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Mazda’s new direct-injection engine family arrives in 2011

September 8th, 2010

The big news at Mazda is a new family of direct-injection gasoline and diesel engines that will start to arrive in 2011.

Mazda will make significant changes to vehicle platforms to accommodate the Sky engines, which will be more powerful and fuel-efficient at lower displacements than the company’s current engines.

The first Sky gasoline engine is expected to debut in the United States in 2011. A direct-injection Sky diesel is to appear in 2012.

Mazda won’t say which vehicles will get the Sky power trains first, but the entire lineup will have the updated power trains by the 2014 or 2015 model year, a source said.

Mazda2: The smallest vehicle in the company’s lineup debuted here this summer. The small 2011 five-door hatchback is powered by a 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine that produces about 100 horsepower and gets more than 30 mpg on the highway and about 28 mpg in city driving.

Mazda3: After a redesign for the 2010 model year, Mazda’s highest-volume model is scheduled for a freshening in 2013. It will get a Sky direct-injection engine, but the timing is uncertain.

RX-8: Questions about the future of the rotary-engine sports car have been rumbling for months, and there are hints that Mazda may kill it. Don’t count on it.

Though no changes are planned for the 2011 RX-8, updates are in the works for a 2012 model to bridge the gap until a successor is ready for production, a source said.

Mazda’s next-generation RX-8 is at least one model year behind schedule because of problems in developing a new 1.6-liter rotary engine, called the 16X. The 16X, Mazda’s first rotary developed from scratch in nearly 20 years, isn’t hitting emission reduction targets. The global financial crisis forced the company to shift priority to the Sky range of gasoline and diesel engines, needed to meet more stringent fuel economy requirements.

So don’t expect a redesigned RX-8 until at least the 2014 model year.

Mazda5: The redesigned 2012 small minivan goes on sale in January featuring Mazda’s Nagare design language. The new Mazda5 also will have an updated interior and a more fuel-efficient engine.

Mazda6: For the 2011 model year, the mid-sized Camry-fighter got new headlights, 17-inch alloy wheels, seat materials, interior trim and additional technology. A redesign, with at least one of the new Sky engines, is scheduled for the 2013 model year.

MX-5: The roadster is due for a freshening for the 2012 model year but likely won’t get the Sky gasoline engine until later. A rumored 2012 redesign won’t happen, a source said.

CX-5: The successor to the Mazda Tribute will complete the company’s lineup of CX crossovers in 2012 or 2013. The Tribute shares a platform with the Ford Escape. The CX-5 will be based on a Mazda platform.

CX7: The mid-sized crossover will be offered in a new iTouring trim level for the 2011 model year. The CX7 is expected to be equipped with a gasoline or diesel Sky engine when it is redesigned for the 2013 model year.

CX9: Mazda’s largest crossover is due for a redesign in the 2013 model year.

(Source: Automotive News)

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“Soul Of Motion” In New Mazda Design Theme

September 7th, 2010

Mazda’s re-emergence after 2000 involved more than the success of its Zoom-Zoom campaign, which launched that year. It had as much to do with a vehicle design revolution. The automaker, whose U.S. sales, marketing and design headquarters is in Irvine, Calif., went from a lackluster has-been brand in the late 90’s and early millennium — a marque with little meaning beyond the collective memory the car that goes “hummmm” — to a sporty, design-leading brand that helped force the competition to develop mass-market cars that actually looked good.
Now Mazda is about to make a big change to its design philosophy. The somewhat avian visual language (by former design chief former design chief Laurens van den Acker) embodied by concept vehicles like the fluid Nagare and more prosaically by RX-8, Mazda 6, 5, 2 and Miata is being shift to a more aggressive look by new design chief Ikuo Maeda. The new design language is called “Kodo – Soul of Motion”. The new look is epitomized by a new concept called Shinari.
Maeda, the head of Mazda’s Design Division at the Hiroshima, Japan-based company said the new design theme continues a nature-themed inspiration. “In our work to further evolve the expression of motion, Mazda Design has focused on the strength, beauty and tension found in the instantaneous movement seen in animals,” he said, in a corporate release on Friday.
He said the company’s four design studios located in Japan (Hiroshima and Yokohama), Europe (Frankfurt, Germany), and North America (Irvine, California) are developing global cars in collaboration to incorporate the new language in future products.
The company says Shinari means “powerful yet supple appearance of great resilient force when objects of high tensile strength, such as steel or bamboo, are twisted or bent” or “the appearance of a person or animal as it flexes its body in preparation for a fast movement.” The concept is a 4-door, 4-seat, sports coupe meant to be the quintessence of the new look.

