Fear of missing out, or FOMO, is a psychological phenomenon that describes an compulsion to always participate, even when it’s to the detriment of one’s overall mental health. It often stems from a bad experience earlier in life, where you make a decision to sit out an activity that was incredibly positive and life-changing for those in attendance. For car people, FOMO is a very real experience.
Think of that old classified ad touting a lightly used Ferrari 250 GTB for less than 10 grand – today an eight-figure proposition. How dumb would you feel if you had the opportunity to nab a car that would one day appreciate by 400,000 percent? Similarly, how dumb would you feel to let a car go only to see it become far more valuable now than it was then?
I’ve never been in the market to buy a valuable Italian exotic, but the car that inspires my worst pangs of FOMO isn’t too different from one. Sold between 1991 and 1995, the second-generation Toyota MR2 (codenamed SW20) featured a racy mid-engined layout, gorgeous styling, and solid Toyota-spec reliability. Its debut followed that of the similarly styled Ferrari 348, a favorable comparison for Toyota’s cheaper mid-engined sports car. And fitted with the optional turbocharged 2.0-liter engine, the MR2 wasn’t a whole lot slower than the Prancing Horse, clearing the quarter-mile in 14.8 seconds to the Ferrari’s 14.5.
When I was 26 years old, I reasoned it was finally time for me to upgrade from the 1996 Suzuki Sidekick four-door that got me through college. I had about $10,000 to spend, and I could either use it as a down payment on a gently used 2010 Mazda MX-5 Miata or I could drop it all on a 1991 Toyota MR2 Turbo I found on Craigslist. The idea of spending that much money on an old turbocharged car made me nervous, even if it was a Toyota. I’d also read some spooky things about how 1991 and 1992 MR2s handled – lots of mid-engined oversteer if you lifted the throttle abruptly – and decided the cheerfully balanced Miata would be a better choice.
For the record, I loved my Miata. Despite having access to press cars pretty consistently, I racked up 20,000 miles on that thing over 18 months of ownership. Its ridiculous, grinning-emoji front end made me smile every time I looked back at it, and it was indeed a benign handler when pounding up Angeles Crest Highway.
But about two years after I made my decision, I noticed that second-generation MR2s had doubled and even tripled in value. If I’d gone for that SW20 Turbo instead of my NC Miata, I’d have been able to call it an investment in rolling stock – that rare, four-wheeled appreciating asset.
Of course, it also might have killed me. I’m a decent driver, but any dumb kid in their mid-20s is going to make mistakes, and when that happened in the Miata, I could always recover with minimal clenching of leather. An MR2 isn’t nearly as forgiving, and it’s completely bereft of stability and traction controls to boot.
Still, every time a mid-engined Toyota hits the classifieds, I always feel those pangs of regret. What’s your worst tale of automotive FOMO? Which car did you sell too soon, or which car didn’t you buy soon enough? Drop us a note at tips@carid.com and let us know.
