Recently I looked at purchasing PCs, HD TVs, and game systems. Then I made another decision, and I want to encourage others to do the same. I bought a used Miata with more miles than the distance to the moon.
My first car was my parents green GMC Suburban. The same truck, yes at this point they were still utilitarian I even have the "GMC Truck" emblem to prove it, that ferried me to school and back every morning. When this car became mine though, I found everything that truck could give. I showed off to my friends when they rode in the back, when you have 3 rows of seats you're often the driver. Little did they know my excellent smoke screen show was little more than right hand and right foot down.
My new found freedom of driving lead me to find new joys in video games. Now when I did the license events in Gran Turismo it felt like something I might apply in real life. This lead to racing wheels and time spent behind the controller. Here I learned every turn to Laguna Seca and the Nurburgring. Sure I felt like a better and more confident driver, but I didn't have a way to use this new knowledge in real life. During classes in college I spent time reading Jalopnik and spending time when I was sober racing around my favorite tracks.
A few months ago I got my first high paying job after my 4 years in college. Weeks later I received my first paycheck and I knew I had to spend it on something awesome. I though about getting a new PC to play games on, a new 3D TV for when Gran Turismo finally reaches the inside of my PlayStation 3, or a home theater system to hear every downshift I make in my virtual cars.
Then it hit me, why get something that would keep me in my living room during my weekend? No, instead I would get something to get me outside and into my garage; a place I never really had a reason to be before. I didn't come up with this decision on my own. I was inspired by stories about Ben Collins making his own roll cage and Ken Imhoff making a Lamborghini is his own basement. I always wanted to do something like this but I never had the chance. At this point I've never even changed my own oil, but this was going to be a new beginning.
After some deliberation I set my sights on a used Mazda Miata. I really wanted classic American muscle but we all have to start somewhere. Sure a part of me wanted the Miata to drive to the beach in here in FL, and to autocross, but the real decision came down to the community around it. Here if something went wrong I could look online and find a solution to my problem. I was no longer flying blind. I now had a whole support group to help me out when things go wrong, and a few things have gone wrong. So here it is, my 1992 Miata with almost 220,000 miles. So far I've learned to change the oil and cured it's little overheating problem. It may not sound like much, but I did it all on my own.
So here's what I want to do on the weekend. I want to get other people like me out there. Lets share what fun projects we tackle on the weekends. Lets get someone to take their daily drivers out autocrossing. Lets get someone to go see a race where drivers turn right and may need functioning headlights. A lot of people in America are losing their sense of adventure and willingness to jump in to the deep end.
I want to get people out there and I want you to help me because it's you, the commentors, that make up this website. Sure I may subscribe to the RSS feed and read it during work, but I click the article to read what you guys might say. I have an idea. Let me share what you guys are up to on the weekend and lets have a fun discussion around that. Whether you're packing up to spend the weekend at Sebring, saving a car from a rusty death, or you just have a great story to tell. I want to get to know you guys that make up Jalopnik and get people to see the automotive world how we see it. Wagons don't mean a product killer, we can bring utes to America, a car covered in rust isn't a bad thing, a garage isn't just a place to store seasonal decorations, and doing it yourself is always more rewarding than sitting in a lobby while someone else works on your car.
Lets get people out there, some grime under their fingernails, the desire to pick up that older car for sale around the corner, and become part of the automotive family. I was there, I just needed a little encouragement. At the very least we may get someone to buy something other than a beige box.
This piece was written and submitted by a Jalopnik reader and may not express views held by Jalopnik or its staff. But maybe they will become our views. It all depends on whether or not this person wins by whit of your eyeballs in our reality show, "Who Wants to be America's Next Top Car Blogger?"