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Mazda’s New Concept Car: Not Going With the Flow

September 2nd, 2010

Mazda rolled out a surprise this week in Milan: a concept car that its design chief says outlines the company’s future design language.

The car is called Shinari and represents the first statement by the company’s design chief, Ikuo Maeda, who took over after Laurens van den Acker departed for the top design job at Renault in April 2009.

Mr. Maeda, who has been with the company for 30 years, designed the current RX-8 and the Mazda2. His father, Matasaburo Maeda, was a Mazda designer and directed the design of the first generation RX-7 sports car.

Mr. Maeda said that the concept car summarizes a new design language and philosophy for the company. The name Shinari means “resistance to being bent,” a quality that is suggested by some of the car’s tough-looking, twisted forms, as in its wheels.

Specific physical features of the new identity are a face with a signature “wing line,” a thin metal line running from the centers of the headlights below a shield-shaped grille. The wing line continues back along the fenders. The lower fascia, front and rear, are made of a complex set of planes suggesting the style of anime. Many observers have seen the elements of the Aston Martin Rapide in the car’s roof line and the almost lush fullness of the body.

Gone in the new look are the oversize front fenders of recent Mazdas, derived from its signature RX-8 sports car. The new concept car apparently means the end of the Nagare, or flow look, of Mazda in recent years. Derived from wind and water, its wavy forms made for interesting show cars, but proved hard to adapt to production models. The current Mazda3 and new Mazda5 style had been criticized for their overly swoopy forms.

The key idea of the new design philosophy is Kodo, or form with soul, which the designer said embodies the three qualities of speed, tension and allure.

Mr. Maeda has combined inspirations and forms both from nature and from the machine in the car. There is more mechanism and macho visible in the new look.

The four-door car with a coupelike roof may play a role similar to that of the Infiniti Essence concept — a high-end statement of purpose more than a draft of a production car and a halo to restate the company’s ideals. Mazda did not say what production models might have the new look and approach or when they might appear.

Car Design News reports that the exterior design was developed by Yasushi Nakamuta, who led the design of the third generation Mazda MX-5 and Yong-Wook Cho of Mazda’s studio in Japan. The interior work was done by Julien Montousse at Mazda’s studio in Irvine, Calif., directed by Derek Jenkins, who came from Volkswagen to head the company’s California studio.

In keeping with Mazda’s emphasis on sporty driving, the interior focuses on the driver, wrapping around the wheel. The precise appearing instruments were inspired by high-end time pieces.

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Mazda says new engines will match hybrids in mpg

September 1st, 2010

Mazda says it expects hybridlike fuel economy from vehicles powered by new Sky direct-injection gasoline and diesel engines scheduled to arrive in the United States starting next year.

The Sky engines and Sky-Drive automatic and manual transmissions are the centerpiece of Mazda’s aim to raise the fuel efficiency of its U.S. lineup 30 percent from 2008 to 2015.

For example, the next Mazda3, due in about 2015, would get an estimated 40 mpg on the highway with a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder Sky-G engine teamed with a Sky-Drive six-speed automatic, says Kiyoshi Fujiwara, Mazda’s head of product planning and powertrain development. That compares with 33 mpg on the current Mazda3. Fujiwara spoke at a preview of the technology here last week.

