Before my announcing my plans for transitioning I became infatuated with owning a Mazda Miata after taking my bosses Miata for a spin. So one morning I expressed my interest to several co-workers telling them this was the next car I wanted to purchase.

One started typing away on his computer while the other one said "they are chic cars, men don't drive Miata's". Then the other co-worker directed me to his computer monitor and showed me a funny video making shame of men who own Miata's. So I shut up and didn't continue the conversation.

A year later I announced my plans for transitioning and guess what, the one co-worker looks at me and said, well guess it's time for you to get a Miata.

Several months later at the advice of a friend who said the new 2016 models are worth waiting for and so I waited and purchased one.

Within the first month of owning the Miata I found a local Miata club in my city who meets every Saturday morning for coffee and then from a one to four hour drive where the longer runs we end up having lunch together. Guess what, out of 20 members there are (including me) three females in the club. Well do much for the Miata being a male car LOL. Even more interesting when going to lunch with a female co-worker she commented on the pink stitching on the upholstery, not something I believe a man would select.

I am very happy to have a car that suits me rather than buying into the standard run of the mill car like a had before, a Toyota Camry which I ended up selling to my next door neighbor and parks next to my Miata.

Just goes to show how something (or in other cases someone) can be stereotyped.



Cars in the club I belong to, mine is second from right.

I drive a 96 Mustang GT that I love. My neighbor keeps telling me I need a more lady like car but I have put my foot down and if the Mustang goes, it will be replaced by another one. Drive what you enjoy and don't worry about what other people think.

I ride a Harley Sportster which is often called a girls' bike. I wonder if anyone told Sonny Barger he rode a girls' bike?
I've wanted a pink Dodge Demon or Superbee muscle car since they first came out

If I could afford it, I'd have a '02 Thunderbird.  Instead, I've got a little '04 Ford Ranger.  It's got nothing on my old big block '69 Ford 250.  Now that was a Truck.  A real woman's truck.  I was too small a man to drive that truck.  Now... I'd probably find myself wearing more blue to match the color of its gorgeous paint job. 

Do you mean like this:




And there are a few members here who have been in the passenger seat!

Hi Cindy,

Nice car. For the 2016 model they change quite a lot so mine looks like (as some people indicated) a mini Corvette. I would love to post a image of mine but I don't have rights to do so.

Quote from: karenpayneoregon on April 29, 2016, 04:21:04 AM
Hi Cindy,

Nice car. For the 2016 model they change quite a lot so mine looks like (as some people indicated) a mini Corvette. I would love to post a image of mine but I don't have rights to do so.

Yes you do you are post 15 posts. Load your pic into a third party site such as photo bucket (there are heaps of others) select the pic and post it

Thanks for the tip Cindy, I thought about that but that means I would need to use another site as my pictures are on instagram and Facebook under karenpayneoregon already. For years I kept my pictures on a free web site (was able to get a link and post the picture to sites such as this one) via Comcast but they discontinued the service, so now I need to find a similar host.

Quote from: Cindy on April 29, 2016, 02:32:01 AM
Do you mean like this:




And there are a few members here who have been in the passenger seat!

Really cool Cindy!
Miatas are great cars, solid light sporty we things!
Il post a pick my car when I'm properly out! :')

Quote from: karenpayneoregon on April 28, 2016, 06:03:19 PM
"they are chic cars, men don't drive Miata's"

i have been this "guy", but i would follow up with i would love to stick a 400 small block in one.

Whatever happens to me in the future, I reckon I'll always want a quick car 😊

I drive a 2012 ford escape and I love it,i do miss my 08 town and country though.

There shouldn't even be a question of whether or not a Miata is a girls car, there's no such thing. cars don't have a gender preference!

But, Miatas are a well balanced sports car with decades of track refinement, and they shouldn't be underestimated, the fact that you can very easily fit an LS V8 under the hood making 500+ horsepower and still drive the car like a little sports car is AMAZING!!



That video is a 520hp Miata that's only a few hundred lbs more than a stock one, and more than double the horsepower.


Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

Silly stereotypes. I drive a Dodge Challenger R/T (With a Hemi)

I've been asked why am I transitioning by a number of folks.  I have a twisted sense of humor.  Combining these, I occasionally give this answer:

Quote
Why am I transitioning?   Well, I bought a Miata.  They said if I drove a Miata, I'd have to give up my Man Card.

I said OK.

I drive a 2000 Miata LS, green with tan top and interior. 

Quote from: Debra on November 21, 2016, 09:28:25 PM
Silly stereotypes. I drive a Dodge Challenger R/T (With a Hemi)

What year is your Challenger? I love the pink Dodge & Plymouth muscle cars from the early 70s though they're way out of my price range & I haven't the time to keep a near 50 year old car on the road.

Congrats on the Miata, it's a beautiful car and the newest generation looks especially amazing with the new aggressive styling and the hard top. I'm a huge Mazda fan, my first car was an RX-8 and I loved that car. I still have dreams about it and can hear its distinctive rotary engine whirring in my head. The only thing I don't miss was the horrendous gas mileage and on premium no less lol. I have always liked the Miata but have wished they would make it a bit bigger and more practical or just upped the power. Fortunately they seemed to have done the latter.

As for the stereotypes I believe the Miata tends to be a man's car. It seems to have a particular appeal to middle aged, suburban white guys. The kind of guys who would otherwise get a Ferrari to cruise in but either can't afford one or their wives will only let them spend $30K on a Miata instead of around $200K on an entry level Ferrari. They want something that has visual appeal and is a blast to drive. I don't believe that I have ever seen a woman driving one either.

I often notice that the exact opposite is true of what men's magazines would have you believe. Men drive small cars almost exclusively. It's fashionable to pick on the Mini Coopers and Miatas of the world but it definitely doesn't stop men from driving them moreso than women in my experience. Likewise, women seem to rival if not outnumber men who drive either fullsize SUVs or the largest pickups (F350, Ram 2500) that have been jacked up as high as holy hell. Most recently I ubered a drunk guy home who was bashing on hybrids like my car for being emasculating. Then he confessed to having a little Ford Ranger. Stereotypes are pretty lame and don't seem to hold much weight.

Quote from: big kim on November 22, 2016, 01:31:35 AM
What year is your Challenger? I love the pink Dodge & Plymouth muscle cars from the early 70s though they're way out of my price range & I haven't the time to keep a near 50 year old car on the road.

Mine's a 2013 =) Yeah the old ones are pretty cool but lacking all the newer gizmos and such . I am spoiled by heated seats nowadays lol.

Getting in and out of those things in a short skirt whilst maintaining ones "dignity", must be a hoot!

Update, since posting this I have added anti-sway bars, custom springs and higher end tires. After the addition of the custom springs the car rides just under two inches lower than stock.

I did the tires first, very little difference, next added the sway-bars, noticed an improvement but not until adding the springs was there a totally different ride.

These additions are not for casual driving but for when out with the club on some very cool twisty roads, for instance in the back country we will take 15 MPH turns at 40 to 45 MPH without braking. The Miata has a good deal of torque which makes it possible along with the modifications to drive this way.