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2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata firsthand impressions and notebook scribblings

In a temporarily repurposed airport hanger in Monterey, CA, the world caught its first glimpse of the 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata tonight, and I was fortunate enough to attend in person along with my fellow auto media colleagues, Mazda execs, a couple hundred Miata devotees and, oddly, a fair number of Duran Duran fans. The klieg lights have dimmed, Simon Le Bon is no longer ringing in my ears, and I'm left to ponder what I've seen. I've scavenged my notes - and my Twitter feed - to give you some details and brief thoughts.
Fair Warning: I can't claim to be completely impartial (I own a second-generation NB and consider the Miata franchise to be one of but a few sacrosanct franchises in modern motoring), but I will share my honest first impressions of the new car, both good and bad.
Here are my notes:

2014 Mazda6 Skyactiv-D Wagon

This was sort of a quirky surprise drive opportunity. I've been over here in Italy for a while now, and Mazda Italia contacted me seemingly out of the blue to drive test some version of the Mazda6 with a diesel engine. Supremo. The Mazda6 is a sexy everyday beast and I have been digging their SkyActiv-D engines for a while now. Very spirited units.
My contact phones me the day of, and says he can come by with the car, and then we'll head off to some sort of special spot for dynamics testing and technical conversation. Nice deal, say I.
My guy Ernesto pulls up outside of the house and - lo and behold - it's a dang Mazda6 station wagon with the very most recent 2.2-liter SkyActiv-D motor good for 148 horsepower and healthy 280 pound-feet of torque. The wee four-banger with 14.0:1 compression ratio hauls this 3,260-pound wagon around with the best of them. A decent 0-to-60-mph time of 8.7 seconds, too.

2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata will rock 2.0L SkyActiv engine in US, 1.5L elsewhere

Let the speculation finally end - we know what will power the next-generation 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata, and it's not turbocharged. The US model will get a SkyActiv 2.0-liter engine and six-speed manual, while models in the rest of the world have a 1.5-liter engine, confirming earlier rumors.
Unfortunately, Mazda isn't letting loose how much power either of these mills make just yet. For sake of comparison, the current SkyActiv 2.0 in the Mazda3 produces 155 horsepower and 150 pound-feet of torque, and the 1.5-liter in the UK (and elsewhere) has about 99 hp and 110 lb-ft of twist. However, the current Miata produces 167 hp and 140 lb-ft.
But fret not droptop fans. The company's brochure from the 2014 Paris Motor Show confirms, "all available drivetrains have been specially tuned for the all-new MX-5," which at least hints at the possibility of more performance. Also, even if the numbers remain untouched, the new Miata should feel even more sporting on the open road. That's because Mazda says the new model weighs in the neighborhood of 2,200 pounds; with that in mind, the 2016 car would boast around 14.19 pounds per horsepower versus 14.85 lb/hp in the present MX-5. Progress!