Fujiwara said the next-generation Mazda6, with a 2.2-liter Sky-D twin-turbo diesel engine, would achieve an estimated 43 mpg on the highway, compared with 30 mpg on the current, gasoline-powered Mazda6.

The automaker will incorporate the new engines into its lineup as vehicles are redesigned. The first Sky gasoline engine will arrive in the United States next year. The first diesel will follow in 2012. Mazda has not announced the vehicles in which the engines will debut.

At the press event, Mazda showed early versions of both the 2.0-liter gasoline and 2.2-liter turbodiesel powerplants. The engines, installed in four prototypes of the next-generation Mazda6, were teamed with six-speed transmissions, both automatic and manual.

Direct injection puts fuel directly into the combustion chamber rather than upstream in the intake port, enabling fuel economy and performance gains over traditional fuel injection.

Mazda also plans to add start-stop technology and regenerative braking and later introduce a hybrid vehicle using electric motors under license from Toyota, said Seita Kanai, director of randd for Mazda Motor Corp.

Rather than dive into the costly world of hybrid and electric-vehicle technology development, Kanai said, Mazda will add electrification to its lineup slowly.

“We have a plan to introduce [the technology] gradually, starting from simple devices,” Kanai said. “The more complex a device is, the more costly it becomes.”

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Mazda Teases Shinari Concept

August 31st, 2010

Mazda’s top brass wheeled out its Shinari concept at a design event in Milan weeks ahead of its official debut at the Paris Motor Show on October 2, and studio renderings of the concept are circulating around the Web.

Depending on which article you’re reading, the Shinari is a four-door car or five-door hatchback that showcases Kodo, Mazda’s future design language. Kodo translates as “soul of motion,” and is a move away from its former design of Nagare, which translates to “flow.”

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Highlights and Changes For The 2011 Model Year

August 30th, 2010

MAZDA2

New for 2011:

All-new 1.5-liter DOHC I4 engine
All-new interior and exterior design
All-new 15-inch steel wheels with full wheel cover design (Sport)
All-new 15-inch alloy wheel design (Touring)
Touring models have distinctive exhaust finisher, fog lights and rear spoiler
Black cloth with design insert (Sport)
Black cloth with red piping accent (Touring)
Standard side airbags, side air curtains, ABS and Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) with Traction Control System (TCS)
Mazda’s Smart Accelerator Pedal System

Zoom-Zoom in its most concentrated form, MAZDA2 is the latest in a line of stylish, insightful and fun-to-drive small cars from Mazda, and brings an all-new level of refinement to the segment. MAZDA2 is a car that only the engineers at Mazda could have created. It was designed and engineered from scratch to be a pure Mazda, offering the sort of driving experience that could only come from the company that developed the timeless MX-5 two-seat roadster, and it brings a combination of athletic design and dynamic performance to the subcompact class. Available in two trim levels – the entry level Sport and top grade Touring – MAZDA2 is all-new for the North American market.

MAZDA3 4-Door and 5-Door

New or enhanced for 2011:

Standard Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) and Traction Control (TCS) on all models
Power door locks with auto-lock function added to i SV and i Sport models
Rain-sensing wipers, auto on/off headlights, Bi-Xenon auto-leveling headlights, Adaptive Front-lighting System (AFS) and rear LED taillamps available on s Sport models with A/T
Standard 265-Watt Bose Centerpoint 10-speaker surround sound audio system with Audiopilot (s Grand Touring)
Standard in-dash six-disc/MP3 compatible CD changer (s Grand Touring)
Standard moonroof with one-touch open (s Grand Touring)
Standard coolant “low temperature” warning light (all models)

Redesigned for 2010, the MAZDA3 4-Door and 5-Door offer the versatility young (or young-at-heart) consumers need, with all the bells and whistles they demand. A favorite of consumers shopping for their first new vehicle since it launched in 2003, the MAZDA3 has exceeded the expectations of nearly two million owners around the world and is by far the best-selling vehicle in the Mazda lineup – one in every three Mazdas sold worldwide is a MAZDA3. For 2011, MAZDA3 receives improved standard safety technology and convenience features.

