PETER EGAN: How I Became an Accidental Miata Enthusiast. It’s easy to forget just how revolutionary (or maybe counterrevolutionary) the Miata was when it first appeared amid a rather depressing car market. And it’s improved with time. Plus, it’s always fun to read Peter Egan:

“Why are you selling it?” I asked.

“I’d like a newer model,” he said. “I’ve been dating a woman who says she won’t ride in a car without a passenger-side airbag.”

I stared into space and tried to wrap my mind around that caveat. When Barb and I were dating in college, I courted her in a Triumph TR3 that had military-surplus lap belts bolted to a lacy sheet of rust we called “the floor.” My idea of safety was to use big washers on the seatbelt anchors. Women were made of sterner stuff in those days. At least those who survived were.

Read the whole thing. I remember the Insta-Wife test driving a Miata a few months after her heart attack. It was a nice day, the top was down, and when she got onto the road she put the pedal down, it zipped forward, and she let out the first full-throated joyful laughter I’d heard from her since before. I’ll always be grateful to Mazda for that moment.