Archive for Mazda

Thanks to the potentially snowy terrain, alot of car manufacturers have been unveiling SUV or SUV crossovers or at least vehicles with all-wheel drive at the 2008 Moscow International Motor Show and Mazda is one of them, with the Mazda Kazamai Crossover.

According to Mazda, Kazamai means “swirling crosswinds” in Japanese, and this serves as the design theme for this concept. Like all of its recent concept cars it looks like a very alien form. Mazda says it aimed to give the Kazamai aerodynamics that are 10% better than other vehicles in its class. There is also a focus on making the car lightweight. The chassis, bonnet and engine block are made of either aluminium or an aluminium alloy.

A production crossover based on the Kazamai will be powered by a next generation a 2.0 liter direct injection petrol engine mated to a 6-speed auto via an all-wheel drive system. Mazda claims a possible 30% fuel consumption savings over the current MZR 2.0 liter petrol engine.

Look for a full hi-res gallery after the jump.

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Mazda has released photos of the new Ford Kuga platform based compact SUV concept to be unveiled at the 2008 Moscow Motor Show. The 3-door compact SUV concept is called the Mazda Kazamai, which means swirling crosswinds in Japanese. Attention is immediately grabbed by the large 22 inch bling bling turbine-style wheels and the cars pouncing stance. The Moscow show will start on the 26th of August 2008.

Two more images after the jump.

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Mazda has released full details and photos of the earlier previewed new Mazda Biante MPV. The Biante was developed exclusively for the Japanese market so I doubt it will go anywhere officially, but Naza World may bring it in as a grey import since it launched a slew of Mazda models recently.

More details after the jump.

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Mazda Japan has started publicroad tests of the Mazda Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid, after only recently getting approval from Japans Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT). After road tests are finished, Mazda plans to start commercial leasing of the hydrogen-powered hybrid MPV in Japan by the end of the 2008 financial year.

The Mazda Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid is powered by a Mazda Hydrogen Rotary engine that can run on either petrol or hydrogen, switchable via the push of a button. The hybrid rotary powertrain can produce 147 horsepower, about 40% more than the version of the engine in the Mazda RX-8 Hydrogen RE. Driving using only hydrogen stored in the on-board 35 MPa high-pressure tank achieves a maximum range of 200km.

View images of the Premacy Hydrogen RE after the jump.

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Mazda has announced the world’s first idle-start-stop system that restarts the engine without the use of a special starter, and will put the system into one of its production cars in 2009.

The proprietary system called the Smart Idle Stop System restarts the engine by injecting fuel via DISI direct injection into the cylinder and igniting it to force the piston down instead of using a conventional starter like other idle-stop systems. Mazda claims this results in a quieter and quicker restarting of the engine.

When the SISS system stops the engine, it makes sure the pistons that are in the compression stroke and expansion stroke are stopped in the position that creates the right balance of air volume to ensure a smooth automatic restart. The starting process then rotates the engine slightly backward, after of which normal ignition systems take over and the engine moves forward as normal.

Mazda also announced plans to reduce vehicle fuel consumption across its range by 30% by the year 2015. By 2011, all new gasoline engines will incorporate DISI direct injection. From 2011 onwards, Mazda will also introduce new diesel engines. The new 16X RENESIS rotary engine will see an introduction in the early 2010s.

Mazda has released a sketch of the upcoming Mazda compact SUV that is scheduled to be unveiled at the 2008 Moscow Motor Show. The compact SUV will most likely be based on the same platform as the Ford Kuga and will be smaller than the Mazda CX-7.

A Moscow world premiere location was deemed suitable because of the popularity of SUVs in Russia, with SUVs taking up 20% of total market share. It is also a rapidly growing market.

As mentioned before, the new Mazda SUV’s styling will be heavily influenced by the Nagare series of concept cars which consist of the Nagare, Ryuga, Hakaze, Taiki and Furai. Nagare means “flow”, and is meant to take inspiration from the flow of natural elements. This new Mazda SUV will have a “crosswinds” theme.

The Moscow show starts on the 26th of August for the media, and opens for the public on the 29th of August until the 7th of September 2008. We may get more teasers of this new Mazda SUV before the motorshow dates.

Two more sketches after the jump.

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Mazda will be unveiling two concept cars this year that will make it to the production lines. First will be the Mazda 1, a small city car that will be the first production Mazda to use design cues that Mazda showcased with its alien-like Nagare line of concept cars last year. The Mazda 1 concept will be displayed at the 2008 Paris Motor Show, with perhaps a 2010 model year production version.

Next is a Mazda small crossover SUV, most likely based on the Ford Kuga. It will likely be built on a jacked up Mazda 3 platform - perhaps called the Mazda CX-5? This concept will be displayed at the 2008 Moscow Motor Show, and will also take styling cues from the Nagare Concepts.

A world premiere at Moscow is interesting, but not surprising since analysts say Russia will soon overtake Germany as the biggest passenger vehicle market in Europe.

Mazda has launched a new JDM-only MPV called the Mazda Biante. It’s an MPV designed to have a very tall interior roof, which is useful for those who have difficulties bending their backs when getting into the rear seats of MPVs with low interior roofs.

Mazda has not released any other information on the Biante other than a few photos, but expect the Biante to use similiar engines as the Mazda 8 and the Mazda CX-7 - this would mean the 2.3 liter turbocharged DISI engine or a similiar engine based on the new 2.5 liter engines which replace the old 2.3 liter engines.

Although the Mazda Biante is currently JDM-only, restyled versions could make it out of the Japanese market if Mazda deems it viable.

View more photos after the jump.

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Mazda has unveiled the North American domestic market version of its new second generation Mazda 6. More details are to come later, but from the initial press release we know that the North American version has slightly different styling on the front and rear end, and the option for a large 3.7 liter V6 engine mated to a 6-speed auto as the flagship model. The other engine variant is the 2.5 liter inline-4 engine mated to a 5-speed auto. More details to come when Mazda issues a full press kit.

More images after the jump.

Related Posts:
Mazda Atenza Mazdaspeed Concept
2008 Mazda 6 Details and Specifications
2008 Mazda 6 - second generation zoom-zoom!
First generation Mazda 6 2.0 and 2.3 Test Drive Review

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This photo has been circulating around the internet and many have been posting it up claiming that these are leaked promotional images of the new Proton MPV. It does look very good. But no, this is not the new Proton MPV. This is actually an unknown person’s Photoshop job of the Mazda 8, which Naza World started selling in Malaysia recently. If you look closely, the alloy wheels still have the Mazda logo on them.

But still, response to this design as a “Proton” in the many forums around the internet so far has been very good, and alot of people seem to believe it is Proton. Kudos to Mazda’s designers for designing a nice looking MPV, and congratulations to the creator for producing a Photoshop job that many believed.

Have a look at more shots of the Mazda 8 MPV after the jump.

Related Links:
Mazda Hong Kong’s Mazda 8 page
Mazda Japan’s Mazda MPV page
First sighting of new Proton MPV-related test mule
Proton MPV due in early 2009

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