Mazda has just announced that, besides the MX-5 facelift, the Paris Motor Show will mark the world debut of their latest concept car, the Mazda Kiyora. The Kiyora, which is Japanese for “clean and pure” is a lightweight urban compact concept car based on Mazda’s ‘Zoom-zoom’ vision and which is powered four-cylinder direct-injection engine contribute to excellent fuel economy and low CO2 emissions. To acquire that, the new Mazda Kiyora concept car is based on an all-new platform designed to minimise weight and maximise safety and it also features an innovative interior design with new functions. Check out more photos after the jump. Read More: "Mazda to unveil the Kiyora city-car concept in Paris"

It seems like the Spanish dudes from km77 have some pretty cool inside sources all over the place, because after publishing some leaked photos of the new Renault Megane on Monday, now they came up with a leaked photo of the Mazda MX-5 (Miata) facelift. This is not the first leaked image of the Miata, but the other ones were some sketches leaked from the European Union’s Office of Harmonization for the Internal Market (OHIM). This seems to be a leaked official photo and unveils the MX-5’s exterior. We get to see that there are no major changes, with the front part getting a newly shaped grille, restyled bumper with front splitter and new fog light inserts, while it looks like the headlights were also redesigned.

Unfortunately, there is no extra info about the car, so know nothing of any mechanical upgrades or if Mazda will change the engine range. The facelifted MX-5 (Miata) will probably debut at the Paris Motor Show, but Mazda will probably make a press release sooner.

Read More: "Mazda MX-5 (Miata) leaked photo"

According to AutoCar, Mazda is currently really busy working on plug-in hybrid that will compete the upcoming Chevrolet Volt and, of course, the Prius. Senior sources from Mazda said that a prototype has already been developed, prototype that uses a rotary engine to charge the battery pack. A Mazda 5 MPV bodyshell is used, but so far no decisions were made, the company waiting to see if the cost of batteries cand be reduced.

Efforts are being made so that the car could debut by the end of 2010 but what’s very interesting, as Wired reports, is that Ford owns an important share in Mazda, so if the project goes through, there are big chances of a Ford hybrid to be presented too. Stay tuned, because we’ll let you know once we get more details on this more and more interesting hybrid race.

Read More: "Mazda joins the hybrid race"

Perhaps you remember the design of the new Mazda3, recorded a few days ago by the Japanese manufacturer on the European organization OHIM (Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market). In addition to this, Mazda recorded the new MX-5 roadster design, which will have a minor facelift on the radiator grille, headlights and fog projectors. Because only the front part is highlighted, we believe that the remaining body will not suffer major changes. Or maybe will be made later. The latest information said that the new Mazda MX-5 will be presented in premiere at the Paris Motor Show in October 2008.

The world renowed Rotary engine on the Mazda RX-8 is very likely to transform into a gas-hydrogen hybrid on the next generation, and that the hybrid model will be called RX-9 to distinguish itslef from the gas version. The downsize to this is that on hydrogen mode, power drops 20%, but Mazda hopes to introduce this as the city-mode, while it can switch on gas when full-power is needed. In terms of styling, the next generation is said to borrow elements from the Mazda Taiki concept.

Mazda hopes to have this up and running by 2012, meeting the current hybrid trend spreading world-wide.

Read More: "Mazda RX9 replaces RX8 and adds hydrogen"

In a recent interview with BusinessWeek, Credit Suisse analyst Koji Endo said that Ford might be forced to sell its 33.9% stake in Mazda. And, if we think about it, that might be possible, considering the $8.7 billion second quarter loss announced late last month, not to mention that this year is one the worst financial years on record for the auto industry. Also, don’t forget Aston Martin, Jaguar and Land Rover, recently sold by Ford.

However, there are still a few aspects that could stop Ford from doing that. One of them would be the fact that Mazda is bringing in a healthy profit for Ford. Its stake in Mazda is worth about $2.5 billion but earnings are pretty high ($750 million expected this year), with Mazda predicting 1.48 million vehicles sold this year (9% more than last year). Another aspect will be that, even though Ford and Mazda would continue to share platforms and components, Ford selling its stake might leave Mazda vulnerable to a takeover from someone else.

