DFL'ers:
First of all, anyone can join the Miata Club. There is a lotta room for
"wannabes"! You don't have to do anything special to any car you
presently own. Just send money.
Secondly, I think it is a bit of a stretch to assume there will be few
Miatas around in the year 2028. My particular car is a 1991 edition
with 65,000 miles on it and I have yet to fix any part of this car.
There are Miatas in the Club that have reached 300,000 miles and are
still running well.
If other Miatas are as well cared for as mine, given the quality of the
car, there is no doubt in my mind that there will be many on the road 30
years from now. I also certainly expect our Morgan will still be on the
road 30 years from now - but I know it will have taken many more dollars
to keep the Morgan road-worthy than it will have taken to keep the Miata
in a similar condition. Our Morgan is a 1987 Edition, Plus 8, with
25,000 miles on it.
In terms of time passage, we are the second family to own a 1953
Chrysler New Yorker Deluxe sedan and it now has 93,000 miles on it. We
have owned it since the beginning of this decade and we fix whatever
goes wrong, trying to keep it basically original. This car is
approaching 50 years of age and runs very well.
In our local car club we have one (1) Model T that has made 8 trips to
Alaska and another that has made 3 trips - and both of these cars are
now 70+ years of age and neither have been extensively restored - just
well-care-for originals in the hands of knowledgeable owners. Their
most recent trip was in 1996.
It is hard for me to be pessimistic about the potential longevity of
well-built, well-cared-for automobiles.
Later,
Arlo Levisen
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