I remember the buzz that the Miata caused when it was introduced 37 years ago. It was hailed as a throwback to the lightweight, two-seater British roadsters of the 1950’s and ’60’s, but without the oil leaks, reliability issues, and the finicky Lucas “Prince of Darkness” electrical systems. (Some car owners with Lucas electrical systems even coined the motto, “Get home before dark.”) With virtually no comparable models in production when introduced in the fall of 1989, the Miata was the king of the hill and hit a home run here in the States. Demand for the inexpensive sports car ($13,800 MSRP) was so strong that dealers put customers on a pre-order waiting list (and usually marked them up $5,000 – $6,000 over MSRP). Here’s a first-year, first-generation 1990 Miata time capsule for your consideration. You’ll find it garaged in Libertyville, Illinois (fitting since I’m writing this on July 4th) and listed for sale here on craigslist for $16,400. Thanks, Rocco B., for spotting this well-preserved Miata.
For model year 1990, a total of 57,972 Miata’s were produced for the North American market. This is one of the 12,420 units ordered in Crystal White and the paint looks great as does the rest of the exterior. Mazda was smart in having the Lotus Elan serve as the design inspiration. I read where the pop-up headlights, grille opening, door handles, tail lamps, engine appearance, and even the center console layout were based on the classic Lotus Elan. The black convertible top looks good, though the seller says the rear window is a little cloudy. The tires are in good shape and it’s also wearing the alloy wheels that helps to accentuate the sporty nature of this two-seater.
Inside, this Miata is just as impressive at its clean exterior. I’m not seeing any major wear and tear and dash and instrument panel look near perfect. This Miata was ordered with Option Package A which included alloy wheels, power steering, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, and an AM/FM radio with cassette player. The optional air conditioning unit works and has a new compressor.
Under the hood is the Miata’s 1.6-liter DOHC inline 4-cylinder engine. It generates 116 horsepower @ 6,500 RPM and the odometer reads 30,094 original miles. The engine is paired with a 5-speed manual transmission to drive the rear wheels. The seller states that the roadster has a new timing belt, new rear brakes, fresh fluids, and a new SS exhaust (but the original is intact). I was impressed how Mazda revived the idea of a small, lightweight, fun-to-drive sports car that had the spirit of the MGB, Triumph Spitfire, and Fiat Spider, but was now more refined and reliable. What do you think of this magnificent Miata?
This is a nice example of a first generation Miata. With low miles, it will provide years of reliable fun. I had a 1990 Miata, red, equiped the same way. I sold it 4 years ago at 77,000 miles. It never let me down and still looked great and ran well. My wife and I had lots of good times driving on weekend trips with our local Miata club. We always looked for roads with the most curves and hills we could find including The Dragon in TN. If you’re thinking about buying a first generation Miata, this one could be the one.
I’ve owned several of these cars over the years in a variety of colors—red, white, and blue—and I have to say I wish I’d never sold any of them.
They’re wonderful pieces of motoring history: simple, quick, easy to work on, and, despite their compact size, surprisingly comfortable. They deliver an exhilarating driving experience at a price point that’s hard to beat.
Given today’s market, this example appears to be a bargain, and I hope it finds a good home. Unfortunately, many of these cars have either been raced hard or simply driven into the ground, making well-preserved examples increasingly difficult to find.
If I didn’t already have more convertibles than I need, this is one I’d seriously consider adding to the garage.
You can’t have too many convertibles. This is a case where too much is never enough!!! I have 8.
There’s a 1991 Special Edition with 40k miles on BaT right now that has about 12 hours left to go and it’s just a shade over 10k, so you might want to see where that ends up before breaking out the checkbook. Judging from other recent auction results, this price is a bit optimistic. But regardless, these are cool cars, especially for autocross.
Beware the wobbling crank pulley on these early ones…
I had an NA and an NB. The first gen was an absolute hoot to drive. Reminded me of my MGB. The second gen left me cold. Too refined. It had lost the magic. I will have another NA one day.
We had a 1992. It was amazing to drive. I’ve owned Jaguars and Triumphs. The Mazda was a dream!
Have to agree with CayenneGTS on this…a very nice, clean example of first generation Miata, but very optimistic on the price.
I had the loan of one of these when it first came out from Mazda and was very impressed by how well it handled. Seemed to have everything one wants in a sports car and nothing you didn’t want.
Only thing that kept me from buying one right on the spot was having both a large dog and a girlfriend. The car would only hold one…should have dropped the girlfriend. Ah well, live and learn.
I had a 1993 Mazda Miata, and really enjoyed that little convertible. It was red black interior and I put on chrome alloys. Snazzy little car. Unfortunately, it was a manual and in the big city traffic, I shifted myself silly. One time, I drove it up the coast, and again shifted myself silly. I understand all the nostalgia of a manual transmission and a little sports car, but for daily use it was not great. The car was virtually bulletproof. It was dead reliable. Sometimes my wife would take it to the grocery store and she would manage many packages in that little little trunk. All in all, I truly like the little Miata. however, I probably should’ve gotten an automatic transmission. I ended up giving it to my daughter to drive to high school. She thought she was quite the hot chick!
91 is a better choice. In the 2nd year they fix the crankshaft front snout problem.
I bought a 90 that would not start and that turned out to be the problem.
I maintain 1990 Miata with just over 800 miles on it. It is also supercharged as Mazda had that available on the same engine in another one of their models the owner sent the car back to the dealer and had it retrofitted