Last week, on July 31, Franz von Holzhausen resigned his position as Mazda’s head of design at Mazda North American Operations and is now in charge at Tesla Motors. Von Holzhausen, which has an impressive resume, has been with Mazda since 2005 and Holzhausen is responsible for Mazda’s series of great concepts, which include the Ryuga, Hakaze, Taiki and Furai. Before working for Mazda, he was the one that designed the Pontiac Solstice and the Saturn Sky for GM and he also had an instrumental involvement in the New Beetle concept project for VW.

At Tesla Motors, he will be in charge with two new projects, the Tesla Model S (a $60,000 electric sedan) and a new affordable electric car, priced below $30,000. The decision to hire von Holzhausen is a part of Tesla’s plan to move design in house (the Tesla Roadster was designed by Lotus). Franz told CarDesignNews that “It’s going to be an exciting adventure […] I’m looking forward to working at a new startup company that doesn’t have the confines of a large OEM.”

Read More: "Tesla Motors ’steals’ Mazda’s head of design"

Mazda announced that on 26 August, at MIAS (Moscow International Auto Show), they’ll unveil their latest crossover, the Mazda Kazamai (Japanese for ‘swirling crosswinds’). he model is based on the new Zoom-Zoom technology which balances three key factors: a sporty driving style, an ecological engine and safety and was inspired by other concepts like Nagare, Ryuga, Hakaze, Taiki and Furai.

The sporty Kazamai is designed to be a dynamic and fun-to-drive car, with four wheel drive and a direct injection engine. Although the roof is very straight and low, making the car small, it will be equipped with 22 inch wheels. Kazamai will be presented along with the SUV CX-9 – which is „2008 North American Truck of the Year”. Complete information will be available immediately after Mazda’s press conference at 10:15 a.m. local time, on August 26 at the Mazda stand.

Mazda has just announced the pricing for the new Mazda6. The 2009 Mazda6 starts from $18,550 for a Mazda6 i SV with 170hp and 2.5 4-cylinder mated to a 6-speed manual gear. Mazda6 s is more expensive but has 273hp 3.7L V6 engine mated to a 6-speed automatic gear. This one starts from $24,130. Mazda6 will one by offered as a four-door sedan in four trim levels, the Touring and Grand Touring, the SV and the Sport. The car will hit showrooms starting this August.

Mazda6 is the highly anticipated 2009 car and is the first of Mazda’s “Zoom-Zoom Evolution” second-generation vehicles, builded on a heritage of sports sedans and sports car that no other automaker can boast. It combines a sports sedan with sophistication like no other car that cand be found in the market.

President and CEO of Mazda North American Operations, Jim O’Sullivan said ““This is the most important new vehicle Mazda has launched in a decade”.

As it has been since the first MAZDA6 launched in 2002, all North American MAZDA6s will continue to be built at AutoAlliance International, in Flat Rock, Mich, a joint venture with partner Ford Motor Company.
Read More: "The new 2009 Mazda6 to have a good price"

Scheduled to hit US showrooms late this summer, the 2009 Mazda 6 will have a price tag starting at $19,850. For this money, you’ll get the entry level Mazda6 i SV powered by the 170 hp 2.5 liter 4-cylinder engine. The same engine is available for the Mazda6 i Sport and i Touring, which will feature some extra options and will start at $21,250 and $22,750 respectively. The Mazda 6 Grand i Touring model starts at $25,850.

The 2009 Mazda6 s Sport will be powered by a 3.7 liter V6 producing a total of 272-hp and will carry an MSRP of $25,150. The Mazda6 s Touring will start at $26,150. The top of the line Mazda6 s Grand Touring will start at $29,150.

Check out more details about every model on the Mazda6Club Forum.

Read More: "2009 Mazda 6 pricing announced"

About two years ago, in July 2006, the Cougar Ace cargo ship carrying around 4,800, brand new Mazda vechicles, valued at around $120 million, went atilt off the coast of Alaska. Though initially Mazda thought it could save and restore all the cars involved in the incident, after engineers took a good look at the cars, the final conclusion was that Mazda could not guarantee that the cars will function properly after suffering damage and being exposed to the salty water.

Now, after the insurance paper work has been finished, all the cars, which were stockpiled in the Portland port, will be drained, stripped of tires and fed to a vehicle-gobbling machine. With the capacity of smashing 200 vehicles per hour, the machine is expected to return about 2,900 of steel and what will be left of the Mazdas will be processed into fence posts, wire rods and reinforcing bars.

Of course, taking into consideration the vast proportions of the process, even though it doesn’t own the cars anymore, Mazda will supervise the whole operation, to make sure no car ‘escapes’ the process.

