The Mazda RX-8 is already in its fifth year of production and it still hasn’t lost most of its touch that brought it to the 10 Best Selection three times. Its chassis remains the same as it responses instantly to the desired actions of the driver. The RX-8 now may be 100 pounds heavier than the TT at 3060 pounds, however, this weight is better balanced from the front to rear. Its secret device, that brought Mazda incredible recognition for such innovation, the rotary engine, is located low and behind the front axle. This way, the RX-8 changes directions more quickly proven by its change-lane speed which is 4mph faster than the second-place Audi.

The 2007 version of this Mazda model is still being praised for being easy to drive fast as those who’ve driven it for a test drive all commended it for having responsive steering and low cowl height. The RX-8 still has great speed and it features a six-speed gearbox. Another great recognition it received is its being the only car that offers comfort to the rear seats.

The suspension of the RX-8 takes hits from the road like a “champion prizefighter,” according to one review. Because of that, it proved itself indeed the fastest car on real-world roads. All these goodies that are still packed in the renowned Mazda RX-8 still make it one of the finest vehicles of all times.

Let’s do a little backtracking since I’ve already mentioned Mazda’s use of the RENSIS engine on two of their models – the RX-8 Hydrogen and their Mazda 5 Hydrogen Rotary Hybrid Concept Vehicle.

The RENESIS engine is a unique powerplant that Mazda originally wanted to put in its Mazda RX-EVOLV concept vehicle, the supposed to be next big thing in the world of sports cars. With the installation of the RENESIS engine, Mazda sees that it will be able to bring to realization its Mazda RX-EVOLV.

RENESIS means Rotary Engine GENESIS. It is a twin-rotor engine that could deliver a power output of 280 horsepower, which is the highest output ever to be achieved by a normally aspirated rotary engine, and its revs up to an amazing 10,000 revolutions per minute.

This RENESIS engine has been developed and improved from the multiple side-port experimental rotary engine which produced power for the RX-01 concept sports car that had been unveiled 12 years ago, at the 1995 Tokyo Motor Show.

Now, this conceptualized engine of 1995 is being used today to power some of the revolutionary vehicles of Mazda like its RX-8 hydrogen and the Mazda 5 hydrogen rotary engine hybrid concept.

Mazda has recently provided duel-fuel Rx-8 hydrogen-petrol rotary engine to Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry to be used for their daily operations. Now, they are continuing with their research on hydrogen-powered engines as they promised during the Tokyo Motor Show in 2005 that they will be developing a hydrogen rotary hybrid version of the Mazda 5.

Under the hood of this Mazda 5 Hydrogen Rotary Hybrid Concept, Mazda has mounted the same duel-fuel, two-rotor hydrogen RENESIS like the one RX-8 Hydrogen has. During the said auto show, it was the first time that this concept had been demonstrated in a front-wheel drive application.

As suggested already, there are two fuel tanks present in the conceptualized Mazda 5 hydrogen rotary hybrid. The first one is a gas tanks that resides beneath the rear seat together with the battery, and the second one is a hydrogen tank in the back, which replaces the third row of seats.

It is this way that Mazda can materialize their concept of a vehicle running on either hydrogen or gasoline (which is already present in the RX-8 hydrogen). Drivers can easily change their power source with just a flick of a switch on the dashboard.

This Mazda 5 hydrogen rotary hybrid concept is even better than the RX-8 in terms of storage space as its hydrogen tank fills up almost the entire small trunk of the RX-8.

Mazda has finally verified that they will indeed be releasing a Mazda3 that would have a diesel engine. The Mazda3 Diesels will be available from September and it will be joining the Mazda6 Diesel to make Mazda the only import-only Japanese manufacturer offering Diesel powerplants.

The Mazda3 will be using basically the same Diesel engine that’s found in the Mazda6. It will have 105Kw of power and a torque reaching 360Nm, and will only be using 6 liters of diesel per 100 kilometers. The Japanese automaker said that they expect the Mzda3 Diesel to be their last diesel line up for some time.

Mazda has just recently celebrated their rotary engine’s 40^th anniversary and they will celebrate this conquered milestone by constructing 200 RX-8 Rotary Engine 40^th anniversary edition cars that would be sold in Japan.

These new models will be featuring leather and Alcantra interior and have special badgings as well. It will also have a retro-style contrast-stitched leather trim, which is intended to remind car enthusiasts of the classic Cosmo Sport.

The power output will basically be the same, standard RX-8 Type S (6MT) and Type E (6AT).

Ever since the day Mazda announced for the production of their redesigned Mazda2, they may have had doubts on whether it would be much appreciated or not but this did not stop them from pursuing their plans and so they hoped for the best. They were not disappointed as after a month of its release, the Mazda2 had already exceeded its company’s expectations (and the customers as well).

Mazda Motor Co. had just announced their sales and they were already able to reach 15,000 units of Mazda2 sold just between the period of July 5 – August 5, and they’re still counting. The Japanese automaker had just expected a sales of 5,000 units for the first month, thus the figure they now have is way beyond their expectations.

The good word about the Mazda2 is surely spreading fast as Mazda has also reported that the official website for the Mazda2 is drawing in a lot of traffic. This is a really good sign that the people’s interest level is not about to go down anytime soon, thus Mazda2 still has great potential for bringing in a lot of sales.

Now that it has garnered a lot of sales in just its first month, will Mazda finally decide on bringing it into the US shores?

Mazda Motor Corporation has provided Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) with one dual-fuel RX-8 hydrogen-petrol rotary engine.

This dual-fuel system allows car owners to choose between using either gasoline or hydrogen fuel, and that is with just a flick of a switch. METI will be using this RX-8 Hydrogen RE in their daily operations. This Mazda RX-8 rotary engine that has been delivered to METI marks the eight hydrogen rotary engine vehicle that has been rented out to government bodies and private enterprises and it is the first time that the central government of Japan will use such an innovative vehicle for their daily operations.

BMW’s Hydrogen 7 is the only other vehicle besides Mazda that has an internal combustion engine that could burn both gasoline and hydrogen. This is similarly used in small numbers as a technology demonstrator.

Mazda 6 will soon be showing off its new skin and it will take place this September at the Frankfurt Auto Show. It will appear in concept form this autumn and it will go on sale in the UK later this year.
 

Mazda promises that it will be longer, better looking, and will have better driving performance that could even compete with the likes of the new family car class leader Ford Mondeo. It will become another purveyor of its “Zoom-Zoom” image, with its sportiest styling of any car in the class with matching handling characteristics.

Mazda is already a part of the Ford’s empire but it was just recently that the Japanese automaker decided to significantly adapt Ford’s mechanical to fit its own purposes, instead of adapting them wholesale, and that’s what they also did with the new Mazda 6.

Mazda 6 shares the basic underbody structure of the Mondeo but of course, it’d still differ in some aspects. It will have its own stiffer chassis tuning, an array of petrol and diesel engines that could also be found in Ford models, and a cabin that looks a little like the Mondeo.

The new Ford-sourced 2.2-liter diesel engine will be the first oil-burning engine options and the petrol engines range from 1.8-2.3 liters.

The price range is about £15,000 for the standard Mazda 6 to £21,000 for the top versions of this model.