Mazda Drops New Photos and Videos of CX-5 Compact Crossover

You've already had a quick sneak peek at the brand-new Mazda CX-5, but the Japanese automaker has published a new set of photos and videos of the small SUV while testing in Europe. While most images show the CX-5 in camouflage, we do get two new press pictures including a rear shot of the vehicle.

The new CX-5 replaces the Tribute, which itself was a rebadged Ford Escape, as Mazda tries to go against the likes of the Toyota RAV4 and the VW Tiguan in the small/compact SUV market with a more appropriate and modern proposal.

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Mazda Exec Says New CX-5 will Reach U.S. Shores in Early 2012 with Prices Starting from Around $20k,

It won't be long before we get our first intimate taste of the all-new Mazda CX-5 compact SUV at its world premiere in Frankfurt, but we now have some interesting news about the North American variant, courtesy of Hideaki Tanaka, manager of the CX-5 program.

During the first press test drive event of a pre-production model, Tanaka told Autonews that the CX-5 will arrive in the States early next year, adding that while Mazda has not finalized pricing and packaging, it will likely carry a base MSRP of around $20,000, close to $3,000 less than the larger CX-7 ($22,785 with delivery).

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Chilling Mazda MX-5 Touch and Roll Over Accident

The accident you are about to watch in the video after the break occurred during the third race of the Ma5da MX5 Mk1 Championship at the Snetterton circuit in the UK.

It all went down when the Jamie Ingram (car No.108) lost control of his Mk1 MX-5 and hit Mark Leach's blue MX-5 (car No.16), who at the time was passing on the right. Leach's car was launched into the air and then rolled over seven times before coming to halt.

Fortunately, despite the severity of the accident, Leach made it out alive but not without some injuries including a bruised lung, some whip lash, and a broken arm.

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It's the End of the Road for Mazda’s RX-8

Tis the end for Mazda's rotary-powered RX-8 sports car that has fallen victim to low sales and more importantly, stricter emissions standards. According to a report from Automotive News, production of the RX-8 stopped in early July while the remaining inventory will be sold by the end of this year.

The demise of the RX-8 was something we expected since Mazda stopped offering the car in Europe last year, after failing to meet the more strict EU emission standards. Last year, the Hiroshima-based company managed to deliver just 1,134 units, a 49% decrease compared to 2009, while sales in the first half of 2011 decreased by a further 21%.

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Video: A Lap of the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit in a Mazda MX-5 GT

The Ardennes Forest in Belgium is famous not just for the failed German offensive against the Allied forces, which signaled the beginning of the end for World War II and the fall of the Third Reich, but also for its Spa-Francorchamps circuit that is a place closely linked with Formula 1.

Spa includes one of the championship's most demanding corners, the flat-out Eau Rouge. With the F1 teams heading to Ardennes for the Belgium GP on August 26, Mazda has released a video with its race driver Mike Ticehurst guiding us through a lap behind the wheel of a 275HP MX-5 GT.

You can watch it right after the jump.

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Mazda’s Rotary Engine: Reports of its Demise Greatly Exaggerated?

Much has been said and written about Mazda’s rotary engine. The Hiroshima-based company is the last mass manufacturer who insists on using and developing Felix Wankel’s internal combustion engine that has done away with pistons for close to five decades.

However, Mazda will discontinue the sole model that is powered by a Wankel engine, the RX-8, at the end of 2011.

According to a report from Ward’s, the Japanese firm's executive officer for product planning and powertrain development, Kiyoshi Fujiwara, said that “there is a huge discussion” within the Japanese company about whether to continue its development or not.

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Revised Mazda2 First-Month Sales in Japan Exceed Initial Target by More than 100%

Mazda has announced that orders for the subtly revised Mazda Demio, or Mazda2 as is known overseas, in its first month of being available in Japan have far exceeded their initial target. Specifically, from June 30, when the Demio became available, until July 31, orders have reached 13,500 units, more than double Mazda’s initial estimate of 6,000. Read more »

European Premiere for Updated 2012 Mazda3 at Frankfurt Motor Show

Mazda's all-new CX-5 compact crossover (which we told you about earlier today) will be joined by the refreshed 2012 Mazda3 at the Japanese firm's Frankfurt Motor Show stand.

Revealed for the first time at the Toronto Show in Canada in February, which was followed by an appearance at the New York Auto Show in the U.S. earlier this year, the 2012 Mazda3 gains new and more fuel-efficient engines that deliver lower CO2 emissions.

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Official: Mazda Unveils New CX-5 Compact SUV

A little over a year after Mazda previewed the Minagi Concept at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, the Japanese company lifted the curtains off the production version of its compact SUV that we will come to know as the CX-5.

The world premiere of the CX-5 will take place at the 64th Frankfurt Motor Show that opens on September 13 and will go on sale in early 2012.

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New Mazda MX-5 and Mazda2 Sport Black Editions Inspired by GT Race Car

The 275-horsepower Mazda MX-5 GT racecar, which competes in the 2011 Britcar Production GTN Championship, has inspired the Japanese firm's UK division to develop a pair of limited edition models based on the MX-5 and the Mazda2 for the local market.

The word "inspired" should be taken very loosely as the Sport Black Editions of the two Mazda models do not feature any performance upgrades and are all about bespoke color choices and additional standard features.

