It was a wrap from several years ago, I suppose demonstrating what can be done for a cost not much more than what these days manufacturers charge for a different colour. Colour palette of course is subjective. Mazda doesn’t always get it right in their market research; the rarest standard colour remains evolution orange, which was the colour Mazda used in pretty much all promotional literature when the Mk2 was launched in 1998. There was a period when that sort of colour was “in”, and then it became very dated. And as for Sparkle Green, possibly the ultimate marmite colour.
I don’t believe colour palette decisions are to blame for the decline in MX5 sales. This is more indicative of the sector in general; MG, for instance, for whom you would think its a slam dunk if they brought out a roadster (they screwed up by not getting the MGF ready for the North American market. 2001 European sales of the aged MGF was 10,920 units, compared to 10,244 MX5s (the then “new” NB-FL). And yet, I don’t think there was ever a review where the MG bettered the Mazda. Such is the power of a brand and its heritage (and MG is still huge in the US, despite it being absent for nearly 40 years)). And yet despite owning a brand with such a powerful resonance, the owners chose to step back, and reappraise the sports car market. So far, their response has been a string of SUVs. There have been various false dawns along the way, but it seems 2019 is not the same as 1989, where Mazda discovered this huge unmet need. What is being witnessed now is the commoditization of the car market, where it doesn’t really matter what you are driving.
Traditionally, in the Mazda idiom, BRG (or neo green) has been specified for the V-Special.
But this is the 2020 VS
