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Did Mazda designer Derek Jenkins leave to head up a 'Stealth Project?'

Not long after Derek Jenkins officially gave the 2016 MX-5 Miata to the buying world, he's left the Mazda building. Jalopnik reported that the head of design for Mazda North America changed the current job description on his LinkedIn profile to "Stealth Project." Mazda backed up the discovery with this reply to Jalop's inquiry: Derek left Mazda last Friday. He left on great terms in order to work on a new endeavor. We wish him the best of luck. He will be missed, but we are sure that he will do great things in the next chapter of his career. That "last Friday" would be July 17. Emphasizing the "stealth" bit in his new position, as far as we can tell, Jenkins still hasn't publicly answered any question about what he's doing. Every automaker has secrets, but traditional automakers usually make a hubbub about hiring big-name designers, especially one with Jenkins' resume. For his new employer to go all Ghost Recon with all information, well that's the kind of mystery this summer needs. The obvious culprit would be a certain fruit-named company in a certain Cupertino, CA office park. If that ends up being the case, Jenkins would be the second chief designer at Mazda NA to go electric: he replaced Franz von Holzhausen in the position after von Holzhausen went to Tesla. Various other Apple Project Titan hires have made the news, though. For all we know, Jenkins' project might not be automotive. So let's just go ahead and cue the speculation. We're looking forward to whatever he's got coming, and to whoever gets nominated to keep the full head of Zoom-Zoom going at Mazda NA.

Mazda MX-5 Miata goes Head 2 Head with Subaru BRZ

It's a battle that's been in the making for some time now: the Subaru BRZ versus the Mazda MX-5 Miata. And now that the new Miata has arrived – and in Club spec to boot – that's exactly what Motor Trend has lined up for its latest episode of Head 2 Head. Now before you go screaming that one's a coupe and the other a convertible, take a few commonalities into account. Roofs aside, both feature a 2.0-liter four mounted up front, driving the rear wheels through a six-speed manual transmission. Both are made by Japanese automakers and cost around $25-30k, give or take. Both produce around the same amount of torque, and while the Subaru may be more powerful, the Mazda's considerably lighter. To create a more even contest, then, you'd have to line a BRZ up against a Scion FR-S, or the MX-5 against the upcoming Fiat version of the same. Of course, being that close on paper doesn't mean that it's a draw. One has to come out on top. And after taking both along country roads and the Streets of Willow racing circuit, our friends at MT have picked one over the other. You'll want to watch the 22-minute video above (or at least skip ahead to the end) to see which came out on top, but if you're as enthused by a purist driver's car as we are, you'll enjoy every minute of it. News Source: Motor Trend via YouTube Mazda Subaru Convertible Coupe Economy Cars Performance Videos motor trend mazda mx-5 head 2 head

Mazda launches 25th Anniversary Miata pre-order site, priced from $32,205

Mazda made a big celebration of the MX-5 Miata at the 2014 New York Auto Show with a bunch of classic models on display. It capped off the model's 25th birthday with the announcement of the 2015 MX-5 Miata 25th Anniversary Edition and showed off the much-anticipated, next-generation version's chassis.
While we are still at least year away from the new Miata hitting the road, the anniversary edition is on its way and is limited to just 100 copies for the United States. The special cars start at $32,205, compared to $23,970 for the 2015 softtop model and $28,665 for the 2015 retractable hardtop version. There is an additional $795 destination charge for all of them.
To make sure everyone gets a chance to own the ceremonial convertible, Mazda has a countdown on its website until 10:25 AM PDT, May 20, 2014. When the day comes, 250 people can to register for the car, and the first 100 to be verified as buyers get the rare Miata. Those with multiple entries will be disqualified.