Newsleter_Aug_2016_final 6.0 MB

The Miata Club of Southwest Florida website: http://www.miataclubofsouthwestflorida.com
Join us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/mcofswf/?fref=ts
Board Members
President: Frank Kinslow
941 347-7384
[email protected]
Vice President: Ed Conrad
262 497-3011
[email protected]
Past President: Dana Breda
336 416-7464
[email protected]
Secretary: Leslie Schmitt
651 235-4803
[email protected]
Treasurer: Noni Cockrum
239 278-1729
[email protected]
Membership & Events Coordinator:
Donna Noyes
239 454-5665
[email protected]
Newsletter Editor: Ron Lindensmith
239 699-6339
[email protected]
Webmaster: Gary Blessing
239 910-4610
[email protected]
Dealer Liaisons
Palm Mazda: Steve Bowers
239 567-2149
[email protected]
Cox Mazda: Ruth Brewer
517 331-4618
[email protected]
O’Brien Mazda: Rick Schwartzman
239 225-2268
[email protected]
and
Jim France 239 561-8355
[email protected]
Ed Howard Mazda: Joel Robbins
574 527-1319
[email protected]
August 2016
by Frank Kinslow
Our club has the best events! Fran and I went on a mystery
ride on July 13 along with twenty or so other Miatas. We enjoyed a
fun drive to Lake Placid where we had a delicious lunch at Jaxson's.
From there we drove on to Henscratch Farms for wine tasting and a
bit of shopping. And we got to feed the chickens! Our last stop was
Sugar Tree Bakery for dessert which completed a great day.
Thanks, Donna!
There's so much to do in southwest Florida. We could be busy
just about every weekend with fairs, festivals and farmer's markets. On Saturday we went to the Summer Taste of Greece at Holy
Trinity Orthodox Church in Port Charlotte. We had a delicious
lunch, and took home a box of even more delicious Greek pastries.
On Sunday we drove out to the German American Club on Pine
Island Road in Cape Coral to celebrate MangoMania. Did you know
that nearly 50 varieties of mango grow on Pine Island? We sampled
some of the varieties in the tasting tent, and they were all delicious. Tito's vodka mixed with lemonade, mango fudge, beef jerky,
and smoked fish are just a few of the items we sampled. Budweiser
was on hand with a specially mixed mango beer. Sounds unusual, but
it was delicious. Maybe next year I'll enter the pie eating contest!
Training for that event would be the best.
There are so many beaches, state and county parks, museums
and excellent restaurants within easy driving distance. It's hot and
humid for sure, and it rains nearly every afternoon, but we can still
get out there to enjoy our area. Next on our list is a visit to historic downtown Venice. We spent a bit of time there during the
Miata rally, and want to go back for a more leisurely visit.
Hope you're all enjoying your summer, see you at the next
meeting!
by Ron Lindensmith
I hope you all enjoy this month’s newsletter. We have a nice article written
by Joel Robbins that may tell you what others think about your choice of car color.
There is also an article by Rick Fried giving his driving impressions of his wife’s
2016 MX-5. We have a review of the Mystery Ice Cream Tour with photos submitted by Donna Noyes and Dick Fischer. One of our newest and youngest members,
Zak Alvarez, sent in a photo of his car for the
Photo of the Month. BTW, now is the time somebody else needs to send me a photo or I’ll start
using more of my own! And the feature I really enjoy is the Auto Biography and this month Dick &
Jean Fischer (with help from their son Larry) did a
great job telling their current little red Miata’s
story. I just hope sometime we can get an Auto Biography from their old turbo car (hint, hint).
As always, stories, news about members, photos, trivia, news about Miatas, etc., etc. are always
welcome. And if you send me something by email or snail mail, I’ll make every effort to let you know I got
whatever it is you submitted. It will likely be in the next newsletter, but I can’t promise that as a fact. If
I already have an Auto Biography or Photo of the Month lined up, yours may be the following month. But so
far, that’s just a dream I keep hoping will come true some day!
The deadline for submissio ns to the S eptember newsletter is Tuesday, August 30th.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
by Sandy Cole
As we approach August, things are looking good. Congratulations, you have
each maintained good health reports with no family losses. That is always encouraging. However, I did have one recent request to send extra sunshine to Rick
Schwarzman who had an out patient procedure. Sounds like all went well. Way to
go, Rick. Whether you are in Florida or elsewhere, it sounds like the heat wave is
with us. I assume you are finding ways and places to stay 'cool' and comfortable.
