Mazda RX-8 2012 News

Manufacturers including BMW, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), Peugeot and Citroen have issued recalls via the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

Only a fraction of the 1.2 million cars on Australia roads with airbags that can spray shrapnel have been fixed, new figures show.

Tow truck operators are offering drivers at crash scenes prestige cars while repairs are carried out on their vehicles as an incentive to send them to panel beating shops linked to organised crime gangs. The criminals even pay excesses on policies to sweeten the deal - and then charge insurance companies up to $200 a day for car rentals.In another scam, the gangs are buying crashed luxury cars at auction, insuring them for full worth and then claiming the insurance in bogus crashes.The underhand practises are just some of those used in an industry plagued with criminal activity, prompting the New South Wales government's announcement last week of an inquiry into the smash repair business and insurance companies.THE PRESTIGE CAR LOAN BAIT"In the trade it's referred to as having the vehicle 'captured' and in many cases held hostage by the smash repairers," an industry source said of the tow truck bait. "In one case we were given a bill for $36,000 for seven days' car hire of a luxury Porsche."THE FAKE CRASH SCAMIn an effort to tackle the bogus crash scourge, undercover police attend car auctions posing as buyers to gather intelligence and make sure genuine buyers are not intimidated out of bidding for vehicles."The auctions have cleaned up a lot but we still go there undercover to keep an eye on what is going on because we know bikies and other gangs are involved in illegal activity in some of the motor trades," NSW Crime Squad boss Superintendent Arthur Katsogiannis said. Most insurance companies employ former NSW police officers to investigate fraudulent claims, staged accidents and theft of vehicles.It's estimated there is at least one bogus crash every day involving an over-insured prestige vehicles. "There are multiple claimers, whose names or families pop up constantly," an insurance industry source said. "Then there is the time and location of the accident, which is invariably at night in an isolated area."Typically, a staged accident involves buying a damaged high-end car cheaply at auction, patching it up just enough to get it roadworthy and then insuring it for a lot more than has been spent. It is then involved in an "accident" and written off, allowing the policy holder to make a tidy profit of between $20,000 and $70,000.On November 29 last year, a Sydney panel beating shop on the north shore was allegedly burnt down after the insurance company decided to repair a "staged" vehicle instead of writing it off. It's claimed the damaged Mazda RX8 was on the premises on Salisbury Rd, Asquith, when a fire broke about 10.30pm. After a three-month investigation police claim the business was torched in order to destroy the car. Five people have been charged. 

The new Mazda3 MPS could have diesel power in a radical rethink of the Japanese brand’s hot hatch. The shock revelation was made in Japan overnight by the global boss of Mazda, Masamichi Kogai.When asked about plans for the next Mazda3 MPS Kogai-san told Australian media on the eve of the Tokyo motor show: "The diesel engine has a very strong potential in the future … it’s a possibility."It is unclear whether the diesel version of the MPS would be the only engine available or an alternative to turbo petrol power, as is the case with the Volkswagen Golf which offers a hot hatch with a choice of fuels.But the 2.2-litre turbo diesel fitted to the CX-5 softroader fits neatly under the bonnet of the new Mazda3.Either way, a hot hatch version of the new Mazda3 is still at least two years away.Mazda is focusing its engineering resources into key models -- the new Mazda2 city hatch, the new CX-9 seven-seater SUV and the new MX-5 sports-car -- that will deliver sales volume and profit over the next two years.A baby SUV dubbed "CX-3" has reportedly been put on the back-burner while Mazda focuses its resources on these other models, and is said to now be at least three years away, meaning Mazda will be late with an entrant in one of the fastest growing market segments globally.The Mazda3 MPS is viewed by Mazda as a "nice to have, rather than a must have", say company insiders.Although Mazda is hugely successful in Australia, it has struggled to make a profit globally in recent years and is in a transition phase.It is one of the reasons Mazda fast-tracked the developed of the Mazda3 ahead of the Mazda2, because it generates more profit than its smaller sibling.Meanwhile a rotary engine is still being considered for a hydrogen-powered Mazda or to be used as a range extender on an upcoming electric vehicle.If the rotary engine is developed for these eco applications, it would open the door to being used in a sports car such as the modern version of the RX-7 or a successor to the RX-8.But Kogai-san said there were still no firm plans for a resurrection of the RX-7 despite a strong desire to revive the iconic sports-car.The Mazda rotary engine will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2017, the RX-7 will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2018, and Mazda as a company will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2020.Mazda built 811,634 two-seater RX-7 sports cars from 1978 to 2002, according to automotive history websites.The four-seater RX-8, which had rear-hinged "suicide" doors on either side, notched up 192,194 sales between 2003 and April 2012, but was not deemed successful enough to continue with a new model.Mazda says it has made more than 2 million rotary engines since the first rotary-powered Mazda Cosmo went on sale in 1963.The rotary engine was phased out in 2012 because its fuel consumption was relatively inefficient, and the engine itself was expensive to produce and had limited customer appeal.

