Mazda6 and Subaru Tribeca to be Axed, According to Report from Japan

Mazda and Subaru may soon be forced to axe two of their models in the US market, the Mazda6 mid-size vehicle and the Subaru Tribeca SUV, due to low volumes that undermine the efficiency of the U.S. plants that they are built in, according to a newspaper report from Japan’s business daily Nikkan Kogyo. It should be noted though that spokesmen for both companies declined to comment on the report.

Nikkan Kogyo wrote that Mazda is planning to discontinue production of the Mazda6 at the Flat Rock, Michigan plant, which it operates as a joint venture together with Ford Motor Co., as sales missed expectations. When Mazda introduce the latest generation of the mid-size model in 2008, the company expected an annual production of around 100,000 units, but last year, the plant churned out just 45,168 Mazda6s. In April, Mazda6 posted an increase of 7.8 percent but sales reached just 2,734 vehicles.

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2012 Mazda3 Facelift with New 40mpg SKYACTIV Engine Debuts in New York

Mazda is getting ready to enter the raging mpg war in the compact passenger vehicle segment in the States with the launch of its facelifted 2012 Mazda3 that made its U.S. debut today at the New York International Auto Show.

While the exterior and interior refinements are modest, the updated Mazda3 debuts the first application in North America of the Japanese firm’s suite of SKYACTIV fuel-saving and performance-oriented technologies, achieving 40 mpg on the highway. Within it lies Mazda’s all-new SKYACTIV-G 2.0-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine hooked up to either a new SKYACTIV-Drive six-speed automatic transmission or a SKYACTIV-MT six-speed manual gearbox.

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Mazda Minagi Concept is the New CX-5, Production Version to Debut at this Fall’s Frankfurt Show

Mazda today confirmed what many of us already suspected – that the Minagi concept shown at the 2011 Geneva Salon earlier this year will form the base for a production model that will be called the CX-5. In addition, the Japanese firm also announced that the compact crossover model will make its international debut in production guise at the forthcoming 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show to be held in Germany in September.

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Japanese Carmakers Lose More than 500,000 Vehicles to Earthquake, Toyota hit the Worst

It’s been over a month since the first of a series of earthquakes along with a catastrophic tsunami hit Japan’s shores resulting in devastating destruction and flooding, but the country is still feeling the effects in more ways than one.

According to a news report, Japan’s big seven automakers have lost more than half a million units of output since the March 11 quake. To make matters worse, even though many factories opened recently, they have not yet reached their full production capacity due to a lack of parts.

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2012 Mazda 3

var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true}; Mazda has dropped the first photos and details on its 2012 model year Mazda3 sedan and five-door hatchback models that are making their world premiere at this week's 2011 Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto. In addition to receiving a cosmetic pick-me-up, the refreshed Mazda3 gains the Japanese firm's new Skyactiv-G gasoline engine