ND Miata w/RECARO seats BBS & More!

[MiataQuest]

Damn AO He told me I needed to give him my passwords to join this site!

But actually I was semi-serious with the picture above.
If Mazda continues down the present path, what will the future perception of Mazda be?
Before Zoom-Zoom defined the brand.
What defines Mazda now?
The answer is nothing.
While they figure that out they might as well promote the MX-5.

Other automakers have "Halo" cars to maintain excitement for their sports model which also carries over to the brand.

Think:
Mustang -> Shelby
Corvette -> Z06, Grand Sport
BMW -> M2, M3
Mercedes -> AMG

Making a Halo car that is not related to one of your volume models is usually a loser. Examples are the Chevrolet SSR, Chrysler Prowler, Lexus LFX, etc

You don't make money on "Halo" cars, but it maintains an inspirational glow over the lower models if done right.

What halo versions does the MX-5 have?
The 155 hp Club while they stick a new 2.5 SkyActiv Turbo in CX-9 Soccer-mom CUV. Really

They need a low volume money losing Halo model to show that Mazda can still zoom-zoom. This is needed to make sure the ND can survive to the next NE & NF generations without becoming a stereotype old man cruise-mobile.

I would propose a special removable fastback hardtop, rollbar, magnetic suspension, and SkyActiv 2.5 turbo and name it the MazdaSpeed Manticore

Now the magazines and blogs would be abuzz. The low volume sales would probably get "Manticores tm"in the hands of owners that would promote the brand. Many would buy the lower end model with aspirations to modify it to be a Manticore tm or it gives street cred to a lower spec version.