Mazda SUV gets help from Tommy and Darla

Say you're shopping for a midsize SUV in a few years and you come across the Mazda CX9. Maybe you notice it has some convenient storage areas you've never seen before. For that, you can thank Tommy and Darla.

I can't tell you a lot about Tommy and Darla because neither Mazda nor OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network, want to disclose much information. At least, not before the episode of the TV series, The Customer Is Always Right?, at 10 p.m. Thursday on OWN.

All I could find out is that they are thirtysomethings who live in Orange County. Tommy is married and works in sports marketing. For all I know, Darla is in witness protection.

Both were selected to be in a focus group designed to let Mazda find out what Mr. and Ms. Consumer think of the company. Tommy was a Mazda fan; Darla had been disappointed with her Mazda car.

Tommy and Darla were selected to work for a week last January with Mazda engineers and designers to improve the CX9, which competes with the Honda Pilot and the Toyota Highlander and others midsize SUVs.

Then they returned to a second focus group which had to decide if their suggestions actually improved the current model. Fortunately for Tommy and Darla, the second focus group liked their ideas. Fortunately, because they each got $10,000, which would cover a third of the base price of this model.

Tommy and Darla worked as a team, though they didn't always agree on improvements, said Robert Davis, senior vice president of Mazda's U.S. operations. "You can imagine with a vehicle, some people like things one way; some like them another. The thing that was most surprising to me was how many things they disagreed on but, with the help of a car design professional, were able to compromise over."

Like what? That's top secret information available only to Mazda executives and proficient computer hackers around the world. However, Davis said some ideas had to do with innovative storage places as well as "some comfort and convenience items."

Fans of comedian Larry David know that, at different times, he proposed equipping cars with periscopes to allow drivers to see the traffic far ahead. He also proposed a convenience option in case a driver is stopped in traffic and needs to relieve himself. Davis said neither of these two features were suggested by Tommy or Darla.

So when, exactly, will the brainchildren of Tommy and Darla show up in Mazda's showrooms?

"We can't talk about that kind of stuff," Davis said. "The lead time for cars is years, not months, so they were working on a concept car."

To get a concept of the improvements by Tommy and Darla, you'll have to watch the episode. Or hang around your local Mazda showroom for a while.