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Inside Mazda

An Unforgettable Convertible Ride Sparks Love for the MX-5

Celebrating 30 Years of the MX-5 Miata begins with celebrating our fans and their stories. We asked owners and enthusiasts from around the country to submit their MX-5 stories to celebrate the debut of the 30th Anniversary MX-5 Miata at the Chicago Auto Show.


It only took one weekend back in the mid-1990’s with a friend’s MX-5 Miata to turn Steve Gunn into an MX-5 fan. Jan, a family friend of the Gunns, was going to Nashville for the weekend, and offered to let them drive it for leisure. Excitedly, the couple took Jan up on her offer and the rest is history.

“That was my first exposure to the car, and certainly to the convertible,” Steve said.

“When she got back,” Steve explained, “I told her, ‘Boy, if you ever want to sell that car, I would love to buy it.’ She was persistent though, telling us, ‘No, no, no, no,’ for years until this past July it all changed. Jan was finally ready to her beloved car, and we were just lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time.”

“For the 4th of July, we typically go to her house,” Steve continued. “There’s a parade that goes down the street right in front of her house. During the parade, I told her that if she ever wanted to sell the car, I’d be interested. I even told her that if she sold me the car and one day wanted it back, I would give it to her.”

“So, just a couple weeks later after that,” Steve said, “Jan called my wife and asked her if I would want it, and my wife said, ‘I know he would.’”

The car held a great deal of sentimental value for Jan, as her husband had given it to her before his passing just a few years later. She knew it couldn’t just go to any home; it had to be a loving one.

“It was one of those things that she really could not part with unless it was to the right person,” Steve explained. “And I happened to be the right person I think. So that was really kind of neat.”

More than 20 years since his first drive in that red MX-5, Steve can finally call it his own. Although Steve has only had the car since August, he and his wife of 45 years have wasted no time taking it out and enjoying the ride. They’ve joined their local Buckeye Miata Club and have enjoyed a number of unique excursions with their fellow Miata enthusiasts, including a drive to Clifton Mills to see a Christmas light display this past December.

“It’s just kind of neat to have a car that’s a little different,” Steve explained. “It’s something that you just don’t see everyday. I’d tell anyone to buy it!”