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Car News
Looking for a perfect Miata? Here's your chance. -
Car News
This Miata was bought brand new -- and then went pretty much nowhere. -
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First Look
The well-equipped 2019 Mazda MX-5 Miata 30th Anniversary Edition marks three decades of reasonably priced top-down fun.
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The vehicle above is quite clearly a 1960s Ford Mustang. Or, at least, that's what you'd think if you looked at it with a quick glance. But if you look closer, you'll start to realize it isn't … quite … right for a 1960s Mustang. The proportions are off. And those wheels … are they from a Mazda Miata?
Yes, indeed, they are from a Miata. The vehicle you see above is a 1997 Mazda Miata that has been converted into a 1960s Ford Mustang convertible, and it's currently for sale on Autotrader. At first glance, it's a reasonably convincing fake, but on closer inspection you see that the wheelbase is a bit too short, the windshield rake isn't right, and the wheels are indeed the stock wheels from an NA (first-generation) Miata.
Of course, here I am talking about the specifics of the car when I should be answering a different question: WHY? The answer to this is: I have no idea. This car is offered for sale by John Kufleitner's Galleria of Vintage and Classic Cars in Salem, Ohio, near Youngstown, and it's presented quite well, with a lot of nice, clear images. But the description makes no attempt to explain why a Ford Mustang was built around a Mazda Miata.
Next, I turn to the Carfax report, but there's no real answer here: The car was originally leased in 1997 by a customer in New Jersey, and then it bounced around to various owners in New Jersey and Pennsylvania before winding up for sale in Ohio. One of those owners, of course, converted it into a Mustang. But how? And why? There's no record of an accident in Carfax, suggesting there's a good chance this car was alive and well when it went under the knife.
This Miata may prompt more questions than answers -- but if you want to know more, you can always go buy it. It's listed for a surprisingly reasonable $9,800 -- and if you get it, you'll certainly have the weirdest car at Cars and Coffee. Find a Mazda MX-5 Miata for sale or Find a Ford Mustang for sale
Doug DeMuro is an automotive journalist who has written for many online and magazine publications. He once owned a Nissan Cube and a Ferrari 360 Modena. At the same time.