In one of the most insensitive announcements AutoInformed has endured, Mazda Motor Corporation said today that the all-new Mazda Roadster, aka MX-5 outside Japan, has been named the 2015-2016 Car of the Year Japan.
All passenger vehicles with an expected annual sales volume of over 500 units, announced or launched in Japan between October 1, 2014 and October 31, 2015 are eligible for this year’s Car of the Year Japan award. The Roadster follows the Mazda Demio (Mazda2) last year to become the sixth Mazda vehicle to take the Car of the Year Japan award.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Well, at least it wasn’t Mitsubishi, nor is the car designated the MX-0. I must be channeling Andrew Dice Clay this morning. The Arizona Memorial is one of the most-moving places I’ve ever visited. My brother was a sub sailor stationed at Pearl. Many years ago, I attended a wedding there between a sailor and a local. Each table for the reception had what must have been a half-gallon bottle on Chivas on it. At one point in the festivities, a large group of older gentlemen from the bride’s side made a toast and shouted out “Banzai!”, which was immediately countered by one from the USN attendees, “Remember the Arizona!” A drunk time was had by all.
I thought everybody knows that Mitsubishi built the task force, not Mazda.
I think that is called stepping on your d*#! …
Um, Ken… Pearl Harbor was Dec. 8 in Japan due to the International Date Line. And the MX-5 — still the best car Japan has ever produced — comes from Hiroshima, a city that fully paid its dues as far as Pearl Harbor was concerned. But having shared drinks with you in Hiroshima on more than one occasion, I know you know that.