Mazda News
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Toyota has admitted that its Yaris small car isn't a marketing priority right now in the U.S. Instead, much of the company's efforts are going into the top-selling Corolla line--but when the firm's next-generation small car hits the streets, things could change. The next Toyota subcompact isn't yet confirmed to use the Yaris name, but we do know it'll be based on the next Mazda2, and built at Mazda's facility in Salamanca, Mexico. Wards Auto reports that Toyota is looking forward to the new small car, and some members of Toyota's U.S. dealer council have already seen photos of the new car...
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2014 Mazda6 Sedan: 31 MPG Combined (Or So), But Not For Sale
In olden days, new models for the following year came out in September. Now, they're all over the calendar. The latest example is the 2014 Mazda Mazda6 sedan, of which several hundred already sit in Mazda showrooms across the country. Its highly efficient 184-hp SkyActiv 2.5-liter four-cylinder...
John Voelcker -
2014 Mazda Mazda6: VW TDI Models To Get A Clean-Diesel Rival
Mazda is pushing ahead with its plans to offer a clean-diesel four-cylinder engine that could prove to be a strong rival to the TDI four in some Volkswagen and Audi products. While the 2014 Mazda6 will arrive in its lower-priced form with a 184-horsepower, 2.5-liter version of the four-cylinder...
Bengt Halvorson -
The 3-Cylinder, 40 MPG... Mazda Miata?
As sports cars go, the current Mazda MX-5 Miata isn't too bad when it comes to fuel efficiency. Okay, so at 25 mpg combined and 28 mpg highway it's a long way off the sort of vehicles we usually feature, but let's just say it's one of the best of a bad bunch. That's not to say that it can't be...
Antony Ingram -
Could Range-Extended Cars Save The Rotary Engine? Mazda Says Yes
While the Wankel rotary engine, Mazda’s power plant of choice for many years, has a fantastic power to weight ratio, it isn’t exactly what you’d call a green engine. As a consequence, since the Mazda RX-8 ended its production in June this year, you won’t find a rotary engine...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2014 Mazda Mazda6: Four Cylinders Or Nothing
Mazda’s completely redesigned Mazda6 midsize sedan is set to make its official debut at this week’s Moscow Motor Show, but the Japanese automaker has released images and a few details ahead of the show’s opening. As expected, there will be no six-cylinder option for Mazda’s...
Kurt Ernst -
While all automakers realise the benefits of making their cars lighter, it's only been relatively recently that some models have actually weighed less than their predecessors. Demands for safety, equipment, larger engines, more comfort and more space have pushed vehicle weight up so far that some cars are fifty percent heavier than their equivalent from 20 years ago. Mazda started reversing this trend several years ago, and now it's making a bold statement: it wants to eliminate 220 pounds of weight every time it re-designs one of its models. That will obviously become increasingly difficult...
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Mazda Diesel To Come First In Mazda6 Sedan Or CX-5 Crossover?
Drivers in Europe have been reaping the benefits of a wide selection of diesel cars for years, but with the fuel set to become more popular in the U.S. too, many carmakers are expanding their range of diesel vehicles. Mazda is one of those carmakers, with the next generation Mazda6 and the 2013...
Antony Ingram -
Mazda To Supply SkyActiv-D Diesels For 2013 Le Mans Teams
If you’re not directly involved with the high-octane world of 24-hour endurance racing, it’s easy to forget that races like last weekend’s 24 Heures Du Mans take months -- even years -- to prepare for. On Saturday, Mazda reminded us of just that fact by announcing its intention to...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Hydrogen, Rotary Range-Extender For Mazda Electric Cars?
Rotary engines aren't known for their green credentials, but if Mazda's latest plans come to fruition, they may be granted another lease of life. Most frequently seen in Mazda's sports cars over the years, Wankel rotary engines are associated variously with ultra-smooth power, poor fuel economy...
Antony Ingram -
Mazda Goes Racing With Its New SkyActiv-D Efficient Diesel
Mazda is no stranger to motorsport, with its MX-5 sports car one of the most-raced production cars in the world at grassroots level, and its high-profile victory in the 1991 Le Mans 24 Hours. That victory heralded the first--and only--for rotary power, and Mazda is set to innovate again by...
Antony Ingram -
2013 Mazda CX-5 & 2012 Mazda3: Real-World Gas Mileage Boost From SkyActiv Engine
The trend is clear: To get higher gas mileage, almost all new cars will have smaller, more efficient engines. Mazda says its new line of SkyActiv engines and transmissions, though, takes the carmaker to new heights of fuel efficiency. We recently tested two different Mazdas fitted with its...