Powered by either a 148-horsepower 2.0-liter or a 167-horsepower 2.5-liter dual-overhead-cam 16-valve 4-cylinder engine, the MAZDA3 offers standard and optional equipment simply not found on other cars in its class. Available features include self-leveling Bi-Xenon headlights, Adaptive (steerable) Front-lighting System, Advanced Keyless Entry with push-button start, hands-free Bluetooth cell phone and audio player integration, and 10-speaker BOSE Centerpoint surround sound audio system. Interactive lighting with welcome mode, variable heated front seats, power driver’s seat, dual automatic climate control and compact navigation are just some of the features also available. Package/option changes for 2011 include the addition of rain-sensing front wipers, auto on/off headlights, Bi-Xenon headlights with auto leveling, Adaptive Front-lighting system, and LED rear combination taillights to the Technology Package.

MAZDASPEED3

Added to MAZDASPEED Technology Package for 2011:

Rain-sensing wipers
Auto on/off headlights
Bi-Xenon auto-leveling headlights
Adaptive Front-lighting System (AFS)
Rear LED taillamps

Even before it was introduced in 2006, driving enthusiasts had already pegged the MAZDASPEED3 to be a leader in the front-drive performance car category. In addition to living up to that expectation, the MAZDASPEED3 has come to be regarded as one of the best bargains on the road. The 2011 MAZDASPEED3 is a great bargain while continuing to be the finest marriage of performance and practicality on four wheels. A sporty and aggressive exterior design compliments an avant-garde interior. Under the hood is the highly acclaimed 263-horsepower MZR 2.3L DISI turbo engine capable of propelling the MAZDASPEED3 to a 155-mph top speed. Features like an LED turbo boost gauge, air intake and unique MAZDASPEED interior express the MAZDASPEED3′s athletic nature while 18-inch Dunlop tires provide improved grip and steering feel.

Package/option changes for 2011 include the addition of rain-sensing front wipers, auto on/off headlights, Bi-Xenon headlights with auto leveling, Adaptive Front-lighting system, and LED rear combination taillights to the MAZDASPEED Technology Package.

MAZDA5

The 2010 MAZDA5 will see a late stop to production. An all-new 2012 model will be introduced in early 2011.

MAZDA6

New or enhanced for 2011:

Improved fuel economy (i models with M/T: 21/30; i models with A/T: 22/31 ( i models with A/T to be confirmed by EPA in mid-August); s models: 18/27 (city/highway (mpg))
New 17-inch alloy wheel design
New headlight design
New fog light design
New folding mirrors with turn signal lamps (Touring Plus & Grand Touring models)
New silver and pearl white paint
New cloth seat materials
New steering wheel design
New instrument panel premium trim accents
New stitched vinyl door armrests
Bluetooth added to Touring model
Multi-Information Display with Rearview Camera added to Grand Touring models
Rearview camera, with 7-inch touch screen, added to optional Navigation System

The MAZDA6 is a mid-size sedan that doesn’t behave like one. It offers all the standards in its class like five-passenger seating, interior roominess, comfort and convenience features and lots of cargo space. However, the MAZDA6 goes one step further by adding style, performance, technology and passion.

