1. RIM: A BRIEF INTRODUCTION

The Registro Italiano Mazda MX-5 (RIM) is the MX-5 owners’ club, officially recognized by Mazda Motor Italia S.p.A. The club brings together Italian owners and fans of the world’s biggest-selling sports car.

Founded in 1995 by Mazda and managed by Punto di Riferimento s.r.l. (PidiErre), the Italian communications agency that promotes Mazda brand loyalty in Italy, today RIM counts more than 6,000 members. Since its founding, RIM, in collaboration with Mazda Motor Italia (MMI) and its Dealer Network in Italy, till 2009 has organized 86 local and national rallies, and has promoted events and twinships with MX-5 Clubs abroad. The Club has also been responsible for numerous special initiatives promoting interest in the world of Miata (as the MX-5 is also called in North America).

Registration in RIM is simple and free. To register, visit  www.mx5.it, click on “Registration” and fill in with the required information.  You’ll be part of the  MX-5 community and regularly receive news on initiatives promoted by RIM and Mazda Motor Italia.
Enjoy the www.mx5.it website, where you can learn about the history of the club and the Mazda brand. It’s packed with interesting details and stories about the conception and production of the MX-5, the world’s best-selling sports car that’s joined the pantheon of great automobiles throughout history.

RIM’s headquarters are located in Torino, Northern Italy, via Tancredi Canonico 19 (tel. +39 011 2730357). Offices open from Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m, except August and December. Seasons Meetings begin, indicatively, from April and last until the end of September / October.

2. RIM’s HISTORY: 1994-1999

It dates back to 1994, the first action of the then direct Importer and Distributor to the Italian owners of Mazda MX-5, when in September and October of that year all Italian MX-5 Owners (approximately 3.000) were sent a letter in which they were asked what they thought of the creation of an MX-5 Club. Over 200 soon-to-be RIM Members replied enthusiastically, sending in their completed vehicle ID forms. This gave rise to our Mazda MX-5 database, which is still active today and managed jointly by Mazda Motor Italia and RIM.

The decision to call the newborn club “Registro Italiano Mazda MX-5” is a direct reference to the world of historic and collector’s automobiles. Indeed, just a few years following the release of the very first MX-5 series, it became clear that this unique sports car would go on to make history.

The Club’s first rally was held in May 1995 at the San Gaudenzio Castle near Pavia, with some 20 crews participating in a meeting that saw them cruising the soft hills of Northern Italy’s Oltrepò Pavese country – together, for the first time. Meanwhile, RIM had begun contacting other European and American MX-5 Clubs, which led to highly profitable exchanges of information and newsletters, as well as future rallies.

April 1998 saw the presentation of the new MX-5 at the Torino Auto Show, ushering in a decisive season for RIM. From that moment on, all those who buy a MX-5 in Italy, are automatically associated with the RIM (you must log in to the site www.mx5.it, click on "Register " and leave your data). Since then, this was a great success and allow the Italian Register Mazda MX-5 to consolidate more and more as an important reality of the international Clubs dedicated to what is now the world's best selling Spider, which global production has reached, February 4th, 2011, 900.000 units.

On the eve of the new millennium, the owners of Mazda MX-5 subscribers of RIM reached two thousand, reaching nearly six thousand in 2011. For over 16 years, the RIM is still evolving, with its image and brand identification already entered the hearts of all the Miata fan, not just Italians.

3. RIM’s HISTORY: The New Millennium

The founding of Mazda Motor Italy on February 1st, 2000 – a date which also marked Mazda’s 80th anniversary –  signaled the start of a new era for RIM, which would culminate in 2002 with the grand season of "MX-5 Share the Passion" events. The events were centered around a 2 month-long Italian tour featuring at least one event per week. "MX-5 Share the Passion"  was stirred day after day and was topped off by an Italian National rally in Brescia on May 19. The "1.000 curves" event went down in the RIM "record book" and impressed participants as "one of the most beautiful sights ever seen from a Mazda MX-5". One hundred MX-5s formed a huge "snake" nearly half a kilometer long. The enthusiasm was truly contagious.

