Mazda is a Japanese car manufacturing company that deals with the manufacture and sales of modern sports cars. Although they sell different models of sports cars, the most popular of them is the two-seated convertible model named Mazda MX-5, which is also ranked as the bestselling car of the world. This model was first released in 1981 and after years of upgrades and modifications, this model is still sold today. Convertible is a category of cars whose hoods can be opened freely and again returned back to the original state at will (Smith and Smith 2015). Convertibles were mainly invented as fancy cars initially and due to high costs, these cars belonged to the aristocratic cars only. In the world of sport cars and convertibles, Britain is considered to be the home of light weight, two seated convertible sport cars that were extensively used in the early and middle 20th century. However, with the development of new generation cars with higher capacities as well as mileage, these convertibles slowly faded into the past (Acar and Meilicke 2014). the user experience of the car have always been excellent and drivers throughout the years have expressed positive reviews regarding high comfort while driving and excellent traction that has made it one of the best roadsters of its generation. Furthermore, Mazda has not stopped at one model of RX-5. Rather, they continuously modified and upgraded the model that further enhanced the driving experience and throughout the time span of 25 years, different versions of the RX-5 were released.
In this report, the success of Mazda RX-5 has been analyzed and the arguments for its success has been justified using suitable facts and records that have made it the most popular car in the world.
Convertible is a category of cars whose hoods can be opened freely and again returned back to the original state at will. Convertibles were mainly invented as fancy cars initially and due to high costs, these cars belonged to the aristocratic cars only. As a result, convertibles have been taken as a sign of fancy taste and aristocracy all over the world. However, these convertibles were slowly entered in the sports car industry and many reputed sports car manufacturers have built convertible sport cars (Robotham 2013). The most popular car manufacturers like Ford, Mercedes, Jaguar, Cadillac, Rolls Royce, Porsche, Citroen and others all have built convertible sports cars over the years.
Figure 1: A Mercedes Convertible Used in 1960s
(Source: Hale 2013)
Of all the different types of convertibles, one of the commonly used is the detachable hardtop, where the roof can be entirely detached from the car and stored in the car tank. Mazda’s convertibles are mainly of this type and are extremely popular nowadays, owing to ease of control, subtle design and low cost.
In the world of sport cars and convertibles, Britain is considered to be the home of light weight, two seated convertible sport cars that were extensively used in the early and middle 20th century. However, with the development of new generation cars with higher capacities as well as mileage, these convertibles slowly faded into the past (Ahmadi et al. 2015). In 1976, a British journalist Bob Hall was taking some interviews of the research department leaders of Mazda, which was a rapidly growing Japanese car developer at that time. During that interview, Hall mentioned that the two-seater convertible roadsters have vanished from the world. He also mentioned that the simplicity of those cars were missing and some new car manufacturers should again bring back those cars with new designs and advanced mechanisms.
Figure 2: A Typical Sports Car (Alfa Romeo 4C)
(Source: Robson 2017)
Kenichi Yamamoto, member of the research department of Mazda, took this idea seriously and started preparing a suitable design for a two-seated convertible. In 1981, Hall again met Yamamoto at Mazda USA and further promoted the idea of the development of a new generation of convertibles. Yamamoto was extremely interested in the idea and the design and planning phases were on the way. However, the main problem of the idea was that convertibles slowly became obsolete due to a large number of issues that could not be solved by the contemporary car manufacturers (Cranswick 2016). Hence, the challenge was to solve all the problems and prepare a more advanced design in order to attract customers. On this factor, the two research centers of Mazda, one at California and the other at Tokyo, proposed two different layouts. California suggested traditional front engine, rear wheel drive layout (Duo 101) whereas Tokyo suggested front engine, front wheel or rear mid engine, rear wheel drive layout.
Figure 3: Old Mazda MX-5 Model (1991-95)
(Source: Robson 2014)
After debates and tests, Duo 101 was accepted and the modeling was in full flow. In 1989, the first versions of Mazda MX-5 were released for sale. This model was extremely light (940 Kg approx.) and had a very high mileage, pickup and top speed. Moreover, this model was extremely cheap compared to other sports cars. As a result, this model immediately became best seller by defeating car heavyweights like Audi, Porsche and Volkswagen (Thiel et al. 2014). The main feature that attracted the customers was the detachable hard top system. This enabled the users to use the car as a convertible (open hood) or a normal hooded car. Due to use of less expensive materials and construction approach, the prices of the cars were significantly lower than other cars of the same generation. The manufacturers also emphasized the reduction of the extra storage space and increasing the seat and cargo space of the cars (Nguyen 2015). The main feature of this model was the removable hood where the hood could be completely removed from the car setup. Throughout the years, the RX-5 models underwent a lot of modifications and changes that have enabled it to be the best selling convertible sports car in the world.
The rise of Mazda MX-5 model owes to the fact that Mazda brought back a vague model that was extremely popular in the past. However, the most significant concern of the makers was that if the problems with convertibles still existed, people would not buy the car even if new models were released. Some of the main problems with the convertibles were as follows.
Safety – The convertibles lacked sufficient safety measures and there were a number of reported accidents of the convertibles. The break-in protection was also poor and the open hooded mode allowed easy break-ins. President Kennedy of USA was assassinated while riding a open hooded convertible in public.
Car Weight – The car weight was significantly high in order to compensate for the torsion and flexure provided by the hood in the open hooded mode (Tipler 2013). Moreover, the metal roof needed a lot of empty space while the car operated in open hooded mode. All these factors significantly increased the car weight.