This kind of news (you might also remember the similar BMW incident) always upsets us and the last place we’d like to be at would be near that smashing machine. We’re sure it’s a very heart-breaking process, looking at all those almost brand new cars being smashed and hearing the metal crashing. Creepy!

Check out a short footage of the Cougar Ace accident after the jump.
Read More: "4,703 Mazdas to be smashed"

Today, the 2008 World Car of the Year awards winners were announced. The cars were nominated for four categories, Overall Car of the Year, World Design of the Year, World Performance Car and World Green Car and the winners were voted by 47 journalists from 24 countries throughout the world.

The winner of the Overall Car of the Year award was the Mazda2, followed by the new Ford Mondeo and the Mercedes Benz C Class. The Mazda2 also came in second at the World Design of the Year, where the winner was the Audi R8 and the third place went to the Volvo C30. The Audi R8 also won in the World Performance Car section, followed by the Audi S5 Coupe and the new BMW M3. The fourth award, for the World Green Car was won by the BMW 118d with Efficient Dynamics followed by the SmartForTwo cdi and the Volkswagen Passat 1.9 TDI BlueMotion.

So, we can say that the big winners were the Audi R8, with two awards, and the Mazda2, which won the main category and also came in second at another. The winners of the second and third place in each category are ok, though we don’t really dig the Volvo C30 as a great design.

Read More: "2008 World Car of the Year winners announced"

One year after the five-door version of the Mazda2 debuted here at Geneva, now it’s time for the Mazda2 three-door version to be presented in world premiere at the Swiss show. The car presented at the Mazda stand looks good especially in the red mica color (like the Mazda Ryuga concept presented last year at Detroit) and with the exterior sports package featuring lowered suspension, wider tread, projector-type headlamps and 16-inch painted wheels. On the interior, the car has also sporty accents, with Recaro® seats in racy red and black two-tone, matching red stitching on the leather steering wheel leather inserts and panels on the door trims.

Under the hood, the Mazda2 three-door hatchback will be available with the same engines as the ?ve-door hatchback:
• MZR 1.5-litre petrol with maximum power of 76 kW/103 PS at 6,000 rpm, maximum torque of 137 Nm at 4,000 rpm
• MZR 1.5-litre uses only 5.9 litres of fuel per 100 km (combined), produces just 140 g/km of CO 2
• MZR 1.3-litre Standard Power version with maximum power of 55 kW/75 PS at 6,000 rpm, maximum torque of 121 Nm at 3,500 rpm
• MZR 1.3-litre High Power version with maximum output of 63 kW/86 PS at 6,000 rpm, maximum torque of 122 Nm at 3,500 rpm
• Both derivatives of the MZR 1.3-litre petrol use just 5.4 litres of fuel per 100 km (combined) and produce just 129 g/km of CO 2
• MZ-CD 1.4-litre common-rail turbo diesel engine with maximum power of 50 kW/68 PS at 4,000 rpm and 160 Nm of torque at a low 2,000 rpm for lively driving fun
• MZ-CD 1.4-litre uses just 4.3 litres fuel per 100 km (combined) and produces a very low 114 g/km of CO 2
• Five-speed manual transmission standard for all engines

For more details and a complete photo gallery, click on the ‘Read More’ link below.

Read More: "Geneva 2008: Mazda2 three-door makes world debut"

Yesterday, Mazda made a press release in which announced that the 100,000th Mazda2 (called Mazda Demio, for the Japanese market), with only 8 month passed since the car debuted, in May 2007. Mazda’s competitor in the small car class did a really good job and the 31 international awards prove that. Last year was also a very good one for Mazda in Europe, the Japanese producer managing to sell 311,247 units here, its highest volume since 1991. This is also due to Mazda2’s success, 12,591 units being sold in just four months.

Read the full press release after the jump.

Read More: "100,000 Mazda2 sold in only 8 months"

The new Mazda Axela (or the Mazda 3 as we know it) was launched for the Japanese market. Most notable updates include chrome door handles, new roof spoiler and new alloy-wheel options. Also, Mazda worked on the interior, which has a higher quality and features piano black parts on the center panel and the power window switches, chrome parts for some levers and buttons and, by using sound absorbent materials Mazda managed to reduce the cabin noise.

Check out more photos after the jump.
Read More: "Updated Mazda Axela debuts in Japan"