Once upon a time, I used to be uptight about my vehicles. I fretted about dog hair and finger smudges and fuzz in the cupholder. I kept an immaculate interior.
Then, in February, I bought a Miata. A '97 daily driver, a strong runner and gorgeous looker (to my eyes, at least).
Well, I no longer concern myself with useless trivials such as layers of dust on the dash or dirty floor mats. One little drive with the top down changed all of that. Now, I park under trees with the top down and am happy when I come back to a bird-poop-free seat. Green pollen? No problem. Pine cones? Whatevs.
And I'm better for it! I now know what it means when someone shrugs their shoulders, quot;It's a Miata.quot; What it says to me is, quot;Don't worry about it, just go, just enjoy it, life's short.quot;
And I do!
Maybe it's the quot;I could get run over at any minute by anything around so enjoy life nowquot; feeling that it gives you?
Have a cigar! And a Martini!
Wait, one step at a time.
Doubt very many people will agree with you. Most people here value their cars highly and make sure they're looking perfect.
I'm always looking for a beater Miata...something I pick up for a couple hundred dollars, runs okay and doesn't have too many dents.
I'm not terribly meticulous about the exterior, but I clean the interior regularly, otherwise it just gets gross to the touch.
Thanks for pitching in, everyone.
Hey Nice91, I totally agree with you! Happens too regularly for comfort!
cruisin'n5thgear: Actually, I *do* value my car highly. It's just the looking perfect part that I'm not concerned about on a regular basis. Of course, I'm talking about regular stuff that just happens, not litter or (gawd forbid,) gum in the car. I'm still a neat freak at heart but this car's taught me how to let things slide a little. And it's great.
I couldn't be happier!
...speaking of, it's time for a bath and vacuum. Think I will need to do it today... or over the weekend sometime, at the latest!
My Miata taught me to chill in a different way. I had a speeding problem back when I had my Sentra. Not an SE-R or anything, but a base model 1992 Sentra E with a sweet 1.6L engine and terrible everything else. It was frustrating and physically tiring to drive and somehow I felt best at speed.
Then I got my NB, and it feels great at 70mph. It also gets noisy if you go faster with the top down, so that's another form of speed control. But mostly it just feels fun even when you're not trying to make the engine explode.
oh werd, carlisimo! at 70 it just purrs. other cars can zip on by but i sure do love it right around 70 because nothing rattles, nothing shakes, and life is good. of course, i'm talking about the car and not my teeth.
Hollsa, I get a similar laid back feeling from owning a car that I love but I didn't pay a lot for, and isn't very fast. I've pressed my luck for too long with fast cars, and I can't seem to stay out of it when I own one. With this car I am not tempted to go balls out, and it's a serene feeling cruising with the top down and letting other people do the balls out driving.
The Miata is a perfect blend of subtle style, great drivability and you can tinker with it without spending a mint. I am historically meticulous as well, and can still be seen wiping the dash with a microfiber at a stop light occasionally, but I don't obsess about it like I have with more expensive new cars. Mine could use a paint job, but then I'd probably start parking way out away from everyone again, and thinking about dings the whole time I'm away, so I'm going to put that off for at least a while.
The Miata has a spirit that invites me to chill when I'm driving it, and to not worry about it when I'm not.
in my mind all miatas are beaters, after all it is just a miata.
i also have seriously quot;calmed downquot; in my driving since owning a miata (1st one).
in the olden days i would be speeding all day, everywhere, manoevre around traffic, within reason maybe, but i was definitely not what you'd call a calm driver.
now, even though once in a while i'll do stuff that goes into the mental driver category, i have learned to live with traffic and other drivers and am on my best behaviour during the daily drives.
i'm sure getting older (late 20s as opposed to early 20s, hehe) and aquiring more driving experience played its part, but the car rewards you with many smiles if you drive it smoothly, with as little input as possible, at just the right speed for the road/traffic
my theory is that this car has so many things to make you happy, something that is not there in the vast majority of other cars. so in these cars you will just thrash it, in search of feeling something..
Coming from a Honda background I've always appreciated the balanced approach, lightweight, moderate power, good handling. So I've never really urged for massive amounts of power.
Hence why I drive an NA.
Hollsa, you say you don't care but I bet you'd be some upset if someone dinged your door while you were sitting in your car.
Bill B.
Originally Posted by danny2747
Have a cigar! And a Martini!
Wait, one step at a time.
I recommend a Fuente quot;La Canonesquot; (52 ring 12in long), and a Glenlivet but that's just me.
Same thing for me. Even in the short time I've owned one I notice I tailgate a lot less, don't get angry as often at left lane campers and I'm just a whole lot more chill behind the wheel.
I've even found myself occasionally driving the SPEED LIMIT in the right lane and not caring
My red daily driver has become my beater Miata,the other two are kept nicer. They live in the garage,the 91 stays outside all the time. I drive it to work and park it at dirt tracks where I go to the sprint car races.I`ll keep the car safe Mechanically,but I`m done with worrying if it is clean all the time.
Idiots have hit the car and ran several times in parking lots, and I`m just going to drive it the way it is.
Originally Posted by NCinNC
Same thing for me. Even in the short time I've owned one I notice I tailgate a lot less, don't get angry as often at left lane campers and I'm just a whole lot more chill behind the wheel.
I've even found myself occasionally driving the SPEED LIMIT in the right lane and not caring
Funny you should say that, just yesterday I got behind a Jeep SUV that was going a little too slow on the outerbelt. It was a nice sunny evening, and the work day wasn't too bad, so I was enjoying myself. I said to myself, quot;Sheesh, how fast is this car going? It's way too slow for traffic.quot; I looked down and I was doing 65. I was like, oh well, fine with me.
I'm with hollsa here. When I first got the little car, I was pretty meticulous. Now not so much. But I've never loved it more! Drive it all the time even though it's the second car. Plan to keep it forever, eventually do some stuff to it, but for right now, we're both a little rumpled and middle aged and not quite so neat in appearance. But we are both very happy.
Along with age comes wisdom.
Never ask your date to remove her shoes before getting in your car!
I've learned you can keep a car looking nice, you can't keep it perfect.
Originally Posted by CrvLvrs
I recommend a Fuente quot;La Canonesquot; (52 ring 12in long), and a Glenlivet but that's just me.
You keep the cigar but I'll gladly join you in a laid back afternoon of sipping quot; Gods Nectar quot; a single malt
My triple black '95 is a beater, it was when I bought it about 7 years ago. Northern car, scratches, dents, scuffs, missing some paint on the nose and dings. The mechanicals are very good, the interior is decent.
But I like it that way. I don't have to worry about where I park it, or if I want to kick up some gravel driving.
I noticed the rocker panel has some rust bubbles forming and asked a guy at work who does body work on the side and he said he could put a patch panel in. Then offered to take out all the dents and paint the entire car and have it look really sharp. My wife was for it (gotta look good riding around as a passenger).
But you know I think if I get the body perfect it'll ruin the car for me. I want to be able to mount up a set of Hella 500s in the nose and go run the 25 miles of dirt switchbacks up the road, in the middle of the night. Not really gonna be into questionable driving antics if the black paint was flawless. |
Post at 2-7 09:33 AM
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