2007 Mazda 3 I Sedan 4-door 2.0l on 2040-cars

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Mazda's product roadmap after Skyactiv-X: diesel, rotary, hybrids, even EVs

When we first heard that Mazda had cleared the major hurdles on gasoline compression ignition, and were just tidying up the details with clear production intent, the first kneejerk thought was: That's it for Mazda's consumer diesel. In particular, the Skyactiv-D that was intended for sale in the U.S., only to be delayed for years by various regulatory roadblocks and other issues that Mazda is frustratingly (but understandably) vague on. At least, it'd die out at some point down the road once Skyactiv-X was widely available. It turns out that's not the case at all. Mazda will adopt an approach that becomes more and more electrified and diverse the closer you get to 2035. But internal combustion will play a deep and central role up to that point, and probably beyond. Before we get to what those different powertrains, diesel and electrified, will look like down the road, let's stop and think about Mazda's philosophy. It couldn't be more different from the approach of most manufacturers that are currently producing BEVs and hybrids, which are heavily incentivized by both the automakers and the government, both state and local, depending on the locality. Even with all that cash on top of the hood, the market penetration of electrified vehicles is low. Mazda's too small to lose money paying people to drive EVs and hybrids. Its risky solution (which is plucky, but has had mixed results) is to simply improve the internal combustion engine. It's achieved the best fleet average fuel economy in the U.S. already, using a range of direct-injection gas engines that are mostly naturally aspirated. A few tiny nods to electrification have been introduced, like i-eLoop regenerative braking and the Demio EV (a Japanese-market, last-generation Mazda2 with a 20kWh battery that was tested with a tiny rotary engine range extender). But the focus is on combustion, not electricity. And that focus isn't going away anytime soon. Mazda believes that pure gasoline, gasoline hybrid, and gasoline PHEV vehicles will remain the vast majority of vehicle sold through 2035. At that point, Mazda forecasts, BEV and fuel cell vehicles should make up about 15 percent of the total of Mazda's lineup. The remaining 85 percent will utilize some form of internal combustion engine. Now, that includes hybrids and even a small number of CNG/LPG cars. And these are global numbers, as well. There may be even fewer fuel cell and CNG/LPG vehicles sold here than abroad.

Our Mazda MX-5 Miata has the best engine bay in the business

One of the things that's really disappointing about modern cars is how they all hide their technology under a proverbial bushel. You pop the hood, and nine times out of 10, you're faced with some amount of black plastic hiding the functional bits. On some cars the plastic covers the bare minimum to have a "presentable" engine. Others have every tank, hose, wire and screw buried under a layer of smooth plastic. Few exemplify this practice better than engine bay of the current Lexus LS 460, seen below. If Lexus was this embarrassed about its engine, maybe it should have simply bolted the hood shut. However, like with weight gain and power creep, our fourth-generation Mazda MX-5 Miata bucks the plastic trend. Lift the aluminum hood of the little roadster, and you travel back in time more than a decade. (See the gallery up top.) Only one bit of decorative plastic is in sight, and it proclaims the car's Skyactiv technology and hides some of the wires leading to the ignition coils. Otherwise, nothing else is obscured. The shock tower braces, manifolds, battery terminals, the whole shebang is all right there for you to see. What's particularly amazing is that it all looks good. Even in some cars that eschew plastic covers, it's no guarantee of an attractive engine bay. We just had a new Honda Civic Sport hatchback (seen immediately above), and while it doesn't sport a plastic engine cover, you can see from the photo that it's not particularly attractive with tubes and cables snaking every which way. But in the Miata, the hoses and wires are kept to a minimum, and the ones that are there are arranged in a way that isn't haphazard or tangled. Then, in the middle, there's the clean, simple aluminum cam cover as the gleaming centerpiece, similar to those of the first- and second-generation cars. As the owner of a '99 Miata, this detail in particular gives me the warm fuzzies. The fully exposed engine bay fits with the Miata's personality. The car is very straightforward, it features just the absolute minimum of style and comfort additions, and is highly accessible. I would say the Miata's engine bay is the window to its soul, if driving it didn't offer a clearer picture. Related Video:

2017.5 Mazda6 gives you more for the same money

The current Mazda6 has been around since the 2014 model year, but Mazda continues to update it and make it more enticing. For this midyear update that's earned the "2017.5" model year stamp, Mazda has added more standard features to both the base model Sport and midlevel Touring models. The Sport model now comes with blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert as standard features. The Touring model picks up navigation and heated seats as standard equipment. You can also opt for 8-way power leather seats on the Touring as well. If the extra features weren't enough, Mazda doesn't charge anything extra for the trim levels. All the base prices remain the same. The cheapest Sport model, which comes with a manual transmission, still starts at $22,820. The cheapest Touring model, again with a manual transmission, keeps its starting price of $25,070. Aside from a nice addition of features for no extra cost, there's something else interesting about the 2017.5 Mazda6, and that's the model year itself. The last time Mazda used a half-year designation was for the 2016.5 CX-5. It was the last model year of the previous generation CX-5, with the completely redesigned model launching for 2017. This leads us to believe that we may be seeing a completely new Mazda6 for the 2018 model year, with a reveal sometime within a year. It's possible Mazda could just do a significant refresh for 2018 as well, but the 6 also is the next model due for a complete redesign. And since the folks at Mazda have told us they're in the process of thoroughly updating the lineup again, we would lean toward the likelihood of a completely new car rather than a refresh. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2017 Mazda 6 View 33 Photos Image Credit: Mazda Mazda Car Buying Sedan