!!! MX-5 Miata Of the Month !!!
February 2006Carlos RamirezCongratulations to Carlos Ramirez on the selection of his 1996 Miata as the MCP's Miata of the Month for February! |
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I
first saw a convertible way back when I was in grade school. I went to a
classmate’s house and that’s where I first saw one. I do not remember the exact
make, I think it was a Triumph or a Fiat, and at that time I thought what a
great looking car but it never really captured my interest. I even asked my
friend’s dad about it, I guess I was more interested about it then I care to
admit, but the reply that I got was that the car spent most of it’s time in the
garage because there was always something wrong with it. That was that then and
I thought I would never have a first hand experience with another convertible
again.
Fast forward to 1997 and
I hear the buzz about this new convertible called the Miata that was going to be
available locally. “Impractical!!” was my honest reaction to the news that a
small, two-seater convertible was to be made commercially available here in the
Philippines. 
The thought of driving a convertible in Manila seemed ridiculous to me because
of pollution, traffic, the lack of trunk space, lack of seats for the barkada,
and the thought that the reckless buses on EDSA won’t think twice of using the
Miata as their own personal hump should push come to shove on the road. Blame
the bias on growing up with wagons, sedans, American cars, where space and
practicality were the obvious selling points and not much else coupled with the
memory of the sporty looking convertible in my friend’s garage that never really
went anywhere because of its unreliability.
Then it happened. A very good friend of mine, Jason, got one. And every time we met, he would have this unexplainable grin on his face after driving his car. He let me drive his car around and when we both stepped out, both of us had this crazy grin on our faces all because of the fun this little convertible provided. A couple of modifications to the Miata and the fun factor exponentially increased. I was hooked. There was one small problem though, I couldn’t afford to buy it but I told myself someday I was going to own one.
That
someday arrived in 1999 when Jason had to leave for the U.S. for work and he
asked me if I was interested in buying his car and the rest as they say is
history. I joined the Miata Club of the Philippines a little later though, and
this just added a whole new dimension to the Miata ownership experience. I have
made some good friends in the club as part of the “unofficial” sub groups such
as the Miata food group, the Miata drinking group, the Miata golf group to name
a few. My Miata acts as my therapy too, when I want to relax I just get in and
drive with no particular destination in mind and when I get back home the smile
I have on my face is just like the smile I had when I first drove this car. All
these things keep me and my Miata going.
Many people ask me why I love my Miata. It’s definitely not one of the freshest around, it has many battle scars from both the previous owner and myself, it’s not the most powerful around, it’s also not the best looking Miata around, it’s still impractical, it still has no trunk space, it still has no room for my barkada, but it’s my Miata and that’s exactly the whole point of it all. It’s just supposed to be you, the car, the wind in your hair, and the many roads to be traveled and the memories and friendships to be made.