TRANSPORTATION

Miata Auto of the Year: Mazda Motor Corp.’s Miata--the popular roadster that was designed at Mazda’s design facility in Irvine--has been named Automobile of the Year by Automobile Magazine.

The 400,000-circulation monthly magazine also named Bob Hall, manager of product planning and research at the Mazda design center, its first-ever Man of the Year.’ Hall, a former automotive journalist, conceived of the Miata and pushed for its acceptance at Mazda.