in a few short months i will be pretty much forced to ditch one of two cars. my 94 miata or my 91 civic si. daily driver duty for winter time non-snow and when it rains or is too cold to ride the motorcycle.
1991 Civic Si:
random 015 by fragile_this_side_up_retro_club, on Flickr
Pros:
ac (non-functional)
back seats
hatch
35mpg
handles well
practical
cheap to maintain
easier to work on
seats that fit oh-so-nice.
radio is installed and works (with XM)
Cons:
256k miles and counting
need to fix the AC
fwd (although not a big deal for me)
uhm.. not a miata?
it's "just another honda".. and i wait for it to get stolen.
1994 Miata:
miakgworksspoileratwork by fragile_this_side_up_retro_club, on Flickr
Pros:
pretty bad-ass lookin
just about finished with what i want to do to it
fun to drive, dead-nuts reliable
can track it if i get the urge
"family" of miata people are waaay better than honda crowd.
Cons:
28mpg
no back seats
pulled the AC with no hopes of returning
no radio
needs tires for daily driving (R888's won't last too long)
not a hatchback..
a little too "track" for a long commute right now
a LOT of sentimental feelings for this car. i bought it with/for my wife to start racing. said wife left me, hence the need to downsize.
what would Mazda Roadster do? the civic would be a very easy sell. the miata, not so much. but i have a LOT of extras that will go with the miata. 3 sets of wheels, tire trailer, hardtop, etc..
i would love to hit a million miles in the civic. i feel like if i kept the miata, i would want to sell it a few years down the road regardless. not so much with the civic. with the sunroof back and the windows down, i get a pretty airy feeling from the civic and the suspension makes the car fun on twisty roads along with autocross courses. i really won't have the coin to hit the track any time soon so the miata is pretty worthless. can't autocross it because i've done too many mods.