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Mazda to relocate its US offices into Irvine's tallest building

Mazda is the latest foreign automaker to be moving its North American headquarters. Only this time, it's not moving further south. Instead, the Japanese automaker is simply relocating to another facility in Irvine, CA. In a little over a year from now, Mazda North American Operations will move to 200 Spectrum Center Drive (pictured in the rendering at right), taking up five of the 21 floors in Orange County's tallest building for a total of over 100,000 square feet of office space. It'll also take up half the lobby with vehicles on display and the exclusive naming rights on the top of the building. The facility, designed by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, boasts full glass walls from floor to ten-foot ceiling for uninterrupted 360-degree views. Mazda has been in its current US headquarters at 7755 Irvine Center Drive (pictured above) since 1987. The five-story building was specifically constructed for the purpose and was the tallest in Irvine at the time. Prior to that it was based in Compton from 1970. The move to the new facility is scheduled to take place in February, 2017. Mazda's announcement marks only the most recent of foreign automakers to relocate their North American headquarters. Toyota is moving to Texas, Subaru to Camden, Lotus to Ann Arbor, Daimler to Farmington Hills, and Mercedes-Benz to Atlanta (where Porsche recently relocated, as well). Cadillac also recently moved from GM's Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit to its new headquarters in New York. Hyundai and Kia also quarter their North American operations in Irvine, as does Aston Martin. Meanwhile Honda and Toyota (for the time being) are based less than an hour away in Torrance, and Mitsubishi halfway in between in Cypress. Though they no longer sell passenger cars in North America, Isuzu and Suzuki still operate their US bases in SoCal as well, in Anaheim and Brea, respectively – all municipalities located just south of Los Angeles. Nissan and Subaru also base their US operations outside of California, with head offices in Tennessee and New Jersey, respectively. Related Video: Mazda Set To Relocate North American Headquarters in 2017 - With 50 years of roots in Southern Calif., Irvine will remain 'home' for Mazda - IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) has spent the last three years bringing all-new, upscale vehicles to the U.S. and earning outstanding critical acclaim in the process.

Mazda's new Mexican plant capacity rises to 230,000

After the turmoil of last year, 2013 is getting off to a much better start for Mazda. The company has issued a release indicating that the forthcoming plant in Salamanca, Mexico has had its production capacity raised even though it isn't scheduled to go online until March 2014. The original plans called for a 140,000-unit capacity, 90,000 of that allotted for the Mazda2 and Mazda3, the remaining 50,000 for a small car Mazda would build for Toyota that would be based on the Mazda2. The new plans call for raising that by 90,000 units to a total of 230,000 units within two years, by the end of March 2016, and it looks like it will all go toward Mazda production to satisfy growing demand for Skyactiv vehciles. The Mexican plant's opening will be the return of Mazda manufacturing to North America, after Mazda6 production was moved back to Japan last year.
More good news for the company is that it projects 10 billion yen ($114 million) in net income for the financial year that will end in March. That would be a welcome turnaround from the 100-billion-yen loss in the previous financial year, part of a series of three annual losses in a four-year span.
You'll find the press release with the factory update below.

Jay Leno celebrates Mazda Miata's 25th birthday

Ask a car enthusiast what the best driver's car on the road is, and the Mazda MX-5 Miata is very likely to come up rather quickly. Unjustly saddled with a reputation as a "chick's car," the Miata has been, over its three generations, one of the finest driving instruments ever built - it's light, agile and rear-wheel drive with direct, snappy steering, an engine that revels in being revved and a precise, smooth-shifting transmission. The fact that it's ridiculously affordable and reliable is simply a bonus.
It should come as no surprise then, that a car with these traits has endured for 25 years, a milestone reached only by some of the most famous nameplates in the auto industry - Corvette, Mustang, F-150, SL, M3 and so on. To celebrate its 25th anniversary, Jay Leno spent some time with the little roadster that could, while also chatting with two of the Mazda employees that were central to the MX-5's arrival on the world's automotive scene, Bob Hall and Tom Matano.
Take a look below for the latest video from Jay Leno's Garage on the excellent Mazda MX-5 Miata.