Back to Paul's Garage | |
January 2004 |
(It took me almost 15 years to get one!) |
I'd wanted a Miata even before they were available. In fact, I had actually saved enough money to purchase one by the time they were introduced in July of 1989. But the dealers were being total jerks adding on huge markups pushing an affordable $14,000 to, in some cases, almost $20,000! And many new Miata owners really took advantage of the situation. Click the newspaper clipping to the right and look at some classified ads from the LA Times back in August 1989. One person was asking $40,000! (I sure hope he didn't get it!) Around the same time, I had the occasion to rent a 5.0 Mustang, which I enjoyed greatly. The Mazda dealers pissed me off so much, that I wound up purchasing a great 1987 Mustang convertible (which I owned for 18 years: see Mussy). In 1996, I once again started a search for a used Miata, but ran across a gorgeous, low-mileage '93 MR2. I've still got it. (MR2 page) In January 2004, somehow my wonderful wife agreed to let me have another toy and, once again, I started a search for a used Miata. After driving several, I stumbled into a dealer and asked if they had any killer deals on a leftover 2003. The guy pointed to a new Shinsen and said: "I can give you $7000 off the list price." Within a few hours, it was in my driveway. This was, without a doubt, the best car deal I ever got! The really funny thing is that I wound up paying less for my 2003 than I would have for a 1990 back when they were introduced in 1989! Weird how things come around, eh? The on-line Miata community is, to say the least, robust! I've learned quite a bit about the car and have "chatted" with Miata owners all over the world. miata.net has been a great resource as were the folks from of the Southern California Miata Club, SOCALM. (There is even a group/on-line club at Yahoo devoted to the Shinsen model of the Miata.) It sure is a great-looking little car, isn't it? And on the right road, in the right weather, I don't think there's anything more fun to drive. Any similarity of cars and occupants is purely coincidental! |
July 1989 Discovering "Dealer Markup" on Introduction Day! August 1989 Just pulled in the driveway for the first time January 10, 2004 |
PLEASE NOTE: In December, 2011, I started using Flickr to host my car pictures and will no
longer |
Variety is indeed the spice of life! People do all kinds of things to their Miatas. I happen to like the clean, stock look. Some folks like to add a bit of individuality (like spoilers, roll bars, etc.). Still others convert their Miatas to race cars, modifying suspension, adding turbos and superchargers, etc. But there is one group of Miata owners that really stand out - I call these cars Morphed Miatas. Some of these are pretty neat. Some are a little weird. Of course, "neat" and "weird" are in the eye of the beholder, so I'll let you decide which is which. They are presented here in no particular order. Note that to the best of my knowledge, these are all real - no Photoshop stuff! If you've got any leads on Miatas which fit this category, or if you have a significantly modified Miata, send me a photo or web link and I'll add it. (And thanks to all who have contributed.) Feel free to e-mail me at DAVISinLA@aol.com. Enjoy. Paul
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Cobra Miata |
A Mustang Miata... |
and another.. |
one more |
Miata Metropolitan? |
Miatallac |
A Morgan thing |
A "lead sled" Miata |
Italia (I like this one) |
Gordon's beautiful Italia |
Another Italia |
Manta Ray |
Peter's great looking Italias |
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A Ferrari Daytona thing |
And another |
An "El Camino" thing |
Viper Miata (photos courtesy of John) |
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Yes, there's a Miata under there! |
A 4WD... |
and another (thanks again Bill) |
Yet another big tire thing! |
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- David Woolery's racer - before and after! |
Road Warrier type of thing |
Peter Brusa's Blue Potato |
A Bug Eye thing. |
The increasingly popular "Porthole" look |
More portholes |
Portholes front AND rear |
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This one is blue |
New Orleans? |
This looks like Barbie's Miata |
And another pink Miata |
Yet another |
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Got Miata? (Or is it a Mooata?) |
Hmmm. |
Flares, humps and bumps |
Yikes! |
A Miata that looks like an old Datsun. Hmmm. |
That scissors door thing |
More info at: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/729312/1 |
A Woody |
Must be Goldfinger's Miata. ("He loves only gold") |
More info at: http://www.cardomain.com/Id/shiminlee |
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Bill is a fellow So. Califormia Miata Club member and a very talented guy! Check out his Miata sand sculpture, as well as the rest of his site at: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/551477/6 |
Copied from Bill Wilner's roadsterjdm.net |
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Wow - now THAT was a lot of work, eh? |
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This guy should get together with the guy who did the work above! |
A Ferrari F40 thing... |
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Wow! |
The Mazda-produced "Miari" (Thanks for the info, Keith) |
A less involved way of Ferrari cloning |
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Miata drag racer... |
and another... |
and another! |
Another with a scoop |
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A BMW thing |
A gold thing (thanks Bill) |
Dean's incredible paint job! |
The Ginetta |
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An Aston Miata! |
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JohnB's Extreme RE1 body kit |
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This one's got a big hood! |
Wow - a Cosmo thing! |
This one's got a nose... |
and this one's got a wing. |
Another one of these. |
Hmmm |
Thanks to Bill for sending this tasty example. |
Bill also sent something to wash it down with! |
Hmmm |
Thanks to jlccrusher for sending this classic Corvette theme |
...and here's another |
...one more |
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A Chevy hood/stripe theme |
- Thanks to Raymond for this one. (He is wondering if anyone knows what kit this is.) |
Another green Miata |
This one's got a nose. |
- Juan's spiffy NA |
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Another BMW "Z" thing... |
and another... |
and... |
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A Miata cop car! |
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This one isn't done yet. |
A Miata E-Type? |
- If you hurry, this one might still be available on Ebay. |
Thanks to Jens in Germany for finding another Aston-Miata. |
Someone's toy, I guess |
- The Toyota 2000GT sure was a gorgeous car. Here's the Miata version. |
This is a purple Miata |
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- I'm not sure what this one is suppose to be - more square I guess. (Thanks again, Bill!) |
A yellow NC |
Those are golf balls stuck all over... |
...those are pennies... |
...and these are Post-Its |
Brandon's NA |
Miata too small for you? |
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Wow - a disco ball Miata! |
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A wild self-built custom from Bill in Ontario, Canada |
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This is, um, a green Miata. |
I don't know the answer either |
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Wow! |
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This one is purple |
And this one is green |
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Lots of work in this one...the owner wanted a right-hand-drive Miata - so he modified his! |
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An NC-based Aston-Martin thing from Alex |
Kinda the "rat rod" thing... |
and another. |
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From up in Portland, OR, here's Thomas' Miata |
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(Thanks, Bruce) |
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Beam me up! |
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The one on the left looks like two of mine (on the right) had a love child. |
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Wow...a Jag V-12! |
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Wolfgang's Aston-Miata |
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Neat Ed "Big Daddy" Roth type of drawings by very talented Nathan Ashmore. Check out his work at: http://nathanashmore.blogspot.com |
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Without a doubt, this is the most incredible feat of model-making I've ever seen. detailed Miata model including built from scratch engine, interior, opening doors, trunk, hood, etc. If he hadn't documented every step, I wouldn't have believed it. You've got to check it out: |
These poor Miatas meet untimely fates...
- This poor little guy got washed - the hard way! |
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The London Riots (8/11) |
If you know of other very "colorful" Miatas, or any
others with "significant" body modifications (no Photoshops please),
please drop me a note at DAVISinLA@aol.com.
visitors since 10/2/2008
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