As always, we have sixteen members still celebrating birthdays. Please join
me in wishing the following a HUGE HAPPY BIRTHDAY:
Gary Blessing, Dana Breda, John Chapman, Marlene Erhardt, Rick Fried, David Greenwood, Jerry
Grego, Bob Gresh, Frank Kinslow, Fran Kinslow, Paul Marcuzzo, Rudy Munoz, Susan Perry, Butch Reynolds,
Denny Small and, Chet Young. Hope you each enjoy a healthy and enjoyable year ahead.
Hope to see you soon.
' Sunshine ' Sandy
by Donna Noyes
The summer slowdown has officially begun, at least for me. We did
have a very good attendance at our July monthly meeting – 48 members
came to socialize, have dinner, and escape the heat. That might be a record
attendance for a summer meeting. We will have a big announcement about
upcoming meetings very soon so be sure to watch your email inbox and the
September newsletter for further information.
We did add one new member in July, Zak Alvarez of Punta Gorda. Zak
has a 2001 red Miata. He discovered a group of us at the McDonald’s in
Punta Gorda, preparing to drive to Sarasota for Joel Robbins’ Mini-Rally
event. Zak saw several Miatas parked in the lot and began taking photos of
them (he is a film-making student). He approached me in the restaurant to
ask about the club and how to join. Naturally I had membership applications
with me. Now he has become the youngest member of our organization – and I hope he will bring some
new ideas and lots of energy to the group. Welcome to Zak! If you haven’t met him yet, just look for
the nice young man at one of our meetings or events and introduce yourself.
Our current paid-up membership count is 88 Miatas and 165 members. As always, if you know someone that has a Miata, tell them about our club and bring them to one of our meetings. I’m always ready
to sign up new members!
A friendly reminder - PLEASE wear your name badges at our meetings and events so that we know
who you are. I try very hard to recognize and remember each of you . . . but my “senior” memory sometimes fails, so please help me out. I suggest keeping your badges in your Miata – then you will always
have them handy.
I’ll be traveling off and on over the next several weeks so many of you may not see me until the fall.
I expect to have internet availability most of that time so I should be able to keep in touch with everyone.
I look forward to seeing you when I return. Until then, ZOOM-ZOOM!
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Steve Bowers Becomes a TV Star!
by Sandy Bowers
The WINK TV reporter, Mike Walcher, often goes to the Oasis Restaurant
to get opinions from people because the Oasis is close to the studio. Steve
noticed Mike randomly talking to a few people. The restaurant was full at
lunch hour, with a lot of downtown workers there. Then Mike walked down
to where we were sitting. Steve said hello and Mike stopped to talk. Next
thing you know, Steve was being interviewed about
the situation with VR Labs and was asked several
questions. I think Mike just stopped to talk to people who looked like they might actually know something! That pretty much sums up how it all happened. WINK edited down the interview to just one question Steve was asked. So now Steve is a star!
What Does the Color of Your Miata Tell About You?
By Joel Robbins
So, you own a Miata, or you’re looking to buy a new or different one. What color do you own or
want? Friend Rod Kent said he wanted a yellow one but ended up with burnt orangish-red, which he calls
Ginger. Some of the women in our club actually own the family Miata, others were bought for or by the
male. Who made the decision about color? What do those choices reveal?
Some studies say that people who choose black like to be in control. I lived in a Central Asian country for 2 and ½ years and most men wore black hats, jackets, pants and shoes. The men in that country
seemed to be in control, or so they thought. Carole Fried, owner of a black roadster, might have something
to say about this. Blue, the favorite color of most people, on the other hand, represents a person who is
calm and easy going. We consider blue a male color that is also popular with women. Cool, collected Donna
Noyes has a blue Miata. Red is for a passionate and energetic person. Miata member Dave Erickson calls
the color of his car “speeding ticket red.” (ed. I
call it: arrest me red!)
Sara and I didn’t even know that our van was pregnant.
My wife and I set out this year to buy a new, but
2015 model, and took what was available at the
nearest dealer, Ed Howard Mazda. Its color is Liquid Silver, which my wife tells me is what jewelers
call a certain style of sterling chain. Silver is close
to gray, which signals a noncommittal temperament.
Our Dodge mini-van is almost the same color (see
photo). We’re typecast for sure.
Purple is for people who are weird or like standing out, and brown is for those who like to be
comfy. George and Sherry Christensen report their Miata as mahogany (brown?). Wife Sara, a retired art
teacher, says that reds, browns and oranges are warm colors and blue, greens and whites are cool. She
didn’t say where purple fit in.
Of course white is innocence and imagined purity. I always associated green with being a nube,
rookie or inexperienced person, but some studies say it has to do with wanting monetary security.
