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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallFlyin’ Miata grew from a New Jersey repair shop into a Miata-focused parts and engineering company, then became an employee-owned cooperative. Its story runs through Bill Cardell’s early turbocharged Miata, years of product development and competition cars, and a later decision to concentrate on four-cylinder development. The company’s own history and catalog tell most of that story, so its claims about its work and reputation are best understood as company accounts rather than independent comparisons.
From a repair shop to a Miata project
The Dealer Alternative, 1983
Flyin’ Miata traces its beginnings to 1983, when Bill Cardell started The Dealer Alternative, a Porsche, Audi and Volkswagen service shop in New Jersey. The business did not begin as a Miata-parts brand; the turn toward the roadster came several years later. Flyin’ Miata’s company history is the source for this timeline.
A turbocharged Miata, 1989
According to the company’s retrospective, a customer introduced Cardell to the Miata in 1989. He bought one and installed a turbo when it had about 1,800 miles on it. Flyin’ Miata says that first setup was not especially good, but it ran well enough for the turbo manufacturer to refer customers to Cardell. He began modifying Miatas and developing parts, including springs and sway bars.
This origin matters because the company’s account presents its parts business as an outgrowth of working on the car itself: a personal project led to customer work, referrals and purpose-built components.
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Moving west and becoming Flyin’ Miata
Miatas full time in Colorado
In 1996, Bill and Teri Cardell decided to focus on Miatas full time. They sold the repair shop to an employee and moved to Palisade, Colorado. Flyin’ Miata describes an early operation that grew from a basement and garage into a storefront, then into larger facilities in nearby Grand Junction.
A parts following gives the business a new name
The Dealer Alternative began doing business as Flyin’ Miata in 2000, after its Miata parts developed a following. The company says its offerings came to cover performance categories such as turbochargers and, at times, superchargers. Its history also says it sold California-legal turbo kits beginning in 1999. That is a dated company claim, not evidence that any current kit is legal for every vehicle configuration or location.
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Developing cars as well as parts
Flyin’ Miata’s history includes project and competition cars that show how the company used Miatas as development platforms. These examples are company-reported milestones, not independent assessments of product performance.
Whoosh and Track Dog
The company identifies Whoosh, a 1990 turbocharged Miata, as the original Flyin’ Miata. Its published specifications are historical, and Flyin’ Miata cautions that they may not be completely accurate today. In 2002, it built Track Dog for the Open Track Challenge, describing the car as having advanced aerodynamics, a stroker engine and a large turbo.
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Targa Miatas and the V8 era
Flyin’ Miata says its Targa Miata competed in Targa Newfoundland in 2008 as a high-compression naturally aspirated car. In 2011, the Targa car returned as a V8, alongside Nancy, a supercharged NC-generation Miata. The company says its first V8 conversion was in 2008.
In 2019, Flyin’ Miata discontinued its V8-conversion line. Its stated reason was that the engineering work was drawing attention away from four-cylinder development. Around the same time, the company also stopped taking customer builds so it could focus on research and development. The shift was not an end to performance work, but a narrower focus for its engineering resources.
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Why suspension development is part of its identity
Flyin’ Miata says its suspension research and development is conducted in-house, with systems developed, tested and signed off by staff. That describes the company’s own process; it does not establish that its products outperform alternatives. A retailer, Moss Miata, lists Flyin’ Miata suspension packages for different Miata year ranges. Fitment depends on the specific generation and model year, so buyers should check the current listing and vehicle application before ordering.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.An employee-owned cooperative
In 2020, Bill and Teri Cardell sold the business to a group of employees. Flyin’ Miata describes its current structure in its catalog with the statement, “Flyin’ Miata is an employee-owned cooperative.” The catalog says employees with at least two years at the company can apply to join the cooperative and help determine the company’s direction.
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That transition gives the company’s history a different endpoint from a conventional founder-led business sale: ownership moved to employees, while the company continued its Miata-focused engineering and parts work.
A community built around Miatas
Flyin’ Miata says a customer barbecue in 1998 became an annual tradition that grew into Summer Camp. The event combines track time, seminars, drives and socializing. Along with the company’s competition projects, it points to an identity that includes customer and enthusiast activities as well as products. The available evidence for these details comes from the company’s own history, not an independent survey of its community or industry standing.
What makes Flyin’ Miata distinctive
- It began with hands-on Miata work. The company traces its parts operation to Cardell’s turbo Miata and the subsequent customer demand for modifications.
- It developed cars alongside components. Whoosh, Track Dog and the Targa cars are examples from its published history, though their significance and performance are described by the company.
- It says engineering remains central. The company describes in-house suspension R&D and says it narrowed its focus in 2019 to make more room for four-cylinder development.
- Its ownership model changed. Since 2020, Flyin’ Miata has described itself as an employee-owned cooperative, with an application path for eligible employees.
Together, those details explain the company’s particular character without requiring a claim that it is the biggest, best or first Miata tuner. The strongest substantiated story is one of a specialist business built around a single car, evolving from a repair-shop project into a parts and development operation with employee ownership.
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