Smiles Break Out For The Mazda MX-5 Miata At The New York Auto Show

The newly introduced, fourth-generation Mazda MX-5 – still informally known as the Miata – last week pulled off an unusual double at the World Car of the Year Awards ceremony at the New York International Auto Show.
The Mazda MX-5 was the first Japanese car to win World Car Design of the Year, beating another Mazda, the CX-3, and the Jaguar XE. The New York Auto Show is open to the public until April 3 at the Jacob Javits Center on Manhattan’s West Side.
The win was especially sweet, since Mazda was a top finalist three previous times, going home empty handed, said Masahiro Moro (photo, at left), president and CEO, Mazda North American Operations, and managing executive officer, Mazda Motor Corp.
“Design is the gateway to customer acceptance,” said World Car of the Year Director Siddharth Patankar.
Later in the ceremony, the Mazda MX-5 also won the overall grand prize, World Car of the Year, beating the Audi A4 and the Mercedes-Benz GLC.

Both announcements prompted such a spontaneous outburst of joy from the Mazda team at the ceremony, even the audience of hard-boiled competitors and journalists found it impossible to resist.
Much of the audience smiled and laughed right along with them, and for the overall prize, an unusually heavy rush of photographers swarmed to the front.

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“What a wonderful honor,” said Moro. “While I accept this award on behalf of the company, I do so representing every Mazda employee, retail partner and customer around the world who has ever felt the joy of driving a pure roadster.”

The award ceremony normally tends to be a bit perfunctory, despite a lot of flashing lights and confetti.
The World Car of the Year jury of 73 journalists from 23 countries is strict about limiting acceptance speeches. Time is limited, but there are five award categories that need to be introduced, with three finalists each, and the ceremony usually kicks off a long day of press events that follow a tight schedule.
The original Mazda Miata was a 1990s design icon that revived what had traditionally been the British sports car concept. According to Mazda, sales worldwide since it was launched back in 1989 are approaching 1 million. Mazda has been trying for years without much success to get people in this country to call the Miata by its official name, the MX-5, following Mazda’s official naming style. In Japan, it’s called the Mazda Roadster.