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Toyota/Mazda factory will reportedly be in Alabama or North Carolina

The Toyota/Mazda factory sweepstakes appear to be nearing a conclusion as Bloomberg and Automotive News are reporting the location has been narrowed down to either North Carolina or Alabama. The joint venture plant worth $1.6 billion would add 4,000 jobs to whichever state lands it. To even be considered, Toyota and Mazda have reportedly sought a $1 billion incentive package from interested states in the form of tax breaks and other support. At least 15 states had apparently been jockeying for the factory, including Mississippi, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Texas and South Carolina. Toyota presently has an engine factory near Huntsville, Ala. The state is also currently home to Honda, Hyundai and Mercedes-Benz assembly plants. North Carolina currently does not have a car manufacturing plant. This would also represent Mazda's return to American manufacturing, as its present lineup of cars and crossovers is produced in Japan. The company had previously built cars in the United States along with its former partner Ford. Related Video:

Mazda explains the thinking behind the MX-30's small battery pack

Mazda's first production-bound electric car, the MX-30, relies on a 35.5-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack for power. That's relatively small, but the Japanese firm argued it's exactly what the model needs to let motorists drive electric while keeping their environmental footprint in check. Christian Schultze, head of Mazda's European research and development center, told Automotive News Europe the MX-30's battery is responsibly-sized. He explained engineers took a variety of factors into account when debating kilowatt-hours, including how much energy is required to build the pack, how much electricity is needed for a full charge, and the environmental impact of replacing the battery, which Mazda expects could be necessary after the MX-30 has covered about 100,000 miles. Sticking with a smaller pack yields total CO2 emissions on par with a turbodiesel-powered Mazda3. In contrast, using a 95-kilowatt-hour battery (which is close to what Tesla's bigger models use) would have increased the MX-30's life-long CO2 output considerably by requiring more energy to build, and needing far more electricity to achieve a 100% charge. We're not quite sure that math or battery longevity assumption hold up under scrutiny. In any case, small is the direction Mazda decided to go. The trade-off is that the MX-30 (pictured) is expected to drive for about 124 miles between charges, and that figure was achieved on the hugely optimistic WLTP testing cycle; real-world mileage will be lower. That's hardly a jaw-dropping number, and the crossover doesn't qualify for the coveted long-range label, but Schultze told British magazine Autocar it's more than enough to cover the daily transportation requirements of the average European motorist, which stands at a total of 31 miles. That's significant, because Europe will be one of the MX-30's key markets. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in early 2021. Mazda hasn't announced whether it will sell the MX-30 in the United States, or if it will wait until it has a longer-range electric car to enter the segment.

Mazda 767B crashes during Goodwood, suffers heavy damage [UPDATE]

Update: Autoblog has learned that the Mazda 767B wrecked at Goodwood was being driven by Seniji Hoshino. He was not seriously harmed and was able to walk away from the crash. Hoshino's car was chassis 001 and scored a win in the GTP class of the 1989 24 Hours of Le Mans. A Mazda 767B Group C racer suffered a crash the Goodwood Festival of Speed that tore off the rear wing and did some fairly serious looking front end damage. According to Jalopnik, the racer was taking a timed run during the event's famous hillclimb when it went into the hay bales. The driver is reportedly okay, though. We've reached out to Mazda and Goodwood sources to identify the pilot in question, with no luck so far. Look for an updated post later in the day if we get any answers on that front. Images of the sad wreck seem to be populating on Twitter feeds as we write this. The racing Mazda clearly suffered a big hit today; painful to look at even after the fact. But we're not sure if the damage is beyond the abilities of skilled factory workmen to fix. Our collective fingers are crossed. Mazda has a major presence at Goodwood this year, including the event's art installation. Among all of its vehicles, there are two privately owned 767Bs. These racers have a four-rotor engine, said to be good for more than 600 horsepower in racing trim, and are predecessors to the famous 787B that scored an overall win in the 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.