The Mazda MX-5 is a lightweight two-passenger sports car manufactured and marketed by Mazda with a front mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout. The convertible is marketed as the Mazda Roadster (マツダ・ロードスター, Matsuda Rōdosutā) or Eunos Roadster (ユーノス・ロードスター, Yūnosu Rōdosutā) in Japan, and as the Mazda Miata (/miˈɑːtə/) in the United States, and formerly in Canada, where it is now marketed as the MX-5 but is still commonly referred to as Miata. Manufactured at Mazda's Hiroshima plant, the MX-5 debuted in 1989 at the Chicago Auto Show and was conceived and executed under a tightly focused design credo, Jinba ittai (人馬一体), meaning "oneness of horse and rider". Widely noted for its small, light, technologically modern, dynamically balanced and minimally complex design, the MX-5 has frequently been called a spiritual successor to 1950s and '60s Italian and British roadster sports cars. The Lotus Elan was used as a design benchmark. Generations were internally designated with a two-letter code, beginning with the first generation, the NA. The second generation (NB) launched in 1998 for MY 1999; followed by the third generation (NC) in 2005 for MY 2006, and the fourth generation (ND) in 2015 for MY 2016. As the best-selling two-seat convertible sports car in history, the MX-5 has been marketed globally, with production exceeding one million, as of early 2016. The name miata derives from Old High German for "reward".