For the 2011 model year, MAZDA6 is more fuel efficient and receives a number of exterior and interior upgrades. Available with four trim levels (Sport, Touring, Touring Plus and Grand Touring) and two engine options (the 170-horsepower 2.5-liter four cylinder i model or 272-horsepower 3.7-liter V6 s model), the 2011 MAZDA6 comes well-equipped with standard features including a six-speed manual transmission, power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering, Anti-Lock Brake System with Electronic Brake Distribution, Dynamic Stability Control (DSC), Traction Control (TCS), Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS), advanced front air bags, side air bags and side air curtains. Other standard features include automatic headlight shutoff, an auxiliary-audio input jack, power automatic door locks, power windows, remote keyless entry, and steering wheel-mounted audio controls. New for 2011, a 4.3-inch Multi-Information Display for audio and Bluetooth controls and a rearview camera are now standard on Grand Touring models. A rearview camera is also added to the optional Navigation System on Grand Touring models which features an upgraded 7-inch display touch screen display.

RX-8

Launched in 2003, the Mazda RX-8 hit the global market with a serious bang. The RX-8 has won 48 global vehicle awards since its release including 2003 Japanese Car of the Year, Australia’s Wheels magazine’s Car of the Year for 2003, 2003 International Engine of the Year, 2004 Singapore Car of the Year, the 2004 U.S. Best Sports Car and UK Car of the Year 2004. It was also named on Car and Driver magazine’s Ten Best list for 2004, 2005, and 2006. In addition, the RENESIS Rotary Engine has won nine awards since 2003. All together, Mazda has sold nearly 182,000 RX-8s around the world.

Significantly updated for 2009 with a refreshed exterior and interior design, enhanced performance and an R3 model for the ultimate driving enthusiast and refined for 2010, RX-8 remains unchanged for 2011. RX-8 is available with two trim levels – Sport and Grand Touring – and the R3 model, specially designed with the enthusiast in mind. At the core of the RX-8 remains a high-powered, lightweight and perfectly balanced machine powered by the world-renowned twin-rotor RENESIS rotary engine.

MX-5 Miata and Power Retractable Hard Top (PRHT)

For more than 20 years, the MX-5 Miata has offered sports car enthusiasts a pure, simple, fun-focused roadster at an attainable price. Sticking to that simple concept has made the MX-5 the most popular two-seat convertible sports car in the world, according to the experts at the Guiness Book of World Records, with more than 850,000 sold.

Substantially refreshed for 2009 and updated for 2010, MX-5 is unchanged for 2011, staying true to the very essence of the “oneness of horse and rider” credo that has guided development of every generation of MX-5.

The heart of the MX-5 remains a highly-responsive MZR-series 2.0-liter, powerplant making 167-horsepower (158 for automatic transmission-equipped models). The MZR is light and compact, featuring chain-driven double overhead camshafts, a lightweight flywheel, variable intake valve timing, electronically controlled port fuel injection and coil-on-plug ignition. Revving smoothly to its 7,200 rpm redline (6700 rpm with an automatic transmission), the flexible 2.0-liter engine delivers 140 lb-ft of torque at 5,000 rpm for driving exhilaration throughout the rev range.

CX-7

New or enhanced for 2011:

Addition of a new i Touring model, powered by a 2.5-liter dual-overhead-cam 16-valve 4-cylinder engine (i) producing 161 horsepower and 161 lb-ft torque.

New 2.5-liter i Touring model includes:

8-way power adjustable driver’s seat with manual lumbar support
Driver and front passenger heated seats
Leather-trimmed seat upholstery
Color Multi Information Display (MID) with rearview camera
In-dash 6-CD changer
Power glass moonroof
Automatic climate control
BOSE® with SIRUIS

CX-7 is a highly styled crossover utility vehicle (CUV) with a decided soul of a sportscar. Produced entirely on Mazda-derived platform architecture, the five-passenger CX-7 embodies an astute blend of sports car verve and CUV practicality, resulting in a fun-to-drive CUV that represents everything a Mazda should be.