Just as rear-wheel drive die-hard BMW prepares its first front-wheel drive models, Mazda could be plotting a return to the layout for future passenger vehicles.Mazda has never let go of rear-wheel drive for its sporty MX-5 and its light commercial BT-50 range, and Edmunds reports that there is a push from within the Japanese brand to revert to rear-drive for more mainstream models as a means of differentiation. Mazda, along with most other brands, abandoned rear-drive for its mainstream models in the early 1980s due to inherent cost, packaging, weight, and efficiency compromises. The last Mazda passenger car to send power to the rear wheels only was the top-line HE-generation 929 model, which bowed out in 1997.Nowadays, the mainstream Mazda2, Mazda3, and Mazda6 models are all front-drive, with the CX-5 and CX-9 SUVs also using a front-biased transverse engine layout.Rear-drive remains the accepted choice on a purely dynamic basis, with the likes of Porsche, Ferrari, and Lotus maintaining the layout as a design fundamental.A Mazda rear-wheel drive shift could enhance the brand’s appeal to enthusiast drivers, but the inherent challenges would need to be overcome to maintain mainstream appeal.Premium brands BMW and Mercedes-Benz have managed to remain successful with rear-drive mainstream models, and look to continue limiting front-drive options to the smaller, more cost-conscious ends of their respective ranges.Significantly, BMW and Mercedes’ big-selling rear drivers sit well up the price scale from any Mazda offering – helping to justify their expensive development. The Mazda push is reportedly coming from within its engineering department, but top management is said to be cold on the idea due to the cost of rejigging platforms to suit. Justification could come thanks to Alfa Romeo’s own desire for more rear-wheel drive models, considering the two brands’ existing relationship for the upcoming Alfa Spider/next MX-5 duo. It’s a long shot at this stage, with no official confirmation of such a strategy, but the rumoured replacement for the defunct RX-7 and RX-8 sports coupes would be a logical first step.This reporter is on Twitter: @Mal_Flynn 

   

Like the annual SEMA show in the US, this is where the carmakers can show extreme – and often unrealistic – concepts with no thought of them ever getting near a production line, although some will feed into the after-market and tuning fields. Nissan is always a star turn at Tokyo Auto Salon, and for 2012 will have 10 concepts on display, ranging from scorching performance cars to odd-pod electric vehicles and some strange takes on the light commercial field. A lot of the local attention will be focused on a 2013 Nissan GT-R with Track Pack – and sorry, Godzilla fans, it’s only for the Japanese market. But Nissan will also be highlighting its Nismo arm, including with the unlikely pairing of the performance brand  with the Nismo Leaf electric car and the Nismo Juke minivan concepts, as well as the more logical Nismo 370Z. Mazda is also presenting about 10 models, led by the led by a highly customised special edition of the new CX-5 compact crossover that will be launched in 2012 and promises to be a game-changer in the segment. The Mazda stand will also feature a car based on the Spirit R version of the rotary-engined RX-8 that will come to a production halt in 2012, sporting a lowered body on 20-in BBS alloy wheels with Brembo anchors. The Mazda3 (Axela in Japan) will be there in a special Sport Skyactiv edition with extra bodykit including front skirt and rear roof spoiler, and there will be two custom concepts based on the new Mazda2 – one featuring M’z bodykit. The MX-5 wil be there in a lowered racing livery version on 16-in Enkei alloy wheels and a MX-5 Black Tuned is based on the BlackTuned special edition. The Tokyo Auto Salon will be held from January 13-15. We’ll be bringing you news of more concepts as they line up… stay tuned.

