As we come into the 25th year of the creation and the evolution of the Mazda Miata, Jay Leno, on his show Jay Leno's Garage, celebrates its massive impact on the automotive world and the iconic history behind the car. Included in the show are the breadth of Miata models including Jay's own 1996 Miata, the original, and the new. He interviews the former Chief Designer of the car Tom Matana and the former Product Planner of Mazda North America Ops, Bob Hall. Interestingly enough, they reveal the storied sports car was designed in Irvine, California as opposed to Japan as many may not know. Bob Hall is quoted as saying " it was designed and engineered and conceived to be a great sports car" and I would say it certain became successful in those respects. In fact, when you throw in some rough numbers, like close to one million cars sold, it makes the Miata the best selling sports car of all time, in the entire world. With such large numbers it's no surprise the car has spurred various its very own dedicated SCCA race series, specific auto cross categories, car clubs, and countless aftermarket parts. If you have ever driven a Miata, you can testify to the greatness of the car. It is fun to drive, an excellent tuner vehicle, and is really what every sports car should be, a drivers car. The Miata has a near perfect weight distribution, excellent factory handling, and even though it is no drag star, it is a lightweight, fantastic corner shredding machine.Before the close of the episode, they discuss the new MX-5 which is a joint partnership with Alfa-Romeo and is planned to be a lighter, back to roots MX-5. With 25 years of excellence, its hard to see how this new Mazda could be any less great. Here's to the next 25.
Video Source: Jay Leno's Garage on YouTube
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