Pink (Are their pink Miatas?) has to do with sensitivity and naivety, but can naivety apply to any of us
older members? Trying to determine where other Miata colors--such as copper red mica, crystal blue, evolution orange, reflex blue, mahogany and stormy blue mica--fit into this psuedo-psychological treatise
makes my head spin.
Probably picking out a color for a Miata is
like having a “mood ring” that changes colors according to the wearer’s current emotional state. My
guess is we pick the most attractive car we see at a
certain time and place at a reasonable price.
According to my unaudited interpretation of
the varied colors reported by club owners, red is the
most popular with 29, blue came in second with 13,
silver was third with 11, then black and white
(ironically) tied for fourth with 10 each, green came in fifth with 5, gray came in sixth with 4, orange finished seventh with 3, yellow was eighth with 2, and mahogany was last with 1. *
So, what does the color of your prized Miata tell about you? Who knows? Whatever the color, we
enjoy the envy we see on other people’s faces as they see us tooling along back roads with the top down,
sunglasses reflecting a blue sky and the wind blowing through our hair.
*Disclaimer: Remember that titanium could be white or silver, gray could be silver and copper red could be
orange. Mysteriously, no pinks or purples were reported.
(ed. We bought both our cars used so color choice wasn’t a serious consideration, but both cars a blue/
gray… what can I say?)
The New Miata RF Hardtop
A couple of people have submitted some info or links to stories and specs
about the new 2017 Miata RF hardtop. If somebody would actually like to
write a story about this model, or the fact that they are already endeavoring to buy one of these (maybe even before the ‘official’ release date,
hint, hint) I’d print it in a heartbeat! But for now what I have are links:
http://links.mkt2473.com/servlet/MailView?
ms=OTE5NzgxNgS2&r=MTQ1OTE3NDgwMjA4S0&j=OTYxMDQ0MTM2S
0&mt=1&rt=0
https://www.mazdausa.com/vehicles/2017-mx-5-miata-rf/gallery?
intcmp=CRM17058&providertag=MazdaCRM&servicetag=CRM17058&t=1&C
RMCID=0021193895&secmp=1-569SLA&setid=191542977&secid=0021193895&sesc=1-312903975
by Donna Noyes
The “mystery” has been solved – I led the caravan to Lake Placid on Wednesday, July 13, to celebrate Ice Cream Month. The adventurous caravan consisted of 23 Miatas and 45 drivers and passengers.
We left Punta Gorda at 9 a.m. in sunny and very hot
weather, so most of us kept our tops up and our a/c
running. The majority of the drive was on country
roads with only minimal traffic most of the way. We
even got to drive over some “Florida-style” hills! Our
first stop was for lunch (of course). Although each
driver was given a set of directions, the name of the
restaurant and the city where it was located was kept
secret. Only when the caravan pulled into Jaxson’s
on the Lake parking lot did they find out where we
would be eating (unless they had cheated during the
drive by searching on their smart phones). The restaurant was ready for us and most of the group took
shelter in one of the air-conditioned rooms, while 16 heartier souls chose to enjoy the lake view from the
screened outside porch. Thanks to the breeze from the lake and the overhead fans, it really wasn’t too
bad sitting out there.
After lunch, directions to our next stop were given to the drivers and we headed off to the “Old
Florida” attraction – Henscratch Farms and Winery. Owner Drew Jones and Store Manager Marta were
prepared for us, with both Cheerios available to feed the
free-roaming chickens, and samples of their Muscadine and Scuppernong wines to taste. The chickens knew
what was coming – as soon as they saw people headed for
the table with the Cheerios, they came running! I’m not
sure who was having more fun – the feeders or the chickens! This is an old-fashioned country store, constructed
in the old cracker style with raised floor, sliding barn
doors and an open breezeway. There was a good selection of homemade jams, jellies, sauces and syrups, as well
as their wines, available for purchase. I saw several bags
of goodies going out to Miata trunks. There is a nice arrangement between Jaxson’s restaurant and Henscratch
Farms – a $15 purchase at one of the facilities gives you a
15% discount at the other facility, many of us took full advantage of that. It was hot, humid and sticky in that non-air
-conditioned environment but some of us did get to cool off a
bit by checking out the silo where the wines are made and
stored – it had a/c! Also, several members relaxed on the
shaded porch trying to catch a breeze. Even though there
was a lot of sweating going on, I think everyone enjoyed this
“mystery” stop.
