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Mazda goes on engineer hiring binge as recovery picks up speed

Japan's larger automakers - companies like Toyota, Honda and Nissan - have tremendous engineering talent at their disposal. That's largely because, selling as many cars as they do, they've got more revenues to tap into. Logic might dictate, then, that smaller automakers like Mazda, which no longer has the deep pockets afforded to it by its former partnership with Ford, might have less of a budget and workforce for engineering. But Mazda has been raking in record profits, and it plans on cashing those revenues in by hiring a substantial new pool of engineers.
According to Automotive News, Mazda is preparing to hire as many as 185 new engineers over the next two years - almost four times as many as the 50 engineers it previously targeted. Many of those engineers will be put to work developing the second-generation, Skyactiv 2 technologies that are on the drawing board while the first round of Skyactiv features are still being rolled out.
The boost in recruitment is enabled by a positive fiscal year that ended last March, marking the first profits Mazda had logged in four years. Sources anticipate that the fiscal year culminating at the end of this month will mark the company's most profitable yet, netting over a billion dollars to eclipse the fiscal year that ended in 2008 when it recorded $872.5 million in profits.

Mazda CX-5 facelift leaks online

It's only been a couple of years since Mazda introduced its CX-5 crossover, so it's hardly in need of replacement just yet. But to keep it fresh, the Japanese automaker is apparently preparing to roll out a facelift for the compact crossover.
The facelifted model is expected to debut at the LA Auto Show later this month, but before it does, a handful of images - apparently scanned from a brochure - have leaked out online. From what we can see, it looks like the revised CX-5 features a new grille with horizontal bars, LED headlamps derived from those on the new Mazda2, new fog light surrounds, new taillight graphics and, of course, new wheels.
Unfortunately we can't see what's going on inside, but it'd be safe to bet that, along with the revised exterior detailing, Mazda's probably taken the opportunity to update the interior as well.

Sell your own: 2012 Mazda CX-9 AWD

Looking to sell your car? We make it both easy and free. Quickly create listings with up to six photos and reach millions of buyers. Log in and create your free listings. If your only connection to Mazda is the MX-5 Miata, know there's more to the Hiroshima-based carmaker than "zoom" - there's also room. The 3-row CX-9 is the roomiest Mazda, 200 inches long with some 100 cubic feet of cargo space. The CX-9 wasn't Mazda's first stab at a crossover. Its original MPV was more crossover than minivan, with a RWD/AWD platform and – get this! – an available manual trans. While the MPV morphed into a more conventional minivan, Mazda introduced the CX-7, CX-9, CX-5 and – most recently – the subcompact CX-3. Although the CX-7 is no more, the crossover segment remains hot. This for-sale CX-9 is from the model's previous generation. It's also the beneficiary of the last V6, as its more upscale replacement boasts only a turbocharged four. We like both, but the V6 is relatively refined. And this car's price of $16,000 sure beats a new CX-9's $36,000. It's almost $2K above an average selling price, but with a clean Carfax and its 60K major service behind it (and some price flexibility) this CX-9 could provide some voluminous value. Related Video: