About 2 months ago, Mazda confirmed that it will be dropping its Nagare design theme, which was created by former design chief Laurens van den Acker. While the theme was only applied in full to one production car, the Mazda5, you saw the big “smiley” face influence all over Mazda’s lineup. Mazda’s new design chief, Ikuo Maeda, previously said that he is aiming for a more “Japanese Alfa Romeo” look and that means no smiley faces.

The company today unveiled a new concept called Shinari, a four-door-coupe study that shows the future design direction for the Japanese brand. Mazda said that it will use the word ‘Kodo’ (Japanese for soul of motion) to describe the new design language, which was created through a collaboration between Mazda’s styling studios in Germany, the United States and Japan.

“We want to play in the same group as BMW and Audi,” said Derek Jenkins, director of design for Mazda North America. “On fit and finish we want the same level of quality.”

Source: egmCarTech

Mazda plans to make much greater use of its Nagare design language on the lighter next-generation MX-5, due in 2012.

Mazda has been undergoing a ground-up rethink of its sports car strategy after concerns that the current MX-5 has become too heavy to stay true to the original car’s ethos.

The new model is seen as ideal candidate for the Nagare design language, which is inspired by nature — in particular, wind and flowing water — and produced five highly rated concepts in 2006 and 2007.

Nagare will not feature on any future Mazda concept cars (the firm will reveal a new design direction in the autumn) but it will still make it on to the firm’s upcoming production cars, including the newly launched 5.

The decision to apply it to that car was hotly contested inside the firm, because many felt the tall, slab-sided MPV was unworthy of the treatment.

Employing Nagare’s side panel creases should prove a more straightforward process on the MX-5 sports car.

The original MX-5 had a target weight of 1000kg during development, and Mazda has set itself the same goal for the new model. It is still evaluating engine options, but it’s almost certain to be one of the first models to get the firm’s Sky-G range of petrol motors; 1.6 and 1.8-litre variants are under consideration.

The chosen powerplant will be mated to a six-speed manual as standard. Mazda’s forthcoming dual-clutch unit — due on the 3 next year — is likely to be an option.

Source: AutoCar

One of our favorite sporty CUVs — the Mazda CX-7 — is due for a refresh and Mazda plans to take the wraps off the 2010 model at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month. In addition to receiving Mazda’s familiar “happy” family face and some new brightwork, the Euro-spec model gets a 2.2-liter turbo’d oil burner, as opposed to the US-version’s 2.3-liter turbo petrol plant. The MZR-CD 2.2-litre turbo-diesel, which makes a “meh” 170 hp and a “yowza” 295 lb-ft of torque, complies with the stringent Euro Stage 5 emissions. Still not quite as tough as US diesel standards, but getting warmer.

There’s no official word from Mazda about whether or not the US version will get the giant happy smiling face. 2010 CX-7s with the big happy face are already sitting on US lots. Though of course, no diesel. Make the jump for the press release.

Source Autoblog

The Mazda 3 hatchback family is being replaced in November’s Los Angeles motor show. It’s a four door for the non hatchbacks-obsessed, but we’ll see the five-door Euro-style Mazda 3 hatch a few weeks later at the 2008 Bologna motor show.
The new Mazda 3 is believed to be based on the engineering skeleton of a Ford Focus, so expect a front-wheel drive layout and a wide spread of diesel and petrol engines. However, Mazda is promising to repeat the Weight Watchers program of the 2 super mini to pick out unnecessary heft – to the benefit of economy and performance.

Source : carmagazine.co.uk

The Mazda Kiyora takes rain water collected on the roof and channels it through a carbon filter. It then takes that water and fills a purification bottle designed by Lifesaver. This bottle can then be used for drinking water.

But turning rainwater into drinking water is only one of the Kiyora’s tricks. The vehicle comes fitted with solar panels that provide electricity to the interior systems, and its seats are made by using only two components (the skeleton and a flexible textile), meaning that they use less materials than a standard seat. Finally, Mazda is working on developing a liquid-skin display system for the vehicle – something akin to the screen systems used in the film Minority Report:

“When the car is off, the IP looks like ice, frozen and hard. When the car is switched on, the display appears to turn into water. Information icons would appear and float downwards to pre-programmed positions in front of the driver. The driver would be able to move the icons around with his finger and could even organise them however he wished. He could lip through menus, select settings for temperature, and even send an email.”

Source : Inhabitat