Nobody asked me, but . . .

Recently, Mazda invited a bunch of enthusiasts to their technical center in Irvine, California to celebrate the 20^th anniversary of the MX-5 Miata.  Yup, the Miata is 20 years old . . .

I was Editor in Chief of R&T at the time the car was introduced, and we named that first 1990 Miata as one of the five “World’s Best Cars.”   And the accolades have never stopped.

The Miata has been a favorite of the racing fraternity from the very beginning, winning its first SCCA Showroom Stock C race in 1991 and its first SCCA SSC title a year later.  Today, there are more MX-5s racing on tracks around the world then any other single marque . . . and by a huge margin.

The day at the tech center was filled with remembrances of the past and hints of the future.  A panel discussion featuring some of the Mazda folks who were key cogs in the first Miata planning, design and engineering team entertained us with Paul Harveryisms.  Now we know the rest of the story.

There were contests to pick the best Miatas in a variety of categories, and food and drinks for all.  The parking lots and courtyard were overflowing with tricked-up Miatas of every generation and description, driven to Irvine by some very passionate Miata owners, along with an assortment of some of the most significant clay, concept, prototype and racing models.

At one of the aftermarket tech booths scattered around the parking lot I ran into a new “old friend.”  I’ve known Oscar Jackson since the early-1980s when he was playing around with performance parts for the Honda CRX.  Today I ran into him in the form of his son OJ Jr.  Jr. was showing-off a new KraftWerks, Rotrex-based supercharger/turbo via a cutaway model and a tidy installation on, what else, a Miata.  Here’s where you’ll find the Jackson Two these days: www.kraftwerksusa.com.

It seemed like every minute or two I was running into one or another of a bunch of my Mazda friends, both from here and Japan.  I’ve said this before but it’s worth repeating: Any company—automotive or otherwise—is a reflection of its people.  At Mazda, enthusiastic people build enthusiast cars.   One of these friends asked me if I didn’t feel old thinking about the Miata turning 20.  “Are you kidding,” I replied?  “Time flies when you’re having fun!”

Panelists (left to right) Bob Hall, Jim Kilbourne, Norman Garrett, Tom Matano, Mark Jordan and moderator MIchael Jordan

"Beam me up to the Le Mons race, Scotty"

KraftWerk's tidy Rotrex-based supercharger/turbo installation.