After winning North America’s 2008 truck of the year today, at the Moscow motor show, the Mazda CX-9 made its European debut. The seven-passengers SUV will be available with a 3.7 liter V6 engine that develops 273 hp and 366 Nm of torque. Mated to a six speed automatic transmission, the engine takes the Mazda CX-9 from 0 to 62 mph (100km/h) in 10.1 seconds, while CO2 emissions are at 309g/Km. Mazda has really put all its efforts in this SUV, making sure that the car offers a quieter cabin, plenty of leg and head room and, of course, improved safety.

Read More: "Mazda CX-9 makes European debut at Moscow"

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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.

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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"

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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.

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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"

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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"

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Mazda started selling the Mazda2 five-door version back in Septmber and managed to sell 7,000 units, which raised Mazda’s share of the small car market in 2008 to 2.4 per cent. Today, Mazda UK announced the pricing for the new Mazda2 three-door version, which made its debut in March, at the Geneva Motor Show.

Pricing for the new car will start at £7,999 for the 1.3 liter petrol engine, which develops 75 hp. The most expensive version, the 103 hp 1.5 Sport starts at £11,399. Below you have a table with the pricing for all versions.

Mark Cameron, Mazda UK marketing director said that “the demand for the new Mazda2 5dr has been greater than we anticipated and the arrival of the new three-door model, with its special appeal to a different group of consumers, will accelerate sales to a much higher level”.

Read More: "Mazda2 three-doors pricing announced (UK)"

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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"

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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"

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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"

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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"

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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"

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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"

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The Mazda Furai Concept was unveiled today at the Detroit Auto Show. We’ve already written about this car, you can check our previous post here. Created as a celebration of Mazda’s rotary engine 40 years anniversary, Furai is Japanese for “the sound of wind” and is seen as the future on environmentally-friendly sports cars. The car is built to operate on 100% ethanol, however, Mazda and its partner, BP, are currently researching other fuel alternatives, such as ethanol/gasoline blends like E10.

Powered by the 450 hp RENESIS-based R20B three-rotor rotary engine, the Mazda Furai is based on a Courage C65 chassis and, featuring racing technologies, is able to reach over 180 mph top speed.

“The Mazda design and R&D teams worked closely with Swift Engineering to refine the aerodynamic characteristics, assuring that Furai remains glued to the ground at high speeds. Through its existing relationship with Swift Engineering, forged through development of the Mazda/Cosworth-powered Champ Car Atlantic single-seater chassis, the team used complex Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software to tune various Nagare design elements to function at a high degree of efficiency. Drag, downforce, lift and overall aesthetics were all key considerations.”

More photos after the jump.
Read More: "Detroit Auto Show: Mazda Furai Concept"

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Besides the Mazda Taiki Concept, which will make its American debut, the Mazda Furai Concept will also be on display at the Detroit Auto Show. Today, Mazda released a teaser photo of the concept car, whose name in Japanese means “Sound of Wind” and which is based on a Courage C65 chassis and powered by the 450-hp three-rotor rotary engine.

From the press release: “Inspired by the fact that, on any given weekend, there are more Mazdas and Mazda-powered cars road-raced in the United States than any other brand, the Mazda Furai is the sort of car that could only come from a company that incorporates the “Soul of a Sports Car” into everything it builds, but with an eye toward the future and the environment through the use of cellulosic ethanol E100 produced by British Petroleum (BP).”

Read the full press release after the jump.

Read More: "Mazda Furai Concept to debut at the Detroit Auto Show"

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