Finally, directions to the last venue of the day were handed out – our Ice Cream stop. The caravan
went into the downtown Lake Placid area to The Sugar Tree Bakery. The owners of this small shop knew
we were coming and had plenty of ice cream, as well as
their specialty “cupcakes in a jar” on hand for us. Because
the shop is small, several of us took time to check out a
few of the other stores nearby while the first part of the
group got in line. Eventually we all got to enjoy ice cream
or cupcakes or both. And then we all headed for home.
Some of us hit some heavy rainstorms as we got near the
coast – I know from experience that Fort Myers and Cape
Coral were hit hard, but I think everyone made it home
safely.
This was an event I
really enjoyed putting together. Doing it as a
“Mystery Tour” was a bit
more challenging but I think
most of the participants
liked that aspect of it. Some
people enjoyed the challenge
of figuring out the mystery
location before we got there;
some folks didn’t know where we were even AFTER we got there. I particularly enjoyed Henscratch
Farms and I may try to set up a future ride to one of the public events they conduct during the year, including a Strawberry Festival, a Blueberry Festival, and a Grape Stomp in which you foot-stomp grapes for
your own branded wine – it should be fun. Also, since many of our members were not able to participate in
this event, I will be happy to give a copy of my route directions and contact information for all three facilities to anyone who would like to lead a caravan during season when our snowbirds are back in town.
Just let me know - the hard work has already been done for you!
Thanks to all who participated and a big thanks to Ed Conrad who helped keep our caravan together and running smoothly. Check out our Facebook page for a lot of photos from attendees. You don’t
need an account to view them. https://www.facebook.com/mcofswf/
FOLLOW-UP – I had a call from Marta at Henscratch Farms the morning after our event, telling
me that we were so lucky to have been there on Wednesday. Their fields and parking lot were completely
underwater on Thursday and she said there was no way we could have visited them. She had to park on
the road and put on her rain boots to walk over to the store. I asked about the chickens and she said they
were all sitting up on the fences, high and dry, but she did say the ducks were quite happy – no need for
them to use their pool. So not only did our scheduled stops work out perfectly, our chosen day was lucky
also!
One of our newest (and maybe youngest) members, Zak Alvarez, gets a photo of his Miata in the Photo of
the Month feature for one simple reason… he e-mailed it to me the day after our club meeting at Captain
Fishbones. I asked (and at times beg) for members to send in photos. I mean how hard is it to email a
photo? Well, Zak sent in his and I appreciate his effort. Now, as for the rest of you old timers…
Photo of the Month Submissions
OK, the rules just became a lot simpler, just email your photo to me at [email protected]
NEXT MIATA CLUB MEETINGS:
August 8th, 2016
WHERE: Captain Fishbones (Meeting Room)
at the Shell Factory
2787 N. Tamiami Trail North Ft. Myers, FL 33903
TIME: Dinner 4:30pm (optional) Meeting 6:00pm
REPLY TO: Donna Noyes [email protected]
239-454-5665
PLEASE RESPOND BY:
Thursday, August 4th 2016
September’s meeting will be on
Thursday, September 8th
Watch for an e-mail coming soon.
Save this date:
Saturday, September 17th.
The location will be Bob's Train in Sarasota.
More info coming by e-mail and
the September Newsletter.
Driving Impressions of our 2016 Miata
by Rick Fried
First let me make one thing completely clear, this is
my wife's car. She picked out the color (black and black) and
trim level (GT). Her name appears on the registration, and it
is only through her good graces that I am allowed to drive it
on occasion. Even though I am the one writing this article, in
case I forgot to mention it, this is Carole's car.
We really don't drive the car all that much. Although
we’ve had the car since last September, and it’s now the middle of July, we only have about 4,000 miles on it. Just recently we decided to take it to Atlanta for a four-day trip to
visit our children. As the trip takes approximately 9 hours each way, we had an opportunity to sample the
Miata for an extended period of time. So here we go with some observations:
The Convertible top is simply a joy. I can raise or lower it while sitting in the car. It is completely
watertight even in the heaviest downpours. While not as quiet as a hardtop, even at highway speeds we
don't find the wind noise to be annoying. With the top down, wind buffeting even at 75 mph is not overly
intrusive. On the trip, we started out with the top down and windows up. As the temperatures warmed, we
lowered the windows and were quite comfortable. We ran into typical Florida thunderstorms, and obviously
the top went up and stayed up as temperatures rose and the air conditioner was turned on.
Comfort – We found the seats to be extremely comfortable, and as you would expect, the steering is light and
responsive. The exhaust note is pleasant and not at all annoying even after hours of driving. The air conditioning, with
automatic climate control on the GT, worked well with little
perceived drag on the engine.
