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Mazda CX-5 diesel gets EPA fuel economy ratings

Mazda has been promising that it will bring the Skyactiv-D diesel engine to the United States pretty much since the last Mazda6 redesign for the 2014 model year. And even in the wake of delay after delay, the company has insisted it will happen. Well, it looks like we may not be far from the fulfillment of this promise, since the EPA and DOT's FuelEconomy.gov website now has numbers for the diesel-powered Mazda CX-5. What's surprising, besides the existence of hard numbers, is that those numbers aren't actually that big of an improvement over the gas engine. In fact, highway numbers are the same as the gasoline versions. The front-drive CX-5 diesel gets 31 mpg on the highway, and the all-wheel-drive one gets 30 on the highway. The diesel does see improvements in the city. The front-drive model gets 28 mpg versus 25 for the gas equivalent. The all-wheel-drive model gets 27 mpg rather than 24 for the gasoline version. Also concerning is the fact that the CX-5 diesel isn't the only diesel in the segment. The Chevy Equinox is available with a diesel, too, and while city mpg is about the same, it can hit 38 mpg with all-wheel-drive and 39 with front-drive on the highway. With this in mind, Mazda will probably market the engine as more of a performance upgrade, and maybe something with a bit of extra towing capacity. This is because the engine is expected to make a bit over 170 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque. The power number is a smidge below that of the 187 from the 2.5-liter naturally aspirated gas engine, but the torque number is much higher than the gas engine's 186 pound-feet. We've also reached out to Mazda for comment on this development. A representative offered no further comment beyond the company staying committed to diesels. Related Video:

Masamichi Kogai new Mazda president and CEO

There's some executive rearranging going on in the top suite at Mazda Motor Corporation in Japan, with current CEO Takashi Yamanouchi telling reporters there "I'd like to hand over the work to younger people" now that the company has returned to profitability. Yamanouchi became CEO on November 19, 2008 of an independent Mazda that had to fight for its future in the immediate aftermath of the global financial crisis. What followed was four years of losses before finally getting back to black last year.
Masamichi Kogai (pictured) will be appointed the new president and CEO on June 25, pending approval at the company's annual general shareholders' meeting. Kogai assisted Seita Kanai with the production-efficiency initiative that Mazda called Mono Tsukuri Innovation, which worked to give export-dependent Mazda the best chance at profitability in spite of a rising yen. Kogai, lately in charge of production and purchasing, has been with the company since 1977 and worked in areas from R&D to logistics.
Kanai, who headed the Mono Tsukuri effort and was among the leadership on Skyactiv, will be promoted from executive vice president to vice chairman. Akira Marumoto will become executive VP of Mazda and assistant to new president Kogai. Yamanouchi will remain Chairman of the Board. There's a short press release below to make it official.

Five automakers now being investigated by NHTSA for airbag woes

It appears that Toyota's renotification to owners of recalled vehicles from last year is just the tip of the iceberg for what could potentially be a much larger industry-wide recall. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is opening a preliminary evaluation investigation into roughly 1.1 million vehicles from Chrysler, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Toyota and parts supplier Takata regarding faulty airbag inflators in several models.
NHTSA has received six reports - three directly, two from Takata and one from Toyota - of vehicles with ruptured airbag inflators from 2002-2006, which resulted in three injuries. So far, all six incidents have occurred in high humidity areas like Florida and Puerto Rico. According to Toyota's latest recall announcement, the inflators may have an improper propellant that could cause it to rupture in a crash and the bag to deploy abnormally.
This new investigation follows a previous recall from April 2013 of about 3.4 million vehicles worldwide for the airbag inflators from Takata. As Autoblog reported, Toyota jumpstarted the new situation when it found that the original list of serial numbers for the faulty part was incomplete and discovered more cars in need of replacement. Honda and Nissan told us that they were investigating whether further models would need called in again as well. Mazda told Autoblog: "Regarding the current Takata situation, we're working closely with NHTSA and investigating the situation, but nothing else to report at this time." Chrysler Group responded to us with the statement: "Chrysler Group engineers are conducting the appropriate analysis. The Company will cooperate fully with the National Highway Traffic Administration."