Thoughts on Miata & misc FC ramblings

[FC]

My NC Miata

After 2.5 years and nearly 8k miles I thought it would be worthwhile to mention a few things besides the obvious car-review stuff.

On the one hand, the car is liberating in many respects. It is "old & cheap," and coupled with its rock-solid reliability, the ownership is guilt-free. If it sits unused, who cares? If I've not washed it, or gets another chip or ding, who cares? My wife (still refuses to drive the M3) doesn't mind driving it at all for those same reasons. Heck, it is my winter beater and a great one at that with winter tires on. Yet somehow it still manages to look pretty modern and not terribly "girly." Also doesn't look bad at all from 20' out.

But it is raw. The sport suspension and aftermarket front sway make for an incredibly flat and sporty suspension. It is loud and louder in the highway. Like the MCS, it is geared very short (making it crazy-fun in-town), exacerbating the issue. In this day and age, the tech/connectivity is ancient (maybe a good thing). I just threw in an old CD with over 100 of my favorite MP3's and that is good enough. It does have heated seats - which are great. Replacing the gross original steering wheel with a custom Nappa wheel may be the best ~$250 I've ever spent on a car. I love that I can leave it parked in the airport for days or squeeze it into a tight spot and not care.

I love that car. Sometimes all it does is make me feel like fool for getting the M3. In some ways it is more fun. It's also a fraction of the cost. It's ridiculous fun for the money and I'm happy to have it. It now even works overtime as a winter beater!

Other times I get in the M3 and, man, what a car. Having been spoiled with owning a 987S, I do appreciate that step up in quality, refinement, sound, power, etc. The spoiled/vane/stupid part of me thinks in a few years maybe I should get a 981S. Maybe "just" a 2019+ ND. My Miata is kind of beat up, unrefined and, well, YOLO.

Ramblings on the future

In our household, we feel the need to have a used car to take on city/winter beater/sketchy parking duties. At times it also helps to have a "low-profile" car. The Miata fills this role now, though somewhat poorly as a 2-seater with no cargo space. Ideally, it should be some kind of used 4-door Golf hatch variant that could double as the kids car eventually. For lack of a better word, let's call it the utility car.

Replacing the Miata with something else (anything from a newish ND to a late 981) would also require buying a utility car. That would mean 4 cars. That's the pickle. The Miata is a super-cheap way to check a lot of boxes, though certainly not all of them. It would be hard to justify replacing it with two cars before my oldest can drive (5 years from now). The FC 5-year plan making a comeback?

Wild thought... At such time, would it be sane to consider keeping the NC Miata and AutoX/track/Lemons-ing it with kids? Basically turn into a dedicated track thing of sorts that can also act as a project car for kids to mess with they have interest in that sort of thing. My wife would likely veto this (5 cars ).

Of course, this all assumes that the M3 and LR4 are hanging around indefinitely. I don't see why not, frankly. But there may be a point in the distant future (when kids are in college?) where a Boxster may be all I need and the M3 could go. The LR4 I do see keeping forever. It's pushing 6 years and we love it still (especially with the new tires I just put on it).