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Mazda Australia Spicing Up New BT-50 with Locally Developed Accessories

When the new generation of the 2012 Ford Ranger’s Japanese sibling, the Mazda BT-50 pickup truck, goes on sale in Australia later this year, it will be available with a wide variety of locally designed and built genuine accessories, the company said today. Read more »

New Gen Y Buyer Survey Spells Trouble for Detroit

Auto pricing website TrueCar studied the car buying behaviour of four million Gen Y (18 to 27 year-old) over a twenty-four month period and here’s what they found.

Scion took the crown for top brand, with 37.4% of the market and for top model (the tC coupe), with 21.2%, while second place went to Mitsubishi (32.1%) and their Lancer sedan (20.3%).

Mazda was the third most visited brand for Gen Y buyers, though only 17th in terms of model. The top four vehicle choices were Japanese, with a German in seventh place and a South Korean in ninth.

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The...Lime Lantern: Mazda’s Special Edition MX-5 Roadster Coupe Karai

Another week, and rather than just another Mazda, it’s another MX-5 special edition. This one is called Karai, which according to the company is Japanese for ‘sharp’, and it comes to us from Mazda’s European division.

The Karai is based on the MX-5 Roadster coupe, which means it is fitted with a retractable hardtop. It boasts a unique lime-green paint called “Metal Green Metallic” for the body and contrasting glossy black finish for metal top, exterior mirrors, trim accents such as the front grille and fog lamp surrounds, as well as the 17-inch multispoke alloy wheels that are shod in low profile performance tires.

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Refreshed Mazda Demio goes on Sale in Japan

Mazda announced today that sales of the facelifted Mazda Demio, or Mazda2 as the rest of the world knows it, have begun in Japan. The new Mazda2 is the company’s supermini and the target sales for its home market is 6,000 units per month. Read more »

A Mazda MX-5 On Steroids: Australia’s V8 Engined Bullet Roadster

In the late ‘90s, Australian John Bettini unleashed onto the word the Bullet Roadster. What begin life as a heavily modified Mazda MX-5 with an RX-7 13B powerplant gradually evolved into a V8-engined monster like the one you see here that we found for sale in Queensland, Australia.

According to the seller, this was the fifth Bullet Roadster built and the first V8-engined one to roll out of the company’s then new Chinderah, NSW factory. It’s all hearsay, of course, but I’m willing to believe the words of a 62yo motoring enthusiast with arthritic knees. So here goes...

Bullet No. 5 was a special order from a man named George Covacic who supplied a 4.6-liter all-alloy, fuel injected V8 crate motor along with a Tremac 5-speed manual transmission and the differential from a Holden Commodore SS. Like all Bullet supercars, the brakes and suspension came from the Mazda RX-7.

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Mazda’s Legendary 787B Le-Mans Winner to Race at Goodwood

It’s been 20 years already, yet it feels like yesterday when Mazda in 1991 became the first, and to date, the only Japanese manufacturer to win the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race. The weapon of choice was the rotary-engine-powered 787B, which sported a carbonfibre body, an output of 700 PS and a 210 mph (338 km/h) top speed. Read more »

Mazda and Sumitomo to Open New Plant in Mexico, Sales Company in Brazil

Mazda Motor Corporation announced today that it is opening a new production facility in Mexico, and a sales company in Brazil, both in collaboration with Sumitomo. The Japanese manufacture proceeded with these moves in order to strengthen its presence in the rapidly growing Central and South American markets. Read more »

Sticker Shock: U.S. Used Car Prices Soar as Nation Tackles Weak Economy and More

Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. U.S. used car prices are up 30% over June 2010, in some cases besting Kelly Blue Book values by as much as 25%. Trade-ins are also up by 30% since this time last year.

A variety of factors, including an economy still reeling from the Global Financial Crisis, high gas prices and the Tōhoku earthquake, are thought to be responsible for the massive price rise.

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Mazda Expands CX-9 Lineup in Australia with Front-Wheel Drive Model

Given that are many buyers are not interested in the merits of all wheel drive when it comes to shopping crossovers, Mazda decided to expand the range of its 7-seater CX-9 in Australia with the addition of a front-wheel drive [FWD] only version available in a choice of two trim levels, Classic and Luxury.

Power for the FWD CX-9 continues to be provided by a 3.7-liter V6 engine producing 204kW (274HP) and 367Nm, mated to a 6-speed Activematic transmission. As you would expect, the FWD version is a tad more fuel efficient than the AWD model returning 11.0 lt/100km instead of 11.2lt/100km.

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Mazda Introduces Revised 2012 Demio with new SKYACTIV-G 1.3-Liter Engine in Japan

Mazda has just released a refreshed version of its Demio sub-compact car in its home market of Japan. The big news for the 2012MY Demio, which we know here as the Mazda2, is the introduction of the brand new “13-SKYACTIV” model grade equipped with a suite of fuel-saving technologies most important of which is the “SKYACTIV-G 1.3” 1.3-liter direct-injection gasoline engine.

The four-cylinder powerplant features a record high compression ratio of 14.0:1 and puts out 84-horsepower at 5,400 rpm and 112 Nm (82.6 lb-ft) of peak torque at 4,000 rpm. It is coupled to a standard Continuously Variable Transmission and according to the Japanese norms, it’s fuel economy is rated at 30km/lt (equal to 3.33 lt/100 km or 70.6 mpg US).

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