Mazda has indicated it is considering putting rotary power back into a sports car, possibly in the form of a merger between the MX-5 and the RX-8. Mazda CEO Takashi Yamanouchi has repeatedly ensured the future of the rotary powerplant - despite the RX-8 production scheduled to end in 2012 - "we will continue the research on the rotary engine - we won't extinguish the flame of the rotary engine," he said.The joint-venture sports coupe developed by Toyota and Subaru has kept the door open for a rotary sports car from Mazda, including the possibility of a rotary-powered MX-5."That kind of product is iconic for our brand, so the current MX-5 or RX-8 we have decided in the future to maintain that kind of product, I can't say if they will be separate - they may be merged into one," the CEO says.Mazda Research and development director Hirotaka Kanazawa confirmed the next MX-5 would remain naturally-aspirated with a Skyactiv powerplant of similar outputs to the current car's 118kW/188Nm outputs (for example, the incoming CX-5 SUV has a direct-injection two-litre producing 114kW and 196Nm), but less burdened by weight.The modern-classic Mazda sportscar will be taken back to its roots, with weight reduction targets aimed at taking the 1135kg two-seater (in its lightest guise) below a one tonne kerb weight, while retaining a soft top and hard top model."We want to go back to the lightweight sports origins, the power is not so much, it is easy to handle and it is fun to drive," he says. Kanazawa-san also says the company is aiming to reduce weight without compromising crash safety performance, which would entail using Skyactiv high-strength steel body structures and composite plastic materials for a hard-top. "We must achieve crash safety, starting with CX-5 the Skyactiv body with load paths and enhanced crash safety, we will apply this to our rear-wheel drive."The R&D director didn't rule out turbocharged versions of the sub-two-litre Skyactiv engines - "We haven't decided that we won't do turbocharging, but first of all we wanted to enhance combustion efficiency of naturally-aspirated engine, that was our first priority"- but maintains the first priority was developing naturally-aspirated engines.

As Carsguide reported two weeks ago, production will end soon and the final cars are likely to drive out of local showrooms by the middle of next year. Mazda has a farewell edition of the RX-8 in Japan, called the Spirit R, and it's now being assessed as a potential sign-off special in Australia. But the end of sales in the USA and falling demand in Japan, with Europe also out of the action, means the end was inevitable. "We knew it was going to come to an end at some point, but our plan is that the RX-8 will still continue in our lineup until 2012," says Steve Maciver, spokesman for Mazda Australia. "Production in Japan continues until June next year. As it is, there is a limited-edition car on the agenda and we're looking at it. Japan decided they wanted to end on high. "But we haven't made a decision on whether we will take it. So watch this space." The RX-8 Spirit R is only a cosmetic tweak, with red-painted brake calipers, Recaro sports seats and 19-inch alloys on the manual model, with the automatic picking up red highlights in the cabin, sports suspension and 18-inch alloys. Only three colours are available - silver, black and white - and production has been pegged at 1000 cars. For now, Mazda Australia says it expects to be able to satisfy RX-8 fans with the cars it has in Australia and a limited number to come from Japan. "We've got stock for about three or four months, at the current selling rate," says Maciver. Even though the RX-8 is the only major Mazda model now using a rotary engine the company refuses to give up on the unique powerplant. It is still working on a hydrogen version in Japan and is chasing the future efficiency that would be needed to meet strict new CO2 emission standards around the world. "Development of next-generation rotary engines continues and it's still definitely on the agenda for us. We believe rotary is still something we want to develop as a company. We do still see potential for it in the future. We have to extract better performance and fuel efficiency and that's what the guys are working on," says Maciver.

The rotary-powered sports car has just been dumped in the USA but, just as happened in 1995 when America killed the RX-7 early because of slow sales, it will roll on here. The RX-8 continues in Mazda's Australian catalogue until at least 2012 despite falling sales here, with only 52 sold in the seven months of 2011 against 156 at the same time last year. Just four cars were delivered in July, according to official VFacts figures, compared with 18 in July 2010. "RX-8 is alive and kicking. Production has not stopped," says Doug Dickson, managing director of Mazda Australia. Dickson believes this year's local results are being judged unfairly because of the supply problems from Japan. "Production and sales of RX-8 within Australia are ongoing. 2011 production of RX-8 was affected by the Tsunami. Sales in Australia, year-to-date July, are 52 making 6361 units in total since sales commenced in July 2003." The situation is different in other countries, as the RX-8 was pulled from Europe last year when its unique rotary engine could not meet toughening emissions standards in some countries. In the USA, the car has been hit by the weakness of the American dollar against the Japanese yen that has contributed to first-half losses at Mazda USA of close to $100 million. Despite falling support for the RX-8, Mazda is continuing development of the rotary engine. "The rotary engine is part of Mazda's heritage and its development continues," says Dickson. Apart from hydrogen power for the rotary, Mazda has also been working on direct fuel injection and other changes for a next-generation powerplant known as the 16X. It was previewed at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2007 with the promise of lower emissions, better economy and more power, but has been overtaken by the latest SkyActiv technologies developed by Mazda for all its models led by the next Mazda3.