Mazda 6 News

Despite tasty hero cars led by the F-Type Jaguar and Aston Martin One-77, it's the real world cars that are of most interest.The return of the Nissan Pulsar, the unveiling of the Toyota Corolla and the first Sydney appearance of the Mazda6 and Mitsubishi Mirage are all proof that ordinary customers now rule the roost. As car sales track strongly towards an all-time record, it's real people spending their own money who are the real target for carmakers."If you get the product right, everything else follows," the top Aussie at Toyota Australia, Dave Buttner, tells Carsguide. "All the growth in sales this year is with private buyers, as government departments have been winding back and fleet sales are also down. Private buyers are confident and they are spending on the second-biggest purchase after their house."Nissan confirmed its commitment to the new-age PUlsar with a $19,990 starting price and a SSS under lights. "Pulsar is back and we have big plans," Bill Peffer, managing director of Nissan Australia, tells Carsguide.For Mazda, the new 6 is its first all-new arrival since the GFC and a pointer to the replacement for the top selling Mazda3. "You can see now where we're going," Doug Dickson, MD of Mazda Australia, says. And the baby Mirage? "It's something new for us, and it's going to bring a lot of people to the brand. I reckon we'll sell heaps," Mitsubishi marketing chief Paul Unerkov laughs. 

Ten years since it revitalised the moribund mid-size class, the Mazda 6 has never looked so good.

The Mazda6 - due in Australia in March 2013 - stores the braking energy in capacitors. The benefit of capacitors include being a fraction of the weight of batteries and the ability to quickly charge and discharge.The capacitors are marketed under the "i-Eloop'' name and work in conjunction with Mazda's "iStop'' stop-start system. Stop-start turns the engine off when the car is stationary. The stored energy is generally used to restart the engine and help run the airconditioning and audio functions.But Mazda's system uses a different technique to restart the engine. All the capacitor's power goes into maintaining ventilation, audio and other electrical features while the car is stationary. iStop, which is standard on the Mazda3 SP20 and CX-5, aims to reduce emissions and fuel consumption.Mazda Australia spokesman Steve Maciver says iStop and i-Eloop are the second "building blocks'' of Mazda's goal to maximise fuel efficiency. "The first was SkyActiv engines and transmissions,'' he says. "Now we're introducing the next step which is to use regenerative braking to further cut emissions and fuel consumption."We expect these to be rolled out on future models.''Both models of the next Mazda6 will have the "i-Eloop'' regenerative braking system. Mr Maciver says the new model will be available from launch as a sedan or wagon. "There is no hatch,'' he says. "Our research found that the majority of buyers of the hatch bought it for its coupe styling. Only a small fraction bought it for its larger boot access."The next sedan and wagon have a more coupe-like style than the current model.'' Mazda has dropped the liftback from its global production. The Mazda6 will also introduce the SkyActiv 2.5-litre petrol engine, a bigger version of the 2-litre now fitted to the Mazda3 SP20 and CX-5.It runs on standard unleaded petrol and delivers 138kW/250Nm - up 13kW/24Nm on the current 2.5-litre engine. The 2.2-litre diesel is shared with the CX-5 and has 129kW/420Nm. For the first time, it will go into a Mazda passenger car with an automatic transmission.* Regenerative braking systems, now common on many vehicles, use a generator to create electricity as a car brakes or coasts. This electricity either tops up the car's existing battery or stores it in additional batteries. 

Unveiled early this morning at the Moscow motor show, the third generation Mazda 6 could prove as bracing a tonic as its forebear.

Celebrations as the first Mazda 6 rolls off the factory line - festooned with tinsel.

The first Mazda 6 off the production line is a wagon, and Mazda has released an official image of the Mazda 6 wagon as part of the celebrations at their Japanese plant.

We've been drip-fed tidbits of the new Mazda 6, but a leaked image early today gave a clearer view, which was followed by Mazda releasing three official images.

Mazda has announced the production of the new generation 2014 Mazda 6, whose design elements will be strongly influenced by the Takeri concept car that's been kicking around for a few years now.

Chief designer Akira Tamatani says the Takeri-based next-generation Mazda 6 is not likely to include a hatch in its model line-up.

One of 52 world premieres at Tokyo motor show - 26 of them passenger cars - Mazda's next 6 sedan is still called the Takeri concept car for now but it is set to be one of the stars