Zoom-Zoom

My recent automotive acquisition has prompted me to examine its place in my auto-owning history. Here's a list of all the cars I've had:

• 1977 Datsun 280Z, white, handed down from my mother.
  
• 1980 Honda Prelude, silver, bought used for me by my father.
  
• 1991 Honda CRX, black, bought used from an individual.
  
• 2004 Mazda Mazdaspeed MX-5 Miata, dark silver, bought used from a dealer.
  

Now, here are few assorted---and unsolicited---thoughts:

• The Miata, like all the others, is Japanese, though it is the first Mazda.
  
• It's the first convertible.
• It's the first with any kind of forced induction.
• It's the first with a 6-speed transmission. (I've never owned an automobile with an automatic tranny, by the way.)
  
• It's the second that's rear-wheel-drive. (The Z was also RWD.)
  
• Only the Prelude had more than 2 seats, and the rear seats on that car were suitable only for malnourished contortionists. Thus, I've still never owned a vehicle with more than 2 usable seats.
• Given my white-silver-black-silver color trajectory, I can only predict (a) that my next car will be white and (b) that I will never own an automobile that isn't some shade of gray.
• The Miata is---and this may come as a surprise to you---the largest car I've ever owned. Not in terms of total length; that distinction goes to the Z. Not in terms of number of seats; that's the 'Lude. Not in terms of usable space; that would be the Rex. No, the Miata, at 2,529 lb is biggest in terms of weight. (The others weigh(ed), in chronological order, 2355, 2130, and 2103 lb.) A lot of that bulk comes from the rag-top and the chassis bracing that's needed to make up for the lack of a fixed roof, but a lot of it also comes from all the safety features that are required on 21st-century cars: airbags, side-impact beams, and so on. Additionally a little of that weight comes from the powered convenience features that are sadly* standard on so many cars nowadays: power windows, power door locks, even power mirrors. I'm just glad the top is manually operated.
  
• Fortunately, the Miata is also the most powerful, so it moves out quite smartly, thank you.
  
• Man, that name is a mouthful!

* Power features cost more, weigh more, and break down more often, so I would really rather not have them. Sadly, only a bottom-tier vehicle or a dedicated and stripped down sports car can get away without including them in this modern era.