Mazda 3 2011 News

More than 80 per cent of dog owners take their canine companions along in their vehicles.

The claimed 5.7L/100km efficiency from the high-tech manual-only 2.2-litre turbo diesel will make the Mazda 3 sedan and hatch the most fuel miserly models in Mazda's Australian range

Mazda is on a high right now after securing its best sales month in history in June with 8406 vehicles sold.

What should have been the main attraction in the car world was reduced to a sideshow as the heads of America's Big Three sat down in Detroit on the same day to beg for the billions they need to stay in business.There was plenty of shiny new stuff but all the talk was doom and gloom, even from car chiefs who do not have the same live-or-die pressures as General Motors, Ford and Chrysler."I think it is fair to say this is the worst we have seen," the head of the world's fifth-largest carmaker, Carlos Ghosn of the Nissan- Renault alliance, says as he delivers the keynote speech at the opening of LA '08."And we are not certain. Is this the beginning of the end, or the end of the beginning?", Ghosn says of the critical cash crisis which is affecting nearly everyone in the car world.Still, there is plenty of new stuff and news on the strangely subdued stands in downtown LA.The latest Ford Mustang, for a start.And then the world debut of the latest Mazda3 and Lexus RX, the great looking new Nissan 370Z, the updated Porsche Cayman and Boxster, and even a droptop Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4.It's no surprise, either, that some of the special impact in LA is reserved for cars which are chasing the elusive path to a future beyond petrol that satisfies American lawmakers' deepening desire for transport without emissions.The Mini E is the obvious champion, but LA also has the electric Mitsubishi i-MIEV which is likely to become Australia's first plug-and- go volt car, and all sorts of new-and-old battery-powered concept cars from the Big Three and a growing number of hybrid production cars including the Mondeo-sized Ford Fusion.As well as the radical looking Honda FC Sport Concept, which was done to prove that a hydrogen-powered future car does not have to look as boring or family as the company's upcoming Insight or the benchmark Toyota Prius.The show is a mis-hit for General Motors, which canned its concepts and parties, although Ford stays totally committed with a Mustang which makes the running for an event which typically draws around one million visitors in a city which is the car capital of the USA and, by extension, the world."I think there is a mixed emotion at the show," says J Mays (SUBS: CORRECT), the design director of Ford Motor Company."You still have to try and tug hard enough on the heart strings that people forget about the purse strings. It's a yin-and-yang situation."Looking over at his Mustang, and across to the Honda FC, Mays expresses what many people are thinking. Even at a time when it is more politically correct to attack the car chiefs, and their private- jet flights to Washington, than to talk about a show which takes another important step towards the world beyond petrol."Automobiles are escapism. It's not just transport," says Mays."People ask if it's appropriate to launch the Mustang at his time. Damn right it is. It puts a smile on your face and enhances your quality of life."That is definitely true of the Mustang, which still looks muscular and fresh despite a chassis which trails well behind the Ford Falcon, and the open-air Gallardo and even the second-generation Nissan Cube, which could just make it to Australia one day.And the 370Z looks tauter than today's 350, with the promise of more go and much better cabin quality, and the Mazda3 is fresh and happy.The Mini E looks just like the regular petrol-power car but is a milestone car which has the power and range to win people to electric."It's an important time in the history of the global car industry," says Carlos Ghosn.He worries about the impact of the global recession, and the money pressures on carmakers trying to evolve faster than ever before, and the challenges of safety and emission regulations.But, just like the cars on the LA Show stands, and the regular car people who flood in once the doors are open, he is bottom-line upbeat and bright."The one thing that is certain, absolutely certain, is that people will continue driving cars. Cars have no substitute. We have convergence on the issues, but divergence on the solutions," Ghosn says.And that is pretty much the way things looked in LA. 

