There may not be as much buzz these days about car accessories, but automakers and dealers alike still make a fair amount of money on add-ons. The benefits of automakers offering such parts are many: They can often be rolled into the purchase price (and financing) of a new car; they can be installed at the dealer (or sometimes the factory); and many times they’re covered under warranty as well.
Mazda has just unveiled a line of personalization accessories for the new 2016 MX-5 Miata roadster when it arrives in the U.S. either late this year or early next year (Mazda hasn’t said). The brand used the 2015 Chicago Auto Show to show off some of these accessories by attaching the accessory aero kit to a new white Miata.
The aero kit is subtle — as a good aero kit should be, with a deeper front air dam, side sills and a tasteful lip spoiler on the trunk lid, all made from carbon fiber. The Miata is already astonishingly light, so any bits added to it for styling purposes must also be light.
Perhaps the most intriguing part offered for the new car, but sadly not mounted on the display model, is a carbon fiber luggage rack that can be used to increase the cargo-carrying ability of the diminutive sports car. Attaching to the trunk lid like the British sports cars of the 1960s, it’s a very cool piece of gear that adds both utility and style to an already beautiful design.
Click through the gallery below to see all of the bits Mazda plans to offer for the next-generation Miata; Cars.com photos by Evan Sears.
Detroit Bureau Chief Aaron Bragman has had over 25 years of experience in the auto industry as a journalist, analyst, purchasing agent and program manager. Bragman grew up around his father’s classic Triumph sports cars (which were all sold and gone when he turned 16, much to his frustration) and comes from a Detroit family where cars put food on tables as much as smiles on faces. Today, he’s a member of the Automotive Press Association and the Midwest Automotive Media Association. His pronouns are he/him, but his adjectives are fat/sassy.