Luggage space – no one is going to confuse the Miata
with an SUV when it comes to cargo space. But by using two
soft side bags and a garment bag, we found there was sufficient room for our needs.
Other neat stuff – mileage: using premium gas, we averaged 32.8 mpg round trip. This included
getting stuck in Atlanta traffic for about 40 minutes. Automatic windshield wipers – I never had these
before but they work extremely well, and it saves me from the laborious task of actually having to turn
wipers on and off. :) LED headlights – really super bright! Blind spot monitoring and rear cross traffic
alerts – both work well and we like these features, but a backup camera would be appreciated. We have an
automatic transmission (see the first paragraph) that still can be a lot of fun if you select the sports
mode or even better, put it in manual and use the paddle shifter. Hey, if it's good enough for Formula One
drivers it's good enough for me! Navigation system- more features on the Miata system than on our 2015
Honda CR-V, but not as many features as on our $114 Tom-Tom portable (insert five thousand word essay
here).
Some silly stuff – no car is perfect, but sometimes you just have to scratch your head and say
“what were they thinking?” The 12 V outlet is located down in the foot well on the passenger side next to
the passenger's left ankle. If you are the driver, this makes plugging in an adapter to charge one of your
devices virtually impossible. If you're the passenger, it is recommended that you have arms similar to
those of an orangutan, and have your eyeballs located where your bellybutton is. The CD player – this is
located between the seats behind the driver's right shoulder. Trying to insert a CD into the player by the
driver while the vehicle is moving is an operation that should only be undertaken after all your insurance
premiums are paid. The position of the driver's cup holder is only marginally better.
The final verdict? Along with every auto
magazine, TV car show and rating service, we love
this car! We love the looks. We love the handling.
We love the performance. The cost to smile ratio
makes this a truly outstanding value. And until the
Fiat 124 becomes available, which is just a MX-5
with different sheet metal (in case you didn't
know) there is nothing in the world to compete
with it.
Thank You
I want to say thanks to Joel Robbins for asking all 14 of the teams who went on the Club Rally to send
me a photo for the newsletter. After all, each team was required to take 4 photos to show they had been
various places. Joel sent one in for Ron & Sharon Basil. Then Dana Breda sent in a couple, next Steve &
Sandy Bowers sent in all four and finally Donna Noyes sent in hers. So that’s 4 out of fourteen teams...
I’m going to ask again for everybody’s help. I use 99% of the contributions to the newsletter, and I
make up new stuff to try and make it more fun to read. I hope
you all appreciate the effort a little bit?
Now I’m asking your help by
simply emailing me a photo for
the Photo of the Month, or a
photo from the next Club trip,
or put your fun hat on and do an
Auto Biography. I’ll really appreciate it if you challenge
yourself and write an
article about you and your
Miata. I’m not
concerned about the
subject, a vacation
together, an upgrade, a
road test, whatever. I
just want people to get to
know a bit more about
each other.
by Miata with support from Dick and Jean Fischer
Full Name: Mazda MX-5 Grand Sport
Birth: Date: 2011
Skin Color: Officer, please give me a ticket; Bright Red ( ed. note: also known as ‘Arrest me red’ )
Inside: Black Leather seats to keep their butts in place, Black Leather Passenger Pouch, Wood Grain Custom Interior, Hidden C.B. Radio System, Magellan Dashboard GPS, and a Valentine Radar Detector
Hair: Bright Red Power Retractable Hard Top
Feet & Shoes: Chrome Wheels, Stock Tires
Distinguishing Marks: Custom Chrome center top trunk light, Chrome Gas Plate Cover, Tail Light Bezel,
Custom Chrome and black (mostly chrome) License Plate surrounding wrap-a-round, and Custom
Chrome Trim everywhere else possible
Heart & Lungs: Stock Engine, Performance Chip, Chrome Modified Exhaust Pipes
Miscellaneous: I’d like my owner to replace the Chrome Wheels and Tires with something that has the
taste and flavor of my personal style – coming soon
Hobbies: Auto Cross when time permits. Love sweeping ramps at 6k to 7k RPM’s
Relatives: My former brother, a 1993 Miata, had an impressive 400HP Turbo Charged Miata Engine with
16 lbs. of boost. He also Gold plated the entire engine as well as exterior parts (that were originally chrome) I promised my new owner that he will need to keep the speed obsession in the past
and keep my engine stock. I know it’s killing him; but he agreed to a deal with his old lady in order
to have me. (ed. Note: an Auto Biography we’d like to see in the near future! )