Along with many exterior and interior design enhancements, for 2010, the five-passenger CX-7 received an all-new, naturally aspirated DOHC 16-valve 2.5L MZR four-cylinder engine. Available on i SV, i Sport and now, new for 2011, i Touring models, the new inline four delivers 161 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and a maximum torque of 161 lb-ft at 3,500 rpm. It drives the front wheels through a lightweight, highly efficient five-speed sport-shift automatic transmission that provides good performance while returning excellent fuel economy, 20/28 mpg (city/highway). The existing MZR 2.3L DISI Turbo engine, producing 244 horsepower and 258 lb.-ft. torque, and transmission, which continue to be offered in the upper trim levels, have been recalibrated for even better overall drivability.

Highlights of the CX-7 include five-speed sport automatic transmission (i models) and six-speed sport automatic transmission (s models), 17-, 18- and 19-inch alloy wheels, Multi Information Display (MID) with rearview camera (standard on Grand Touring and available on s Touring and i Sport), Advanced Keyless Entry and Start System, driver’s seat-position memory, four-way power front passenger’s seat, Bluetooth ® hands-free phone and audio, Blind Sport Monitoring (BSM) System, compact navigation system and rain-sensing wipers (Grand Touring).

CX-9

New or enhanced for 2011:

New 18- and 20-inch wheel design
Improved fuel economy (17/24 (FWD) and 16/22 (AWD))

Mazda’s CX-9 is one of the most award-winning vehicles in the automotive industry. The three-row, seven-passenger crossover has received the top rating of 5-stars in frontal and side impact crashes from the US government’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) vehicle safety tests and a top rating of Good from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for front and side crash protection.

Deftly blending sporty driving spirit with seven-passenger crossover utility vehicle (CUV) practicality, the CX-9 is powered by a 273-horsepower 3.7-liter V6 engine and features standard Roll Stability Control, standard Bluetooth hands free phone and an available advanced Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM) system, which helps see and prevent the unexpected. Other available features include two-position heated front seats, an available Multi Information Display (MID) for audio with rearview camera and available NAVI with Real Time Traffic System.

Highly refined inside and out for 2010, CX-9 receives redesigned wheels and improved fuel economy for 2011.

Tribute

Offering more traditional sport-utility vehicle (SUV) styling than Mazda’s other crossovers, CX-7 and CX-9, the 2011 Tribute rounds out the Mazda family of unibody-based utility vehicles, making it the perfect choice for buyers in search of traditional, go-anywhere, rugged styling. For the 2011 model year, Tribute carries over key specifications and features from the 2010 model year.

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Mazda Launches Facebook Game

August 2nd, 2010

If you use Facebook — and we know you do — then you’re likely familiar with FarmVille, the popular social media game that sends alerts to all your friends about digital crops and such. We love getting those updates.

If you like cars more than crops, Mazda’s new DriverVille will fill that need to tell all your friends that you’re wasting time online. The promotional game launched today to tell the world about the new Mazda2. There are a series of tasks, and theoretically the game allows you to race your friends — at least after they’ve finished enough tasks to get a car of their own.

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2010 Mazda3 i Touring Review

July 30th, 2010

I’m always interested in driving economy cars, because in the present economy, these are the vehicles that are most attractive to the buying public.

The Mazda3 is an excellent example. Here is a car that is at the bottom of Mazda’s model lineup, at least until e Mazda2 becomes available in the US. Yet, at a tad over $20,000 it shares Mazda’s “zoom-zoom” philosophy that derives from the RX-8 and Miata. No, this isn’t a sports car in the style of those two, but it has the same love-to-drive attitude that makes it fun.

The Mazda3 isn’t perfect. Few cars are. But it is a decent compact economy car that has some street creds. For example, we were in our local supermarket parking lot when a 20-ish friend instantly recognized the Mazda3 for what it is and expressed interest in our opinions. It was on his ‘to-be-considered’ list.

The Mazda3 is a good package with decent size for a compact. With a 103.9-inch wheelbase, it has enough length under the wheels to provide for a decent ride. Shorter wheelbase cars have difficulties dealing with Pennsylvania’s infamous washboard roads, for example.

Overall length is 180.7 inches, putting the Mazda3 squarely in the compact car class. Still, with 76 inches of overhang (approximately three feet front and rear) it still won’t look like a Fifties American land yacht. And, trust me shorter cars handle better than longer ones.

Styling is neat and aerodynamic.

The 2.0-liter inline four under the hood delivers 148 horsepower, which is fine when matched with the 5-speed manual transmission. TheMazda3 only weighs 2,963 pounds, so it doesn’t need V8 horsepower to make it perform. Even in fifth gear, there was decent torque available so there isn’t a constant need to downshift.

Even though the Mazda3 is a compact car, it was comfortable on long trips, something that can’t be said for some of its competitors.

In addition, it had a useful, if smallish, trunk that had a good opening for loading. The rear seat backs fold 60/40 to increase the trunk’s utility. The trunk has a flat floor with the mini spare located underneath.

In front of the driver is a fairly standard instrument panel with a tachometer and speedometer (in white-on-black) with a digital bar graph fuel gauge in the middle. Our tester had a good Bose audio system with an orange read-out in a pod on top of the dash. This pod also had an outside temperature readout and a digital clock. These pieces of information were in useful locations, and once we became accustomed to them, we felt they were in exactly the right place.

Front seating was comfortable with decent side support. Side support is necessary for sports cars, but even in less-than-sports car it’s important for overall rider comfort. The rear seats have okay knee and leg room, but there is really only room for two rear passengers.

The rear doors have huge cup holders/water bottle holders in the doors that isn’t mimicked up front. In addition, there are two cup holders in the fold-down rear armrest. The rear seats have good headroom.

There is good visibility all around for the driver and all passengers.

Economy measures are noticeable. For example, the visor mirrors are unlighted which made it difficult for my wife to check her beauty in the dark. Me too. And you must push a button to remove the key from the ignition, a feature that I thought disappeared years ago.

While the Mazda3might not be your first choice when you’re looking for a compact car, it is one that should be considered.

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Mazda Will Launch CX-5 Small SUV Based on 2008 Kazamai Concept

July 29th, 2010

When Mazda introduced the Kazamai concept at the Moscow Motor Show in 2008, it received generally positive comments from WCF readers. One reader in particular, DeRay, said, “Mazda has some great concepts I’m just tired of seeing concepts I want to see the real thing or something that is very very VERY close.”

DeRay may get his wish. When the Japanese automaker launches the small Mazda CX-5 SUV, it will be based on the two-year-old Kazamai concept, according to Autocar. Unspecified sources at Mazda allegedly told Autocar that the new crossover will hit the market by the end of 2011.

Looking to keep fuel efficiency at a maximum, and weight at a minimum, the vehicle will use a new set of Sky generation direct-injection engines and a light transmission. The vehicle is also expected to get regenerative braking and start/stop.

As soon as we get more info about the Mazda CX-5, we will bring it to you. We hope, for DeRay’s sake, that it has a strong resemblance to the Kazamai.

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Mazda RX-7 planned for 2013; electric turbocharger being considered

July 28th, 2010

Mazda is in development of a new RX-7 that could be released on the market in 2013. The car, tentatively called the RX-9, could get a boost in power to its Renesis rotary engine to make up for the sluggish engine used in the RX-8.

The increase in power could come from a variety of technologies being explored by the automaker. “We’re testing the rotary in conjunction with technologies including an electric turbocharger,” an unnamed source told Autocar.

Extra performance capabilities will be necessary if the RX-9 will be able to compete with the BMW 1-Series, Volkswagen Scirocco and Volvo C30. As for the design of the car, it could use the Nagare design language seen on Mazda concepts from 2006 and 2007. However, it is also possible that it will be one of the first new models to feature Mazda’s next brand design, set for introduction later this year.

Posted By: GC

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