Less Space – The main issue with convertibles was space. In order to compensate for the space taken by the hood as well as supporting structures of the hood, the spaces of seats and cargo were significantly reduced.
Erosion and Weather Effects – Due to the open hood, heavy rain easily eroded the internal structures of the car. Moreover, strong weather effects like rain, heavy wind and others could easily distract the drives and caused serious accidents.
Figure 4: Structural Model of the Mazda MX-5
(Source: Taylor 2014)
The research team at Mazda considered all these factors and wanted to solve them in order to release the new convertible model. Hence, they redesigned the model of the convertible to compensate for the problems. Firstly, aluminium was the metal that was used for building the hood. This significantly reduced the weight of the hood and the car overall. Secondly, they used the traditional front engine rear wheel drive layout (Fleming 2013). This provided the original vintage feel to the drivers but also achieving high control power for the drivers that was the main feature of the past convertibles. Due to use of less expensive materials and construction approach, the prices of the cars were significantly lower than other cars of the same generation. The manufacturers also emphasized the reduction of the extra storage space and increasing the seat and cargo space of the cars. Finally, the main feature of this model was the removable hood where the hood could be completely removed from the car setup.
Some car analysts and techies have argued that Mazda MX-5 is not a suitable car judging by the current standards and old convertible models are obsolete as well owing the development of new generation dynamic hooded cars. Moreover, they also argue that the engines used in the MX-5 model are not powerful enough for current standards and the use of turbo for powering the engine further increases the cost of the car. Another point of argument is that the high sales of the car completely owes to the fact that this car provides a vintage feel to the passengers.
Figure 5: Current Logo of Mazda
(Source: Taylor 2014)
However, although these arguments state true facts, these facts were never decisive for the success of RX-5. Moreover, the user experience of the car have always been excellent and drivers throughout the years have expressed positive reviews regarding high comfort while driving and excellent traction that has made it one of the best roadsters of its generation (Long 2013). Furthermore, Mazda has not stopped at one model of RX-5. Rather, they continuously modified and upgraded the model that further enhanced the driving experience and throughout the time span of 25 years, different versions of the RX-5 were released.
Figure 6: Mazda MX-5 Latest Model (2015-16)
(Source: Edmonston 2013)
Based on the arguments, it is clear that other giants in the automobile industries like Audi, Volkswagen, Lamborghini, Porsche, Aston Martin, Bentley and others provide better, faster and aristocratic cars that match the standards of the present as well as the future. However, in spite of all these sport cars in the market, Mazda RX-5 is a standout because of the low cost, excellent mixture of vintage and contemporary style and great driving experience. The main feature is the low cost that enable all categories of drivers to test and buy the car within their limited budget.
Conclusion
In 1989, the first versions of Mazda MX-5 were released for sale. This model was extremely light (940 Kg approx.) and had a very high mileage, pickup and top speed. The main feature that attracted the customers was the detachable hard top system. This enabled the users to use the car as a convertible (open hood) or a normal hooded car. Throughout the years, the RX-5 models underwent a lot of modifications and changes that have enabled it to be the best selling convertible sports car in the world. The rise of Mazda MX-5 model owes to the fact that Mazda brought back a vague model that was extremely popular in the past. However, the most significant concern of the makers was that if the problems with convertibles still existed, people would not buy the car even if new models were released. The research team at Mazda considered all these factors and wanted to solve them in order to release the new convertible model. Hence, they redesigned the model of the convertible to compensate for the problems. Aluminium was the metal that was used for building the hood. This significantly reduced the weight of the hood and the car overall. The makers also used the traditional front engine rear wheel drive layout. This provided the original vintage feel to the drivers but also achieving high control power for the drivers that was the main feature of the past convertibles. Moreover, this model was extremely cheap compared to other sports cars. As a result, this model immediately became bestseller by defeating car heavyweights like Audi, Porsche and Volkswagen.
References
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Ahmadi, L., Croiset, E., Elkamel, A., Douglas, P.L., Entchev, E., Abdul-Wahab, S.A. and Yazdanpanah, P., 2015. Effect of socio-economic factors on EV/HEV/PHEV adoption rate in Ontario. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 98, pp.93-104.
Cranswick, M., 2016. Mazda Rotary-engined Cars: From Cosmo 110S to RX-8. Veloce Publishing Ltd.
Edmonston, P., 2013. Lemon-Aid New and Used Cars and Trucks 1990–2015. Dundurn.
Fleming, J., 2013. Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Hale, J., 2013. Dune Buggy Handbook: The AZ of VW-based Buggies Since 1964 New Edition. Veloce Publishing Ltd.
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Robotham, A., 2013. California Dreamin’-inspiring innovative car design and development.
Robson, G., 2014. Cortina: The story of Ford’s best-seller. Veloce Publishing Ltd.
Robson, G., 2017. Cosworth-The Search for Power. Veloce Publishing Ltd.
Robson, G., 2017. Triumph Sports Cars. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Smith, G.C. and Smith, S.S., 2015. Digital human designers. International Journal of the Digital Human, 1(1), pp.30-43.
Taylor, J., 2014. British Sports Cars of the 1950s and? 60s. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Thiel, C., Schmidt, J., Van Zyl, A. and Schmid, E., 2014. Cost and well-to-wheel implications of the vehicle fleet CO 2 emission regulation in the European Union. Transportation Research Part A: policy and practice, 63, pp.25-42.
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