This past Sunday, the New York Time magazine had an article about the
creation of the Miata. Subtitled something like "it took an American to
design Japan's latest success", it's breezily written as an interview
with the guy who heads Mazda's San Diego design studio, who apparently
started life as a writer, doing a stint with Motor Trend for some time
(I've already tossed the magazine).
Big deal, right? Another Miata article, and a year late. Well, here's
what was interesting: the Lotus Elan was never mentioned. In fact, this
guy's Lucas obsession began when a friend of his brought a new TR-250
back to school his sophomore year (insert obligatory tale of curvy
roads and car sticking like glue). The idea for the Miata was
apparently planted in a Mazda exec's head in the early 70s, when this
guy sketched a LBC on a chalkboard for him. Later, he finagled a way
for this same exec (now moving up the Mazda ladder) to drive a Spitfire
in Japan. The exec was amazed. Some time passes, the exec become
president, decides to take a chance, hires the Motor Trend guy to "come
build his sports car". And the rest, as they say, is history.
I was on the floor. I can't decide if the interviewer was just ignorant
and didn't know to ask about the Elan, or if it's the start of a coverup...
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