2011 Mazda 6 I Sedan 4-door 2.5l **nicely Modded** on 2040-cars

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Mazda Miata 'fathers' Hall and Case offer a tour through the roadster's history

The original Mazda Miata broke onto the automotive scene in 1989 and was a huge success. However, the convertible's genesis goes all the way back to the early '80s. Bob Hall and Dean Case were among the inside men of the program on the US side, and they were on hand at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca during the recent MX-5 event there to tell some of their stories about the project's beginning.
Hall was on the Miata project from very early on, and one of his most fascinating stories is how the convertible got its shape. The droptop wasn't necessarily going to be a rear-wheel drive roadster. There were both front-wheel-drive coupe and mid-engine concepts being considered. In fact, the classic look of the NA generation was the least favorite of the three at the sketch stage.
Hall comes off as a jokester hiding a genius mind. He has a fountain of information in his head about what a Miata should be, but it all comes down to "less is more." However, he admits that it's easy to conceive that idea, but it's much harder to actually execute it well.

Mazda announces live-streaming vehicle intro on Xbox

In April, Mazda introduced a marketing campaign titled "Game Changers" to showcase how certain people have made significant impacts in their respective sports, and now it's the Japanese automaker that is changing the game by creating an innovative way to launch a new product. Mazda is teaming up with Xbox to offer a first-of-its-kind live-streaming global debut of a new product. Mazda didn't say which model will be debuted, but our guess is that it will be the next-generation Mazda3.
The actual reveal will take place at 9 pm on June 26 during a live concert from the band Metric in New York City, but there will be other live events preceding the concert in Melbourne, St. Petersburg, Istanbul and London. Mazda will be promoting the event on social media using the hashtag #GameChanger, and there is also a contest on Xbox where one winner will receive $2,500 to attend a music event of their choice. Scroll down for the full details of the contest and vehicle debut event.

Mazda rumored to bring rotary-powered RX-9 concept to Tokyo

Stop us if you've heard this one before: Mazda will bring a rotary-powered sports car to the next big auto show. Okay, so we stopped for a second, but the show must go on. Following an official teaser image (shown above) late last month, Motoring.com.au has what it claims are renderings of the curvy, two-door coupe – called the RX-9 – that Mazda will bring to the Tokyo Motor Show later this month. The images show a far softer styling than Mazda's current crop of Kodo-inspired vehicles, while the overall look screams of a modern-day Cosmo Sport, the Japanese brand's first rotary-powered vehicle. And though that connection alone might be enough to justify whisperings of a successor to the RX-7 and RX-8, Motoring claims there will be an even more overt sign of this concept's power source. "Look to the Cosmo Sport," an inside source told the Aussie website, signaling that the Mazda stand would feature the vintage two-door. "The Cosmo has no earthly reason for being there unless..." The rotary rumor, if it comes true, won't exactly be what we're use to. While Motoring brings up the previously reported 16X – a 1.6-liter two-rotor – it builds on our 2013 report. According to the Aussies, the new engine could feature a two-stage electric turbocharger, be paired with a hybrid powertrain, offer up to 450 horsepower, and we're guessing, be hilariously complicated. Joking aside, it sounds like Mazda's goals here are admirable. A rotary-equipped sports car that could counter the 1.3-liter RX-8 engine's appetite for fuel and improve on its mediocre low and mid-range torque would be interesting indeed. As for those renderings, Motoring has front and rear three-quarter images. Comparing the rear with our original teaser leaves the look open to interpretation, but after seriously upping the exposure on the teaser (thanks Photoshop), the taillights and overall profile shape look to be a spot-on match. In front, the long hood shares some Kodo elements, like the headlights and grille, but its undeniable coupe shape – a long hood and very short deck – are far more organic and, dare we say, calm, than Mazda's other vehicles. You can take a closer look at the renderings over at Motoring's website. Do that, and then head back and let us know what you think of these RX-9 rumors. Is Mazda finally going to be bringing a rotary back to market?