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Mazda6 diesel delayed until April

Diesel enthusiasts waiting on the new Skyactiv-D-powered Mazda6 will have to wait a bit longer. The shapely fuel-efficient four-door has just had its North American launch pushed back to April, due to delays in emissions testing. Mazda had originally planned to launch the Mazda6 diesel before the end of this year, making the four- to five-month delay a rather serious one.
Mazda's senior vice president of US operations, Robert Davis, told Mazda employees in a letter obtained by Automotive News that, "final certification testing - the results of which are looking encouraging - is taking longer than we had initially expected." Following this letter, Mazda made an official announcement:
"The on-sale date for Mazda6 SKYACTIV-D clean-diesel has been moved to late-Spring 2014, to accommodate final emissions testing and certification. We are pleased with the ongoing development and are excited to launch this much-anticipated vehicle in North America. 2014 Mazda6 sales continue to exceed both our expectations and our production abilities, and supplies of the car are short at dealers across the U.S. More information on the SKYACTIV-D clean diesel Mazda6 will be available closer to the on-sale date."

Mazda Furai concept designer talks about his car's passing

Last week, there was mourning at the Autoblog offices as word trickled in that the Mazda Furai concept - one of the coolest, best-looking showcars to grace an auto show stage since the wild and crazy 1960s -had been killed. It was killed on the track with the folks from Top Gear in attendance. We're sure the gods of driving would have wanted it to die on a circuit, but that doesn't make its fiery passing any easier to deal with.
The Furai is the rare concept car that had a lasting appeal with enthusiasts, partly because it was a real, functioning racecar, complete with a wacky three-rotor Wankel engine and cutting-edge Nagare design. Now that it's gone, though, Road & Track's Mallory McMorrow, who was an intern at Mazda Design when the Furai was being styled in 2007, has published an interview with one of the men who penned the Mazda showcar's striking exterior, Carlos Salaff. It's a great piece on the emotional connection between a designer and his creation, and one you should take the time to read. Click on over to R&T for the full story.

Mazda zooms into SEMA 2016 with lighter MX-5 Speedster and RF Kuro concepts

It's almost time for the 2016 SEMA aftermarket show again, if you haven't guessed already by the steady parade of early looks at various show cars. Mazda's MX-5 creations are generally a highlight for us, unapologetic Miata junkies that we are. This year's cars should be just as exciting as last year's, one being a revision of last year's Speedster concept and the other based on the brand new, sexy RF retractable targa top model. Both SEMA MX-5s were designed and built in-house at Mazda's Irvine design studio. This year's Speedster is somehow even lighter than before. Mazda carved 100 pounds out of it, making it a staggering 350 pounds less than a production soft top model. It's also been repainted in a color called "White Ether", which we're imagining looks something like the "Blue Ether" paintjob on last year's highly reflective Speedster minus the blue tint. Mazda will probably never sell a roofless Miata or anything this lightweight, but maybe it should. It looks like it'd be a blast to drive at a road course. And then there's the RF Kuro concept, the first RF-based SEMA show car, which is shown in the teaser above. It doesn't seem terribly extreme, to be honest. It's wearing a matte charcoal paint, which explains the "Kuro" moniker – kuro means "charcoal" in Japanese. A set of 17-inch RAYS forged wheels and MX-5 Cup suspension, and that's about it. Not to knock it; the RF is a sexy looking thing as it sits, and Cup suspension should make it handle even more like a go-kart. Of course, both concepts will be fully revealed at the show next month in Las Vegas. Stay tuned for a dose of concept Miata hotness.Related Video: