You could say Mazdas new people carrier is drop-dead gorgeous ... and you could be right if you happen to be superstitious.
Mazda in the UK wanted to call the car, which is due to go on sale next year, the Mazda4 to fit in with its new branding policy which has already seen the arrival of the Mazda2 supermini, Mazda3 compact hatchback and saloon and the Mazda6 in the large family car sector.
But the Hiroshima-based parent company rejected the idea, as four is associated with death and doom in the Asia Pacific region.
As a result, the new flexible format people carrier, which will offer five, six of seven seats, has no name or number. It is taking centre stage on Mazdas motor show stand in Flexa concept form.
Mazdas UK managing director Phil Waring, is anticipating 5,000 sales a year for the new model, and he admitted: Naming or numbering the car is very important and we need a decision by the end of the year because it goes on sale next September.
British management are bemused as to why the parent company only notified its European importers of the problem in the past week.
Waring has commissioned urgent market research in the UK to see if the public would accept either 5 or 7 as a substitute, and not automatically confuse it with the MX-5 roadster and discontinued RX-7 rotary sports car.
Mazda is not new to naming controversy. In the early 80s the Montrose coupe was launched on the day that the company sacked its dealer, in Montrose, Scotland.
