Big launch of the year 3 - Mazda MX-5

TMW THOUGHTS

I have classed this as one of the four major launches of the year, along with the Jaguar XE, Land Rover Discovery Sport an Volvo XC90, becasuse for Mazda this is a car that has given them the reputation, and fun tag, the MX-5 is a car that has weathered all other cars, which have come and gone in the interim, like the Barchetta, Fiat Coupe, MG Tf, and so on.

It has shown the world that they are prepared to push a model, when the rest are pulling away from that market, and because of this, it has succeeded, as people still want a car like this, and Mazda hs tapped this market and are the run away winners, however, with this model, it has shot it's self in the foot.

WHY ? well, on closer look, it has design cues from teh new maerati Alfieri and BMW's Z4, and thats not a good combination, Mazda has proven with all the latest cars it can produce great looking cars with a good reliability record, making each of the models a stand alone car amongst many of the samey euro boxes.

The MX-5 will succeed, becasue it still has the market generally to it's self, but as Alfa, MG Maserati and others all add their own versions of a small coupe/convertible, the market wll again become full, and that will hurt Mazda, as people will be ready for a change, and it will be a Mazda's expense.

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Mazda Motor Corporation today celebrated the unveiling of the fourth generation Mazda MX-5 (known as Roadster in Japan) together with fans at events held simultaneously in Japan, USA and Spain. The all-new MX-5, which adopts both SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY and Mazda’s KODO—Soul of Motion design language, will be rolled out to global markets starting in 2015.

The MX-5 is an iconic model representing Mazda’s vehicle-engineering philosophy—the pursuit of driving pleasure. “Innovate in order to preserve” was the motto for the fourth generation, as the development team searched for innovations that go beyond simple evolution. Environmental and safety demands are much more stringent than they were when the first generation MX-5 was introduced 25 years ago, but the fourth generation stays true to the model’s original aim of offering the pure driving fun that only a lightweight sports car can. It achieves this through the adoption of SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY and refinement of its appeal to the senses and sensations through which people enjoy cars.

The design of the all-new MX-5 reveals another layer to Mazda’s KODO design language. The exquisite proportions make the driver and passenger stand out, and both the interior and exterior evoke the exhilaration of open-top driving. It is the most compact of any generation MX-5 so far and is more than 100 kilograms lighter than the model it replaces, promising a dramatic leap in Jinba-ittai driving fun.

As of July 2014, total production volume of the Mazda MX-5 exceeded 940,000 units and it continues to hold the Guinness World Record for the best-selling two-seater sports car. This highly-celebrated model has received over 200 awards from around the globe including Japan Car of the Year 2005-2006.

Moving forward, Mazda will continue to develop products which offer all customers driving pleasure and outstanding environmental and safety performance.