IN BRIEF : Mazda Unveils Zippy Sports Car

Mazda Motor Corp. today unveiled the MX-5 Miata, a low-priced two-seat sports car that will go on sale in the United States in July, and said it is considering the creation of a luxury car line to compete with other Japanese car makers.

At the other end of the sports car scale, Honda Motor Co. was later in the day to introduce a $60,000 sports car that will be the most expensive sold in the United States by a Japanese company.

The introductions were at the Chicago Auto Show, the largest in the United States.

Mazda Vice President George McCabe said Mazda expects to sell 20,000 Miatas this year and believes annual sales can reach 40,000. The sports car will be priced at under $14,000 and will be positioned in the U.S. market beneath Mazda’s flagship RX-7 sports car. By contrast, the RX-7, which has been redesigned for 1989, will cost up to $22,000, Mazda said.

Mazda director of design Michinori Yamanouchi said the Miata was designed specifically for the U.S. market, relying heavily on advice from the auto maker’s California designers.

“Its sole reason for being is to provide pure driving fun,” said Yamanouchi.

The name of the car comes from the German word for “reward” or “prize” and marks a departure from Mazda’s practice of naming cars solely with letters and numbers.