The car industry uses a web of alliances to survive.Lust, affairs, one-night stands, engagements, marriages and divorces — it can be hard sharing your love. It can also be expensive, especially if the human analogy is applied to the car business.DaimlerChrysler's recent divorce cost the now-solo Daimler AG a cool $33 billion.Daimler and its former partner, now known by her maiden name of Chrysler Group, still share the kids.These include shared components and manufacturing, including the Chrysler Crossfire (based on the previous Mercedes-Benz SLK) and Jeep Grand Cherokee, which uses Mercedes' V6 diesel engine and transmission.Daimler-Benz and Chrysler courted in the late 1990s, sealing their association in 1998 with a new name, DaimlerChrysler.The marriage was mutually beneficial. Daimler gained economies of scale and a new customer for engines, transmissions and an outlet for its old platforms. The previous Mercedes E-Class shares the same platform as the Chrysler 300C.Chrysler gained unprecedented, cost-effective access to the drivetrains used to power its distinctively styled cars.Of the divorce, shareholders of Daimler- Chrysler spitefully said “I knew it wouldn't work”.Marriages may be difficult, but alliances are what keep many car companies afloat.All these inter-relationships are spurred by one goal — profit. So competitive is the car industry that every dollar counts.Making cars cheaper improves profits, even if that means relocating factories to countries with low labour costs, non-existent unions and tax-free government incentives.Few would know that 10 models on the Australian market are made in Thailand. South Africa makes five, there's one from the Czech Republic, three from Slovakia, one from Poland, four from Malaysia and one from Indonesia.Build quality in most cases is as good as you'd expect from a country-of-origin factory.The biggest difference is manufacturing costs. Building a Volkswagen Golf in Germany, for example, costs substantially more than building the same car in South Africa. Sharing components such as engines, transmissions, platforms and bodies with a rival company — or at least one perceived as being a rival — is big business.The platform of the Mazda3 is similar to the Volvo S40 and Ford Focus. Ford has a big chunk of Mazda's shares and owns Volvo outright.The Toyota Aygo, a one-litre hatch soon to be sold in Australia, is built in the Czech Republic with the Citroen C1 and Peugeot 107. The only differences are interior trim, grilles, head and tail lights. Everything else, except the badge, is identical.General Motors has a giant web of ownership, component sharing and minor shareholdings. It owns Saab and Hummer, and rebadges cars including the Daewoo Matiz as Chevrolets.GM owned 20 per cent of Fiat until it dissolved the relationship in 2005. But retains component sharing deals and owns 50 per cent of Fiat's JTD diesel engine technology.GM also has 3 per cent of Suzuki (it had 20 per cent until selling down in March 2006) and 7.9 per cent of Isuzu.This relationship crosses with Fiat. Suzuki buys Fiat diesel engines for its European cars but also buys diesels from the PSA group (owner of Peugeot and Citroen) and Renault. Fiat this year will also supply diesel engine's to Saab.The Suzuki Splash, to be launched in Europe later this year is based on the Swift/SX4 platform, but will be rebadged the Opel/Vauxhall Agila for European sales.Fiat sells the Suzuki SX4 as the Sedici in Europe.Suzuki also owns 11 per cent of GM-DAT, the Korean-based company that makes the Holden Epica, Captiva, Viva and Barina.GM sold its 20 per cent of Subaru parent, Fuji Heavy Industries, in 2005. Fuji bought back most of the shares, though Toyota bought in and now owns 8.7 per cent of the company.Toyota also owns Daihatsu and has a big stake in Yamaha. Yamaha has an engineering alliance with Toyota — twin-cam engine and multi-valve heads included — and recently created the V8 engine for Ford-owned Volvo.GM also gets its Saab plant in Sweden to make the Cadillac BLS mid-size car, alongside its Saab 9-3 and 9-5.The Hyundai Sonata's 2.4-litre engine is shared with the Jeep Compass, Dodge Caliber, Chrysler Sebring and Mitsubishi Outlander.Renault has an alliance with Nissan and owns Samsung (Korea) and has a joint venture with Mahindra (India).Porsche's Cayenne SUV is built in Volkswagen's factory in Slovakia alongside the Volkswagen Touareg and Audi Q7. Porsche's Cayman is built in Finland. That's just the tip of iceberg.Peyton Place has nothing on these guys.