John Voelcker -
Automakers love to take automotive journalists somewhere exotic for the official launch of a new car, usually somewhere hot and sunny. So when Mazda announced its European launch of the 2013 CX-5 compact crossover SUV would take place in the rugged, rural landscape of Highland Scotland, we assumed it was to highlight its go-anywhere aspirations. But as TheChargingPoint.com noted yesterday, the rural location enabled Mazda to do something else: make fun of electric cars. Fake road signs “Fake road signs were planted on surrounding verges cautioning motorists about ‘EV drivers...
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Mazda Ditches V-6, Goes Four-Cylinder, Keeps Rotary Engines
It's all change at Mazda for the next generation of its engine and product lines. The CX-7 SUV and 6-cylinder engines are out, and a wave of efficient Skyactiv engines, light-weight cars and an improved line of rotary engines is in. Robert Davis, senior vice president of U.S. Operations at Mazda...
Antony Ingram -
Mazda Takeri Diesel Concept: 2012 New York Auto Show Preview
The Mazda Takeri Concept sedan will make its North American debut this week at the 2012 New York Auto Show. But this is a slightly different Takeri than we saw at the Geneva Motor Show. For the first time, Mazda will show its new SKYACTIV-D clean diesel powertrain in a concept car. The Takeri...
Joel Feder -
2013 Mazda CX-5 Configurator Microsite Goes Live
Mazda has launched a microsite dedicated to its new CX-5 crossover.
Kurt Ernst -
Has Mazda Come Full Circle With Rotary Engine Fuel Economy?
You may have noticed we feature the late Mazda RX-8 rather less often than the Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric car. Considering the final iteration of the four-seat, four-door sports car delivered just 23 mpg highway from its 1.3-liter Renesis rotary engine, it really wasn’t a green...
Thomas Bey -
2013 Mazda CX-5 Fuel Efficiency Is Lorax-Approved, Says Dr. Seuss
For some time, Toyota has held the crown when it comes to bizarre -- and sometimes cute -- ad campaigns for its range of Prius hybrids. Now Mazda wants some of the cute green ad action. In its latest ad, Mazda proudly proclaims that its 2013 CX-5 compact crossover is Truffula Tree friendly, thanks...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
We may already be familiar with the Mazda Takeri concept car, but it's set to spearhead Mazda's assault on the Geneva Motor Show at the beginning of March. That assault includes showcasing Mazda's i-ELOOP regenerative braking technology, and its SKYACTIV range of gasoline and diesel engines, all of which are aimed at using energy more efficiently. The Takeri concept looks near-identical to the Tokyo exhibit, but it still gives us a good idea of what the next generation of Mazda 6 sedan might look like. The production car is expected to share the Takeri's "Kodo - Soul of Motion" design...
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2013 Mazda CX-5 Compact SUV: EPA Figures In, 35 MPG Highway
Crossover fans have been eager in anticipation of the 2013 Mazda CX-5 Crossover, and for good reason. Thanks to new SkyActiv engines, Mazda has been promising some pretty impressive fuel economy numbers. With EPA testing now complete, it appears even Mazda underestimated just how far the CX-5 will...
Antony Ingram -
Mazda Improves Fuel-Saving Start-Stop System With Capacitors
Mazda has supplemented i-Stop with a capacitor-based regenerative-braking system, called i-ELOOP, that should provide some of the benefits of a mild-hybrid system without added bulk.
Bengt Halvorson -
2013 Mazda CX-5 Kicks Compact Crossover Gas Mileage Higher
Let's face it: If you want the best gas mileage in a compact or mid-size all-wheel drive crossover, you have to go hybrid. But hybrids are still more expensive than gasoline models by a few thousand dollars, and the majority of buyers prioritize price over those last few miles per gallon. So the...
John Voelcker -
2013 Mazda CX-5 Live Gallery: 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show
Among the green cars making their debuts at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show this week is the 2012 Mazda CX-5. While it made its world debut back at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show, we weren’t entirely sure what its specifications for the U.S. market would be. Now we do. Weighing in at under 3500...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2012 Mazda3 Skyactiv: 40 MPG Highway, No Electric Motor Needed
Car companies are taking several different directions towards making their cars of the future more efficient. Some are going down the hybrid route, using electric motors to assist and occasionally take over from gasoline engines. GM is taking a two-pronged approach, with the range-extended Volt and...
Antony Ingram