Why I Bought My Miata

If you see a little red convertible with the top down around town, it might be Mike Tarnower-- but most likely it will be me.

I love my Miata. Here's why I have mine.

When I was in college I responded to a newspaper ad, driving 45 miles to Nashville to look at a 1963 Fiat Cabriolet. I didn't remember having ever seen a Fiat, and had no idea what a Cabriolet was, but since the car had just 33,000 miles and was for sale for only $450, I took the risk.

What I found was this car:

Here's an ad from the day:

The Cabriolet was a two-seater roadster, the precursor to the later Spyder, and a much better vehicle. The body was designed by Battista "Pinin" Farina, who was famous for his Maserati, Ferrari, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Rolls-Royce, and Jaguar designs. It was powered by a 1500cc in-line four-cylinder engine with an overhead cam and a two-barrel Weber down-draft carburetor, producing about 80 horsepower. It had a tachometer, the first from the factory I had ever seen. It would cruise at 100 mph and would reliably reach 120, which was 20 mph more than the factory claimed.

The manual transmission had four speeds. The tires were radials, and the front brakes were discs. Steering was by rack-and-pinion. It had but two seats, and it was, of course, a convertible. The driver could put the top up or down with one hand while stopped at a traffic light.

This, then, was the car I had driven to see. I of course fell all over myself in my eagerness to buy it. It was in pristine shape, a steal. The owner, who had bought it new, told me he wanted to get rid of it because his son was about to turn sixteen and he didn't want him to start his driving career with a sports car.

At 80 hp the Fiat wasn't a muscle car, but it was quick because it was so light. It accelerated strongly, stuck to the road like glue, and would stop fast. I fell in love with it. I'm still in love with it.

I drove the Fiat almost exclusively for four years, taking it on a dozen or more long road trips and often driving for the sheer joy of it. And when the temperature was above freezing and below one hundred, the top was down. I loved the unobstructed view and the wind in my hair.

After 120,000 miles of reliable service with little maintenance, the inevitable happened-- the Fiat wore out. Suddenly it needed tires, brakes, new tires, new seats, a new top, and some body work. Since I was in grad school, making all of $180 a month, I bowed to the inevitable and sold it to someone who wanted to fix it up-- something I couldn't do. I hated to sell it, but I was happier seeing it in good hands than driving it in its ragged condition.

Why did I love the Fiat so? Well, it was beautiful. It was sensual. It was exciting. It was fun. I liked the sun on my head. I liked its ability to hug curves. I liked the comments I got at service stations. People would ask if it was a Ferrari or Maserati, and its body was so cunningly designed no one imaged it was more than ten years old. But most of all I liked the fact that it was a driver's machine. The interior was like a cockpit; the driver sat with legs out, with controls within easy reach. It was just a joy to drive.

In the 1950s and 1960s there were lots of roadsters-- Lancias, Alfas, Ferraris, Maseratis, and Fiats from Italy, MGs, Triumphs, Jaguars, Sunbeams, and Austin-Healeys from the UK, and Porsches and Benzes from Germany. But by the end of the 70s most were out of production.  Used two-seaters became scarce and out of my price range. I had to settle for mundane cars-- a succession of Toyotas, Nissans, Chevrolets, Fords, and an Isuzu pickup.But I knew one day I would have another roadster.

Then, in 1989, I heard about a vehicle in process-- the MX-5 Miata, from Mazda. And it was to be a roadster!

I took myself to the Mazda dealer and picked up the introductory brochure (which I still have), and went back again when the first vehicles hit the showroom. And I fell in love all over again.

I couldn't afford a new Miata-- I've never owned a new car, never even had a used car that required payments-- but I knew one day prices would fall enough to reach my price point. And they did. It took 20 years, but they did.

In 2009 I retired and had some ready cash. I started shopping for Miatas. I knew I wanted a 1996 or 1997, the last years of the first version, or NA (the ones with the pop-up headlights). I soon found one on eBay--Red (of course!), 113k miles, and in good condition, from the many photos.

I bid and won, getting my 1996 Miata for $2600 and change. I flew to West Palm Beach, picked it up, and drove back to Pine Lake at 85 mph with the top down.

My Miata isn't perfect, but it runs and drives well and the important stuff works. So don't be surprised if you see me with the top down.