Cars

My thoughts on my 4 days with a 2003 Miata…

The Good:
1) That new car smell. There is just something about the aroma given off by the outgassing of still solidifying plastics.
2) That new car feel. Everything is still tight and rattle free.
3) Black leather from the factory. Finally Mazda has eliminated the need for having an ugly exterior/interior combination just to get leather seats.
4) Round Knobs for the HVAC controls. The sliding levers of the 1st generation Miata are so 1950’s.
5) Remote electronic trunk release. – This may have been inevitable, see the bad #1. Coupled with a gas strut this would be awesome.
6) No zip back window. Eliminates a step in putting the top down.

The Bad:
1) The keyhole for opening the trunk is too low. It is hard to get the key in and turn without squeezing your fingers.
2) No zip back window. Reduces the headroom, so tall drivers will now hit the fabric panel used to automatically raise/lower window.
3) The speedometer is calibrated in 20 MPH increments with little ticks every 2 MPH, this makes it hard to tell your speed at a glance. I don’t know about your town, but where I live, we have speed limits of 25 & 45, not 22 or 48.
4) 6-speed transmission. Always seems like I needed to shift. I know with more use I would have adjusted to it, but why didn’t they leave the 5 speed ratios as is and make 6 a real overdrive? (At least here in North America.)

& The Ugly:
1) Splash Green Mica. Who you kidding, it’s teal. Looked odd but interesting in the mid 80’s on other cars, but why now on a Miata? The color grew on me, by the end of the 4 days I no longer gagged when I looked it.
2) You call that carpet? This stuff can only be charitably called floor covering. Makes the cheap loop carpet of the 1st generation Miata seem like a $50/yd plush Saxony.
3) Where the heck is the exhaust note? When the Miata first appeared they had an ad that ran in magazines about how they tried 100s of mufflers to get just the right sound (and they did,) but it is all but gone now from the factory.
5) Plastic brushed aluminum trim. Looked exactly like what is was, an afterthought and tacked on. The interior door handles would have looked a lot better in that finish had they did the cups behind them that way too.

Purchased Today: $0
Money spent since 03/03/03: $2485.39
Started down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 251

We got up about the same time as our usual workday. Started off by having a quick breakfast snack and then finished loading the trunk. We didn’t have room for the plastic trash bags or work gloves so they were piled on behind the seats. We had about a half dozen or more pictures to finish taking for the Drive By Photo Contest.

After the last shot was taken, we had just enough time to get to Best Bagels to meet the Bicycle Club for real breakfast and then pick-up trash for our Adopt-A-Highway duties.

Four blocks and four bags of trash later we zipped home to change and then make a bee-line to the SC Welcome Center to meet the Miata Club to lead them to a Mennonite restaurant, Miller’s Breadbasket, in Blackville, SC. Six cars followed Donna and I on mostly back roads to get to our destination. Another car was waiting on us there, as well as about 2 dozen Harleys. Fortunately they we about finishing up, so our wait wasn’t too long and the big table in the back was free for the 16 of us.

Donna and I continued east to Hilton Head and everyone else headed west to go back home. When we arrived we unpacked the car and headed right back out to find a place for dinner. The choices on the island are staggering, but we just went to a Wendys to get a salad as we will still somewhat full from our big lunch. We had just enough time after eating to get in a short beach walk before the sunset. We were in bed not too long after.

Purchased Today: $14.25 in gas
Money spent since 03/03/03: $1727.12
Started down, went up, went down, back up, still up.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 232

After this weekend’s trip and tonight’s little drive in the dark the Miata’s mileage stands at 119,825. At 120k you are supposed to change the timing belt, a $400-$500 job. Now the rubber belt in my car is the same rubber belt that are installed on cars sold in California, but in California you don’t have to change the belt but every 100,000 miles. This is because by California law any emissions part must be warranted for 100k. So, should I wait and do the belt when I hit 160 because I did change it at 60,000 miles like Mazda says I should or should I spent the money now and get it done like a good boy? For reference, the Miata is a non-interference engine (meaning if the belt does break, nothing bad happens.)

And what would happen if I moved to California?

Purchased Today: $0
Money spent since 03/03/03: $1140.66
Started up, went down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 211

The drive to Dahlonega, GA that normally takes 3 hours took us 5 this afternoon. To be fair this is the first time we have made the trip in the afternoon. The other half dozen times it has been an early morning drive, which is what it will be from now on, trust me.

First came the 15 minute delay while we waited on a sporadic line of school buses leaving from the Lula school complex. There were 13 buses total in various states of fullness. They had a State Trooper stopping crossing traffic at a tee intersection. A good thing probably, as that was quite a line of busses that would have had to come to a stop and wait for traffic to clear on semi-busy GA52 before making their rights or lefts.

Next happened only about 5 miles down the road when we came up to a just closing railroad crossing. We sat for about 5 minutes watching train cars full of wood chips move by. With no end in sight, the train much to our chagrin, started to slow and eventually stop. At this point all the other cars and trucks in line with us started to make u-turns. After waiting a few more minutes with no sign of movement we figured these were probably locals and they knew better, so we too did a u-turn and headed back to the last intersection. We pulled out a map and headed in a likely direction. As it turned out we ended up going south about 7-8 miles and then prompting headed back north to come out about 3 miles further down the road we were on. Moving was better than sitting.

After we checked in to our room in the Holiday Inn Express it was off for pizza at our favorite little Italian place on the square, Caruso’s.

When we finished dinner it was time for a little shopping as we needed toothpaste and I wanted a paperback crime fiction book to occupy the time normally spent doing this. We went to the Wal-mart on the edge of town and parked nearly as far out in the parking lot as we could, to get in a walk and avoid door dings. I found a book, we snagged the toothpaste and headed for the checkout. We ended up just placing our items down on the nearest flat spot and walking out though, as there were 4 or 5 cashiers with at least 10 people in each line.

Unbelievably there were 2 cars, 1 in front and 1 next to, parked near us when we got back out to the north forty. WTF? No door dings though.

There was a chain drug store right across the street that had everything Wal-Mart had except the long lines, where we found a book and the toothpaste no problem.

Purchased Today: $16.50 in gas
Money spent since 03/03/03: $1099.41
Started down, went up, still up.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 200