Welcome to the Windy City Miata Club!

The Windy City Miata Club (WCMC) is a not-for-profit organization designed to promote the enjoyment of good will and fellowship derived from owning a Mazda Miata. Though most of our membership is located in the Chicagoland area, we have members in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, and other states. As of the end of 2008, we have 365 members, with 247 Miatas.

You're invited to join us at our next meeting or activity! Regular club meetings are held the fourth Tuesday of each month at Fuddruckers in Downers Grove (Click Here).

New and prospective members are always welcome at our events. Some events may require an RSVP to the organizer. If you want more information about an upcoming event, please email the event organizer at the address shown on the event page or you may contact us here.

A Word from our President - August 30, 2010

 I’ve had it. I am fed up and done with it. This is just too much to bear, really. I mean, how can you continue to put trust in when you get let down? You know how it is. You start a relationship, it’s new and pleasant and you have so much hope that the newness will continue for years to come. But inevitably something goes wrong and disappointment follows.

That’s where I’m at right now; very disappointed and let down. It seems that after 20 years and almost 300,000 miles, my Miata has suffered its SECOND (2nd) breakdown. I mean, come on now…really? Yes, it’s true. The first breakdown occurred at about 225,000 miles when the right-front wheel bearing decided to change careers and become scrap metal. Okay, 225,000 miles is quite a ways to go before needing any kind of repair work but to follow that up after more than 70,000 miles with the failure of the alternator is just too much for any one person to handle.

I know I have had other issues with my Miata but all those other faults were caused by my ham-fisted approach to automotive modifications and maintenance. What that means is that I barely know what I am doing under the hood and along the way in the last 20 years I have put my poor Miata through the wringer more than once (a week). Heck, I used to routinely abuse it every Saturday and Sunday at auto-crosses and entire days at a time on track days, but it just kept coming back for more. As far as factory issued problems, I’ve had two.

All kidding aside, my little gem has been utterly reliable and consistent. Even with a dead alternator it still won’t leave me stranded. Of course, I need to replace it as soon as possible but it still runs. I can’t kill the darn thing, not that I want to, but one of my qualifications for a good partner in any relationship is dependability. And my Miata (and yours) has that in spades.

These cars not only captured your imagination but almost anyone’s that looks at it. Still, after all these years, I do a quick double-take while walking away from it in a parking lot and then can’t stop staring at it on the way back, only to gauge its appeal against every other car in the lot. Its timeless shape, its horse-and-rider-as-one, that hand-in-glove feeling every time I sit in it…it all works very well together. This is one special ride.

Even as mine sits idly in my garage awaiting a replacement alternator, I crack the door from the mud room into the garage and peak at my Miata and day dream about an early evening blast down a tree-lined back road, with the sun low in the trees, the temps dropping from their highs in the 90’s and a good cigar burning evenly in between my index and middle fingers of my left hand. It can do that for me without even touching it.

So, two failures in 300,000 miles are acceptable to me. I can’t complain; it has been a faithful and loyal partner that just doesn’t stop giving.

Speaking of giving, it’s time to think about running for office in your club, WCMC. There will be a major turnover of people at year’s end and we need you to consider giving back a little in exchange for the great times you have enjoyed in the club. It is a rewarding experience, to be sure, but more importantly, you will be ensuring the viability and growth of the club you have come to enjoy so much.

Sal

Your WCMC President