Stricken Kitty Cat Receives the Midas Touch

Anthony Magagnoli
by Anthony Magagnoli

We, very literally, have a bit of a fluff piece for this Friday afternoon. Coming out of Frankfort, KY, a curious little kitten had mistakenly selected the rear subframe of a 2000 Honda Accord as a safe resting place. Little did she know, she was about to have a very tall tale to tell her furry friends.

Earlier this week, over a journey of several hours, the kitten rode from Lexington to Versailles to Frankfort in the undercarriage of the Honda. It wasn’t until the car’s owner was stopped at a Hardee’s restaurant that he finally heard her meowing from within the chassis. By good fortune, they were right next to Midas of Frankfort, which is owned by a fellow racer and friend, Scott Bourne. When the restaurant manager went over and asked Scott if his crew could help, they didn’t pussy foot around and got right to it.

The Midas team, along with a local Lexington fireman who had taken his car in for service, found a very shaken and exhausted (see what I did there?) gold and white kitten with her head lodged in a hole within the rear subframe. Apparently, with no boxes around to sit in, this place seemed like her next best option.

Let it not be lost on us that this gold-colored feline was in a Midas shop. Was she gold before she came in? Or was it the Midas-touch that produced her golden hue? This is what mythology and marketing dreams are made from, my friends.

Scott and his lead technician worked on dropping the rear subframe of the 20-year old Honda Accord while the fireman comforted the kitten and shielded its precious little ears. To the credit of the Honda, every bolt came loose with no issues, despite being quite rusty. The owner of the car offered to pay for the service, but Scott hissed at the thought and wouldn’t hear of it. He just wanted the cat safely out.

With the purrrty little kitten safely out of the Accord, she spent the night recovering with Scott and his family. Midas of Frankfort held a naming contest for their feline friend and posted the following results:

“We have decided on a name given to us by Max Cady. Her name will be which according to Greek Mythology, was the name of King Midas’ daughter. Even after being plagued by Midas’ curse, was brought back through the grace of Dionysus’ powers! It sounds very similar to which was an overwhelming suggestion! She will be nicknamed Mari!”

Marigold was checked out by a veterinarian and received all her updated shots and vaccinations before being offered to a new home. Her new family will be long time friends of the Bourne family and are highly successful local autocrossers. Maybe Marigold’s love of cars will find her frequenting the Central Kentucky region SCCA autocrosses later this year.

[Images: Scott Bourne]

Anthony Magagnoli
Anthony Magagnoli

Following 10 years in Toyota's Production Engineering division, Anthony spent 3 years as a Vehicle Dynamics Engineer for FCA. From modest beginnings in autocross, he won a NASA SpecE30 National Championship and was the 2017 Pirelli World Challenge TC Rookie of the Year. Aside from being a professional racecar driver, he is a private driving coach and future karaoke champion.

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  • SCE to AUX All that lift makes for an easy rollover of your $70k truck.
  • SCE to AUX My son cross-shopped the RAV4 and Model Y, then bought the Y. To their surprise, they hated the RAV4.
  • SCE to AUX I'm already driving the cheap EV (19 Ioniq EV).$30k MSRP in late 2018, $23k after subsidy at lease (no tax hassle)$549/year insurance$40 in electricity to drive 1000 miles/month66k miles, no range lossAffordable 16" tiresVirtually no maintenance expensesHyundai (for example) has dramatically cut prices on their EVs, so you can get a 361-mile Ioniq 6 in the high 30s right now.But ask me if I'd go to the Subaru brand if one was affordable, and the answer is no.
  • David Murilee Martin, These Toyota Vans were absolute garbage. As the labor even basic service cost 400% as much as servicing a VW Vanagon or American minivan. A skilled Toyota tech would take about 2.5 hours just to change the air cleaner. Also they also broke often, as they overheated and warped the engine and boiled the automatic transmission...
  • Marcr My wife and I mostly work from home (or use public transit), the kid is grown, and we no longer do road trips of more than 150 miles or so. Our one car mostly gets used for local errands and the occasional airport pickup. The first non-Tesla, non-Mini, non-Fiat, non-Kia/Hyundai, non-GM (I do have my biases) small fun-to-drive hatchback EV with 200+ mile range, instrument display behind the wheel where it belongs and actual knobs for oft-used functions for under $35K will get our money. What we really want is a proper 21st century equivalent of the original Honda Civic. The Volvo EX30 is close and may end up being the compromise choice.
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