The immense passion that drives RIM’s work team blends with Members’ enthusiasm to make RIM one of the most long-lived automobile Clubs in Italy. In  2005 RIM celebrated its 10th anniversary – which really is an accomplishment, especially for a Club regarding mass-produced vehicles still in production.

Also in 2005, the Mazda MX-5 released its third generation of vehicles, equipped with a whole host of comforts, which once again propelled the brand to the top of the market and the top of its segment.

The celebration was in high style at the 2005 Bologna Motorshow for the world’s first presentation of the M3* – as RIM members called the third Mazda MX-5 generation. And what unique festivities, with some 500 RIM Members as Mazda Motor Italia’s guests at the “Zoom Zoom” stand. When the new “Nude in 12 seconds” was unveiled, the applause was deafening. An episode that once again provides testimony for great interest in the MX-5 – the world’s most famous and best-selling sports car.


(*) M refers to the Mazda brand; the number following it refers to the chronological series of Mazda MX-5 editions produced: M1: 1989 – 1998; M2:  1998 – 2005; M3: 2005 – present.

4. RIM 2008-2009

Always on behalf of Mazda Motor Italy SpA and its Sales Network, here is the escalation of the Mazda MX-5 Rallies Crews Participants to the RIM events in the last three years: 2008 - 363 crews; 2009 – 474 crews; 2010 – 605 crews.
The 2009 season "The Winds of Discovery" was one of the most special in recent years: 2009 celebrated the anniversary of 20 years of the legendary Miata. On this occasion, Mazda Motor Italy and its sales network, in collaboration with the RIM organized a calendar of events from April until the end of September, which included celebrations at every rally, in every place touched by the Mazda MX-5 caravans along the peninsula. Participants were thrilled with many pleasant surprises, including a chance to blow out the candles on the MX-5 birthday cakes featured at each of the 8 rallies held in honor of Mazda and the best-selling sports car in the world. To mark the MX-5’s 20th anniversary, Italian MX-5 lovers celebrated with some unexpected gifts of their own:

5. OUR WEBSITE WWW.MX-5.IT: ONLINE COMMUNITY, REAL PASSION

On December 20, 2002 RIM inaugurated  the website www.mx5.it, entirely dedicated to the magical universe of the world’s best-selling sports car, where passion becomes real thanks to the great wealth of news and info that drive the "MX-5 desire".

A large space devoted to the history of the legendary roadster, information and technical data sheets, stories of travel and suggested itineraries, along with a calendar full of meetings and events are just some of the "voices" of the menu www.mx5.com. Among the most interesting sections it is to highlight the rich library, which contains reviews of many books published worldwide having as argument Mazda MX-5. In addition, all members of the RIM have the opportunity to tell their emotions in MX-5 and share with the ”Community" images and words devoted to once own treasure. The market sell / search / exchange, the section with the history of RIM, sightings and a growing "photo gallery" enrich the offer of www.mx5.it, which has evolved over the years, demonstrating the nature of the passion of a web site that has become the historical memory of the RIM, where you can find everything.

Last but not least the "Press" section dedicated to press releases with a complete archive of high resolution images available to Journalists and Experts.

Visit www.mx5.it  to become a RIM Member free of charge. Just provide us with the required personal information and details of your MX-5 to learn more about the long history behind RIM and the MX-5, and relive the thrills of the Club’s many exciting rallies – check out event summaries and enjoy  photo and video contributions in the website’s most popular sections (menu: Rallies / reports / videos).

Since 2009 the Italian Registry Mazda MX-5 is also on Facebook and YouTube, thus increasing the opportunity to interact with members and fans of the world's best selling two-seater!

6. RIM STATISTICS: CURIOSITIES

7. THE RIM PROJECT WORK TEAM