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Are you the 2016 Mazda Miata?

Tech nerds are spoiled. Every year, there's a new iPhone that arrives following months and months of breathless speculation and rumormongering. We car folk have a more difficult life, because vehicles with the iPhone's cult-like devotion and following, while plentiful, only receive hefty updates after several years. Case in point, the Mazda MX-5.
There's a new one coming, and much like the iPhone 6, it'll arrive in just a few weeks. So, in lockstep with the tech folk, we're anxiously biding our time and waiting with baited breath for the expected debut date of September 3. Also, like Apple fanboys, we're clamoring over any hint or teaser as to what the next-gen Miata will bring, which is why we're showing you the above image.
That is, allegedly, the new MX-5 hiding under the sheet. Auto Motor und Sport has the image, which according to World Car Fans was released by Mazda. Of course, we've reached out to the Zoom-Zoom brand for verification of its authenticity, and will be sure to update as soon as we hear back.

Mazda Hazumi Concept shows up ahead of Geneva

Last week, Mazda officially teased its Geneva-bound Hazumi concept, showing little more than an aggressive headlamp design. But now, thanks to the magic of the Internet, another rendering of the Hazumi has appeared on the web, and, well, it's totes adorbs.
In Mazda's original release from last week, we were told that the name "Hazumi" means "spring up" or "bound" in Japanese, and is "particularly well-suited to a small car that appears to be bursting with energy." And now that we're getting a nearly full glimpse of the thing, we absolutely have to agree. The company's Kodo design language offers aggressive style in a cute little shape, and the usual raft of concept car-spec treatments (no mirrors, huge wheels, etc.) make it look even more comical and delightful.
Indeed, the Hazumi is understood to preview the next Mazda2 subcompact, and if this concept car points the way forward for Mazda's tiniest hatch, consider us totally geeked. Mazda is also set to debut its new 1.5-liter Skyactiv-D diesel engine at the Geneva Motor Show next week, and while the company hasn't confirmed if that powerplant will make its way into the next Mazda2, it sure makes sense, at least overseas. Stay tuned.

Mazda creates reproduction parts program for North American MX-5 Miata

In 2017 Mazda announced a restoration program for the MX-5 Miata in Japan. The good news was that owners of Miatas that looked like they'd been thoroughly enjoyed for decades could get their convertibles returned to as-new condition. The bad news is that the program was a trial for "quality verification," and only open to the Japanese market. At the time, Mazda Japan said it was "considering re-supply of parts that became discontinued" for the first-gen NA series produced from 1989 to 1997. In February this year, the carmaker's then-CEO revealed that "Our fans can be reassured that additional parts, identified by owners and specialty shops, will become available by June of this year." The time has come, Mazda North America announcing a reproduction parts program for first-gen Miatas with a catalog of more than 1,100 new and legacy components.  The automaker says it spoke to Miata clubs and shops to determine which parts were needed most. Among this first salvo will be a fabric soft top using the same rear screen material from the NA series, roller mechanism for the side windows, brake calipers, and a set of aluminum Enkei wheels in the original design that are lighter and boast a better finish. Perhaps even better are the arcane OEM parts that can be desperately hard to source for era-appropriate restorations, like grommets, bolts, gas shocks and the "Roadster" badge that's an eBay go-to (called a "Mascot" on the parts list). Each piece has been redeveloped to take advantage of modern materials and build techniques while maintaining the look of the period-correct original.  The parts list PDF runs to 42 pages. Anyone with a TLC-starved Miata in the garage, the love your jinba ittai droptop has been waiting for is here.