1989 Mazda Rx-7 Convertible Automatic - Rare - Super Runner! on 2040-cars

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Mazda CX-3 to be diesel-only in Japanese home market

Diesel power. It's not just for Europeans anymore. In fact, when Mazda introduces its new CX-3 compact crossover to its home market of Japan, the model will be exclusively diesel-powered, Reuters says, citing remarks made by Mazda CEO Masamichi Kogai. Consistent with its recent push for better fuel economy, Mazda is embracing diesel power as a way to boost fuel-economy for cars that may be larger than the compact variety. Mazda, which plans to make about 150,000 gas- and diesel-powered CX-3s for global consumption per year, is pricing the diesel CX-3 at about $20,000 in Japan. Diesel sales accounted for less than three percent of new-vehicle sales in Japan last year, so there's a risk to Mazda's strategy. But the automaker, which is the fifth-largest in Japan, says performance and noise (and smoke) issues largely associated with diesel powertrains in the past have largely been eliminated. In all, Mazda expects worldwide sales for the year ending March 31 to rise almost five percent from a year earlier to about 1.4 million units. Mazda showed off an early version of the CX-3 at the Los Angeles Auto Show last November, though North American versions of the model will indeed be gas-powered. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2016 Mazda CX-3: LA 2014 View 17 Photos News Source: Reuters Green Mazda Diesel Vehicles mazda cx-3

Recharge Wrap-up: BYD sales surge, new Mazda MX-5, plug-in VW Passat

BYD has enjoyed a tremendous leap in sales since last year, according to Want China Times. Sales from January to April were ten times that of the same period last year, with much of the credit going to government subsidies for clean cars. BYD claims, though, that battery production is limiting the number of vehicles it sells, and that by increasing that production capacity, it will see even more success. BYD's Qin plug-in hybrid, introduced in December, has already sold 4,500 units with another 8,000 orders already placed. Read more here. Mazda will reveal the fourth generation of its MX-5 roadster in September. To celebrate the car's 25th anniversary, the all-new two-seat convertible will debut during simultaneous private events in Spain, Japan and the US on September 3 and 4. Furthermore, the new Miata will be the center of a more public event in Barcelona on September 6. For fans in the US, Mazda will hold a Miatas at Mazda Raceway event from September 5 to 7. The 2016 MX-5 promises to continue to offer a lightweight, balanced design for fun and efficiency. The new Volkswagen Passat will feature a plug-in hybrid version. Volkswagen confirmed the Passat PHEV for Europe at the model's unveiling at the Volkswagen Design Centre in Potsdam, Germany. The plug-in Passat uses a 154-horsepower TSI engine and an 80-kilowatt electric motor for a total output of 208 horsepower. With a full charge, it can travel up to 31 miles on electricity alone. All versions of the eighth-generation Passat use stop-start and regenerative braking. Read more at Green Car Congress. BBC warns that the costs of charging an electric vehicle in the UK could surpass those of fueling a gasoline engine. Not so fast, says The Green Car Website. While the BBC cites charging services like Charge Master introducing fees for rapid charging making it cost about as much per mile to drive as traditional internal combustion engines. The Green Car Website points out that most people usually charge at home for much less, that paying for rapid charging is still not that expensive and that the BBC article misses the point about EVs, anyway. See the BBC article here or click here to read the rebuttal. News Source: Want China Times, Mazda, Volkswagen, BBC News, The Green Car Website via Charged, Green Car Congress Green Mazda Volkswagen Green Automakers Electric PHEV recharge wrapup qin

This California rally is vintage Japanese car heaven

What's so good about the future? This is what I was thinking when some folks at Mazda invited me and a handful of other journalists to join them on the second-annual Touge California. It's a rally for classic Japanese cars that covers a huge chunk of Southern California's twistier roads, where fans get to test their beloved machines. Oh, and it attracts swarms of admirers with cameras. "It is not a race. It is a vintage touring rally," said Ben Hsu, editor in chief of Japanese Nostalgic Car, and one of the coordinators of the event. "In Japan, touge most definitely refers to racing, whether timed, in touge battles, or drifting antics. Touge California was created to give drivers of Japanese classics a taste, as close as possible, of the types of roads their cars were forged on." Touge California was created to give drivers of Japanese classics a taste, as close as possible, of the types of roads their cars were forged on. We started the day on a mundane stop-and-go freeway drive from Mazda's Irvine headquarters to Escondido, me riding shotgun with my journalist co-driver in a 2016 Miata. But Mazda also brought along three heritage products on this trip – a 1985 RX-7 GSL-SE, a 1978 GLC three-door hatchback, and a 1975 REPU (rotary engined pickup) – serving as reminders of the company's history in the U.S. The group of Mazdas was joined in Escondido by many more Mazdas. And Toyotas, Hondas, Datsuns – so many 240Zs – and the odd Subaru and Mitsubishi. In total, 28 cars were at the start line. "We doubled the field this year, and made the route longer – 200 versus 120 miles," Hsu said. "We separated the cars into two run groups based on speed and a mix of makes and models." I spent the first part of the rally in the Mazda pickup to get a taste of rotary power. It was my first experience behind the wheel of a Wankel-powered vehicle, my first time driving a small Japanese truck from the '70s, and my God that thing has a lot of power. I had a few scares when I had to stand on the brakes, and I found the shift throw's immense length disconcerting – it felt like third gear engaged somewhere in front of the dashboard, with fourth somewhere in the bed. The truck was a great introduction to the rotary, however, and to '70s Japanese cars. Especially in Southern California, old Japanese cars aren't as novel to casual observers as they might be in other parts of the country.