Rumor has it that as spacey as this concept looks, its design points to a future city car from Mazda, due out in 10 years or so. The Kiyora (Japanese translation: clean and pure) may not look production feasible, but beneath its wave-like exterior are several innovations that are or will soon be employed. Not likely to be part of that list anytime soon is the specially-designed roof which channels rain water into the vehicle, through a purification system and into the cupholder for immediate consumption by passengers.
Officially unveiled a few weeks ago in Paris, the 2009 Mazda MX-5 Miata isn’t a radical departure from the current model’s aesthetics - but Mazda has big plans for the future. According to MX-5 program manager Takao Kijima, Mazda’s future plans for alternative powertrains could seek to reduce the MX-5’s total weight by about 10%.
Ultimately leaning towards designs that would scale the MX-5 Miata down to a size smaller than 1989 models, Kijima explains that overall weight reduction is necessitated if Mazda is to be successful with their larger goal, which is engineering a new, fuel-sipping Mazda MX-5. Trimming a few pounds would help the MX-5 achieve a lower rate of fuel consumption as well as reduce emissions, effectively making the compact little car even more environmentally friendly than it already is.
Expected to make its big debut at the LA auto show next month, Mazda has been busy drumming up enthusiasm for the launch of the new Mazda3. Re-engineered to sit on the same global platform as the Ford Focus, the 2010 Mazda3 is supposedly a more powerful, more fuel efficient edition of the current popular small car. Still shots leaked by Mazda last week revealed that the new Mazda3 is indeed bigger, but we’ll have to take their word for it as far as hp’s and mpg’s are concerned.
The teaser vid doesn’t do much by way of providing more details, but it is a clever way for Mazda to keep the Mazda3 on the tips of tongues until they get a chance to flex their specs next month.
Today, Mazda released official photos of the production Mazda3, the new Expected to debut next month at the 2008 LA Auto Show, the 2010 Mazda3 is expected to aid the Mazda6 in ushering Mazda into its new design era. Sitting on the Ford Focus C1 global car platform, the next generation Mazda3 will be longer, wider, and just a touch more powerful than current models.
Trading in its current 2.3L DOHC 16-valve 4-cylinder for a 2.5L, power output will get anywhere from a 20-hp to 30-hp boost from the current 156-hp rating. An increase in fuel efficiency has also been projected for the new model as well, but its current EPA estimate of 24 mpg city/32 hwy isn’t too shabby to begin with - we wouldn’t be heartbroken if those specs didn’t change.
Originally slated for introduction during the later half of 2009, revised agendas have tentatively scheduled to 2010 Mazda to hit dealer showrooms in the summer of 2009. Official pricing has yet to be announced, but we expect it to fall somewhere within the current $15,000-base range.
In hybrids, a portion of fuel savings is derived by automatically turning off the engine while the vehicle is stopped and its engagement again well after the batteries have brought the vehicle up to speed. In Europe this concept is extended even further to regular cars as well. However, in those cars, automatic start-stop systems typically use the conventional starter motor to re-start the engines after a stop. Depending on the driving conditions, this could be quite a strain on the car’s starter. Now Mazda has devised a new system that they claim will provide quicker, more consistent re-starts.
In January of next year the North American Car and Truck of the Year winners will be announced during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The process that leads to that decision began last week with the release of the first round of 26 finalists. Not suprisingly, vehicles from the crossover segment of the industry dominate this year’s list.
Based on the compact underpinings of the Ford Fiesta, the 2009 Mazda2 micro wagon is currently under heavy evaluation to determine its potential for the U.S. market. Available in Europe with three engine options, a 74-hp or 85-hp 1.3L I4, 67-hp 1.4L turbo diesel, or a 102-hp 1.5L I4, it’s likely only the standard gasoline engines will be introduced to the U.S. Unfortunately, that means that we here stateside will miss out on the Mazda2’s most fuel-efficient offering, since the turbo diesel averages a staggering 65.7 mpg combined. The Mazda2’s 1.3L and 1.5L engines are nothing to be scoffed at though as they both boast impressive fuel consumption rates, averaging 52.3 mpg and 47.9 mpg respectively.
Saturn is probably not the first, second or even on most people’s list of names when they think of sports cars. But for a company that really makes little attempt to cater to the motor enthusiast (only 5000 are made), the Sky Redline is a respectable junior member of the affordable roadster club along with sister model, the Pontiac Solstice and the Mazda MX-5.
Mazda is clearly sticking to a youthful philosophy and marketing plan. Like Chuckie, that Zoom-Zoom thing just won’t die. While the previous Mazda 6 was received favorably by the public and in car reviews, it was only modestly successful in terms of sales compared to the Accord and Camry. For all of the car’s dynamic driving characterstics, it was on the small side, perhaps a bit unrefined and by most estimations not quite up to the fit and finish of its competitors. Rather than scrapping the 6 to introduce a new 2009 model, Mazda has comprehensively revamped and produced a new version that is better in almost every facet than anything else of this type.
We know we bitch and moan about a lot of the entry level sedans currently on the market - they’re always too small or too slow or too ugly. If you were to hazard a guess based simply on what we write, you’d assume we make beer runs in late model German luxury sedans, but we don’t. Our fervent ride lust is dampened considerably after we balance the checkbook, and when it comes right down to it, all we really need is a good, reliable car to get us from Point A to Point B. We assume that most car buyers are currently in the same boat, so we decided to temporarily abandon our unadulterated hate for penny racers like the Toyota Yaris and Nissan Versa and assemble an objective, unbiased list of the least expensive, best new car bets for 2008-2009.
