Current Garage

2006 Mazda MX-5

My current NC Miata is actually my third NC. It was an inexpensive and high-mileage (161K miles) addition to the garage. The NC is my longest owned car on this list at 3 years and has been modified almost perfectly at this point to my liking, with the only big ticket item missing being a Ford Fusion 2.5L engine swap (coming soon).


 2011 Lexus LX570

Like many people, I fell in love with the idea of the Land Cruiser 200 (LC200) series; one of the greatest vehicles ever produced. If you are unaware, the LC200 values are astronomically high, but since I was already in a Lexus GX470 I decided to take the jump into the Lexus variant called the LX570. After the 2.5 years and about 30K miles I've owned it (consisting of road trips, towing, and off-roading), I can say the aspirational goal of purchasing a LC200 was definitely the right call. I have modified it a little, but honestly the LC200 chassis is so good that it really doesn't require much to perfect.


 2006 Toyota 4Runner

The newest addition to the garage and have only had it for one month. Everyone has that one car circled when they are 16 that may not be the coolest, but it's just what you want. I have been passively looking for a perfectly spec'd 4th Generation 4Runner for over a decade and when I finally found it, I couldn't pass it up. The build on this one is just getting started...


2018 Mazda CX-5

This is my wife's car. To be fair, of the crossovers in the segment it's probably the best one but I personally am not a fan of crossovers in general. The crossover to me is what someone buys when they are looking for something that can do everything decently, but nothing great. We have had this car for nearly 4 years (so I guess its actually our longest owned vehicle) and yet I have one image of it during that span; definitely not my primary vehicle.


1992 Chapparal 2000SL

The first non-car on this list, but has equal meaning in my life. This is the boat that I grew up going on and I am fortunate enough that my father passed it down to me about 3 years ago. It isn't the fastest or nicest craft on the water, but it's plenty quick (GM 350 with a duo-prop) and is a ton of fun on any given weekend.

 

1996 Seadoo GTI

$300. Do I need to say any more? Bought it cheap and not running with a trailer and fixed it for about $150. For a sub-$500 ski, it's a lot of fun!


Comments

  1. JaredApril 13, 2023 at 10:35 AM

    Correct me if I'm wrong, but that looks like a Mazda MX-5, and not the Mazda Miata. I can see how you made that error as they are very similar. The Miata is classed as a Mazda MX-5 NA or NB, where just the Mazda MX-5 is classified as the NC or ND. Which brings me to my point, as your car is a NC, therefore known as a Mazda MX-5. The more you know.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CamApril 13, 2023 at 11:23 AM

      In the mid-2000's, Mazda was looking to update their naming convention across the brand to all be similar. They had the RX-8, 3, 6, CX-7, CX-9, and Miata; either one name had to change to be similar to the others or they all had to change. Mazda made the decision to drop Miata and replaced it with MX-5, however every publication and video of the newer and older generations always refers to all MX-5's as the Miata. The name may not technically be there (you're right), but the spirit of the Miata lives on!

      Delete

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