(All photos by Josh Conturo)
My general opinion on cars may surprise you if you have read one of my previous car-focused articles, which can seem a bit pessimistic. That opinion being, I truly believe all cars are cool– all of them, all in their own special way; it’s just that some are cooler than others…much cooler.
Cars that get your blood pumping and make the hair on the back of your neck stand up, those are the really cool cars.
Some are cool in other ways; some are pop-culture icons, some have advanced the industry and technology past what was previously believed to be possible, and some look like they can just go wherever they damn well please.
Capital students’ cars range all over that spectrum; however, there is one that definitely stands out. That car is a green with tan interior and roof– the 1997 Mazda Miata, owned by Troy Meister, a second-year majoring in Music Tech.
The reason a Miata is just so cool is that it has one purpose and one purpose only: to make you smile. Also, it has pop-up headlights, which really rendered all other cars on campus invisible by comparison.
The reasoning for this purchase was simple, Troy loves convertibles, and he loves a good ol’ fashioned stick shift, both of which Miatas were designed to have from the ground up, and have had for over 30 years.
Troy has had a lasting love affair with cars, starting as a child spending time with his father working on old Ford Mustangs.
Recently, manufacturers have been trying to make their cars do everything; however, what can happen is that cars designed like this tend to be more sub-par in everything rather than excelling in one thing.
The Miata, especially the first generation models, known as the NA, were not what you would call ‘practical’ or ‘lavishly equipped.’
People tend to hate on the Miata. The haters like to say it’s a ‘hairdresser’s car.’ First of all, it’s wrong to say ‘hairdresser,’ as if that is some kind of derogatory term. And I would love it if my hairdresser had a Miata because that would be really cool.
I am pretty sure that the people who say that have never actually driven a Miata. If you get the chance, drive one. It will almost definitely change the way you look at cars. You might think it does not matter how fun a car is to drive, but when you drive one of these, it will just click.
Part of the reason this Miata in particular is so cool, is that it’s absolutely mint. The interior looks brand new, and so do the rims and the paint.
More often than not, when you hop on Facebook marketplace or eBay motors, you do see tons of Miatas, just not very complete ones. They are always missing the roof or one of the pop-up headlights or the engine is either blown or just not there at all.
However, what truly makes a car cool is if the owner has a connection to it, and if that relationship carries some history; some baggage.
