

Downsides of driving a Mazda Miata

Taylor Swift has a new album coming out this November, and my ear chambers are ready for the magnificence. Red and 1989 was such spectacular standouts that I expect no less greatness from reputation, though someone please explain to me why the letter r isn’t capitalized in the album cover.

One of the downsides to owning a minuscule car as the Mazda Miata is that other drivers in modern behemoths such as the typical sports-utility-vehicle or Toyota Camry absolutely cannot see me alongside them. Worse, because of the MX-5 diminutive size, I can hide completely in another car’s blindspot, where even with an over-the-shoulder check the other driver cannot see me at all. I’ve lost count on how many moments I had to do emergency evasive maneuver simply due to people merging directly into me. 

Perhaps a 2,300 odd pound car isn’t meant to be daily-driven when the average vehicle weights nearly 1,000 pounds heavier. Needlessly to say, I run a dash-cam - as the Russians do - at all times, though I’m not sure how useful the camera footage would be if I’m squashed dead by another car. The Miata is a convertible, after all. 

Excellent choice of car, Healy. Simply masterful.