What's the Best Vehicle You've Ever Owned?

A 1993 black Mazda Miata stopped atop a hill

Photo: Steve DaSilva

In our lives, we’ll all likely go through a number of cars.Fast cars, slow cars, big trucks and little coupes. We like to think we’re always progressing, always moving upwards, but the truth is that sometimes a car will be worse than the one it replaced. Maybe you had to ditch your tiny roadster for something that could hold child seats, or maybe you moved up north and believed all those conmen and hucksters who told you AWD was a necessity — your current car isn’t always the best.

That’s OK, mind you. You can pine for cars gone by, set up Craigslist alerts for the VIN and wait for that perfect car to come back on the market. But while you do, tell us its story — what was the best vehicle you ever owned?

I drove around like this just before Christmas with the top down, a Santa hat on, and a friend in the passenger seat wearing the same.

I drove around like this just before Christmas with the top down, a Santa hat on, and a friend in the passenger seat wearing the same. Photo: Steve DaSilva

In my own automotive history, there are a lot of contenders. The turbocharged, manual-transmission Subaru wagon is a strong one. Even my current BMW GS, my true entry point into the world of motorcycling, deserves a nomination for that fact alone. But, no, my answer is something more predictable: Miata. Isn’t it always?

Not my track-prepped NB, full of promise and wasted potential. No, my best car was a $5,000 1993 Miata, nearly bone-stock. It wasn’t fast, it was no track weapon or canyon carver, but it was a cheap lightweight sports car that let me throw the top down on a nice day. What more could you ask for?

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The best car I’ve ever owned was a first-generation Mazda Miata. What was yours? Leave your pick in the comments, and we’ll collect the top answers tomorrow.