2018 was odd

•

160

Illustration for article titled 2018 was odd

Seemingly endless adventures, until April when my car got broken into and stripped, and insurance covered none of it. This sent me down a path of questionable decisions. Without that loss, I’d likely not be working where I am, and I definitely wouldn’t have a Volvo.

The Miatas first BIG trip. 4 days, 2 people, 1 roadster. And thus began the luggage rack phase

Speed bumps used to be an issue. The low days

I had just gotten snow tires, and raised my suspension as high as it would go. With basically zero snow driving experience prior to this, I went for the full send

The next day I decided to play around in town. To this day, it’s driving through my shutdown city with the roads covered in snow that is my greatest automotive memory

Brought a friend to drift mountain. Our Mazdas got along quite well. However, just minutes after this photo was taken...

You all probably remember this one. Oppo’s first high-centered Miata. Luckily there was someone with me, as it was getting dark and snowing heavily high up a mountain on a forest service road

February? Exploring some new roads. This is when I learned that the slushy mud snow stuff is much harder to drive on than powder or crust

Clean and mean. Wash, claybar, wax. Easily a 6-7 hour process, but even now it still makes the car look like a million bucks

Does that look like 25 year old paint on a Mazda with 350 000 miles that’s hooned* regularly?

The old setup. The thief took about $5k worth of gear, and the Miata was placed in storage for months. I bought and later sold blue S2000 seats, and a few others before deciding to go with authentic Brides

Everytime I see the Miata—still with just a single seat—I wonder how things would have gone if things had been different. I Didn’t realize how emotionally attached I was to that car until I walked out and saw it torn apart. I had to wait an hour before calling the police because I didn’t think I’d be able to keep my voice from cracking. It sucked.

But from the ashes, came a new friend... With 5 cylinders.

All-in-all, I’m happy with how things ended up. The job should look good on a resumé, has given me invaluable skills that I’ll use in the years to come, and there are parts of it that I really enjoy!

The Volvo needs no introduction. Despite a rocky start, the heavily modded 850 wagon has been an absolute joy. Wonderful seats are the cherry on top of an overall fantastic package for commuting. Swaybars, lowering springs, and other suspension mods mean the station wagon corners flat and confidently, and the tuned turbo is partially responsible for making this Volvo the fastest car I’ve owned to date. Add in a characterful manual transmission and a 5 cylinder engine that makes noises the 4 bangers can only dream of.... I love this turbo brick. Getting 28mpg on my last trip, while embarrassing two flashy G35's was the moment I realized I can’t sell the Volvo. It’s staying for awhile.