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Mazda's EV resistance may mean CAFE trouble ahead

Is Skyactiv the limit for Mazda? The Japanese automaker has ridden its gas-powered engine technology platform to the upper end of fleetwide fuel economy among automakers in the US. But the company's lack of electrification, either hybrids of plug-in vehicles, combined with increasing sales of crossovers, may limit future fuel-efficiency gains, Automotive News reports. Mazda has no plans to add battery-electric variants across its product line, the publication says, citing comments from Mazda North America CEO Masahiro Moro. So far, the dependence on Skyactiv has worked well, as Mazda was the second automaker - after electric-vehicle maker Tesla Motors – to meet the US fuel-economy mandate of 34.1 miles per gallon for 2016. Additionally, Mazda plans to unveil the second-generation version of Skyactiv next year. Using a technology called "homogenous-charge compression ignition" (HCCI), Mazda's gas-powered engines will approximate the compression in diesel engines, boosting fuel economy accordingly. Because of that development, Mazda's Moro is "very confident" that the company will meet the US Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) mandate for 2021. With no plans for US plug-ins or hybrids (Mazda's only hybrid, a variant of the Mazda3, is sold in Japan), Moro is not so sure about meeting the 2025 CAFE mandate of 54.5 mpg (which equates to a "real world" fuel economy of about 40 mpg). Additionally, Mazda's "biggest regulatory headache" will be meeting California's mandate that 15 percent of the state's new-vehicle sales be zero-emissions within the next decade. In 2011, Mazda laid out its strategy of leaning on its Skyactiv technology instead of moving to drivetrain electrification as a way to boost fleetwide fuel economy, saying at the time that "you can't out-Toyota Toyota and you can't out-Honda Honda." The company also took a strong stance against even the idea of electrification in vehicles. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Mazda's model-year 2015 vehicles averaged 30.1 mpg, beating out Honda's 28.9 mpg, Subaru's 28.7 mpg, and Nissan's 28.3 mpg. Mazda's fleetwide fuel efficiency increased from 29.4 mpg for the 2014 model year, and from 28.1 for the 2013 model year, according to the EPA. Related Video: Featured Gallery Mazda3 SkyActiv-Hybrid View 21 Photos News Source: Automotive News-sub.req. Green Mazda Fuel Efficiency Green Automakers Electric Hybrid skyactiv mazda hybrid mazda electric car

Mazda ranks first for reliability in Consumer Reports, dethroning Toyota, Lexus

For time immemorial, or at least the past six years, Toyota and Lexus have sat at the top of Consumer Reports' annual survey of vehicle reliability. It was almost as much a given as blue skies and taxes. Not any more. Mazda has dethroned them both, ascending to the No. 1 spot for the first time. Mazda nabbed the top spot with powertrains and that used durable (and more fun) six-speed automatic transmissions instead of CVTs, which tend to be more fragile. Mazda also didn't rely on overly fancy infotainment systems, instead bucking industry trends with cockpits that discourage screen use during driving and encourage buttons and dials that can be handled without taking your eyes off the road. The most reliable Mazda was the MX-5 with a score of 98 out of 100, followed by the CX-30, CX-3, and CX-5, all scoring 85 or better. Overall, Toyota and Lexus still rank far above the average, taking the second and third spots respectively. Lexus was dragged down by problems pertaining to the LS, but CR didn't specify the nature of those issues. Buick was the most improved brand, jumping up 14 spots to claim fourth. Its show was attributed largely to the Encore, which received a score of 91. Honda moved up seven positions to round out the top five, but was denied a better position due to the Passport and Odyssey's scores in the mid-30s. Among European brands, Porsche ranked highest, at No. 9. BMW moved up five spots to 12th, while Audi kept its mid-pack position at 14th, and Mercedes brought up the rear among the German big three in 20th place. At the bottom of the list were Ford, Mini, Volkswagen, Tesla, and Lincoln falling 11 places to dead last. In particular, the Ford Explorer was called out for having the fewest points of any model, barely registering at all a score of 1, thanks to gremlins with engines, body, power equipment, electronics, and transmissions. Tesla's newly introduced Model Y crossover dragged down the electric carmaker's standing to the penultimate spot. Owners of the Model Y, which began production in January, have reported misaligned body panels that had to be fixed and mismatched paint including, in one case, human hair stuck in the paint, according to Consumer Reports. The Model Y finished with a "much worse than average" reliability rating. The rankings are taken annually based on a survey of 300,000 vehicles. Information from AP was used in this report.

Aussie Mazda MX-5 Miata specs leak suggests power loss

Mazda's 2016 MX-5 Miata reveal didn't include much in the way of specifications, but the car's debut seems to have blown the lid off of the rumormill, with the latest word out of Australia including fresh claims of curb weight and engine output.
Before delving into the findings from Motoring.com, we're going to take a moment to find a few grains of salt. It's not that we don't trust the Oz publication, it's just that we wouldn't be surprised to learn their car's specifications will vary from that of our eventual North American car.
Of course, we don't expect the footprint of the new ND model to itself to differ much - it will still be the most compact Miata ever - overall length is expected to check in at just over 154 inches - that's about 1.4 inches shorter than the original NA Miata and over 4 inches shorter than today's NC generation, yet it'll ride atop a longer wheelbase and be slightly wider while sitting lower to the ground.