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Mazda delays US launch of Skyactiv-D engine

Japanese automakers haven't lead the charge towards diesel power in the same way as, say, the Germans have. But Mazda is out to change that. It has been following Audi's lead on the racetrack with oil-burning racecars right here in America, and will soon translate that excitement to the road by introducing its Skyactiv-D engine in North America. It just won't happen as soon as we expected.
Mazda announced today that, while its diesel engine meets current emissions requirements, the company has decided once again to push back an introduction originally slated to kick off in the Spring. According to the brief statement below, Mazda wants to take more time to find "the right balance between fuel economy and Mazda-appropriate driving performance."
In other words, the Zoom-Zoom brand apparently thinks its diesel engine doesn't deliver the zoom-zoom American drivers would expect, so we'll have to wait just a little bit longer. Details to follow closer to launch, whenever that will ultimately take place.

Driving classic Mazdas to experience the weird and wonderful rotary's triumph

AUGSBURG, Germany — Everything weird and wonderful about Mazda's relationship with the Wankel rotary engine is embodied in the delightful 110S Cosmo Sport of 1967. Just shy of 1,200 were built and, for most of its life, it remained a Japanese curio. Driving one is a rare privilege, and yet here I am, leading a convoy of owners through Bavaria away from a private museum holding the most extensive collection of Mazdas outside of Japan. Created by local franchise holder Walter Frey, what started out as a business relationship in the 1970s has blossomed into a lifetime love affair. Whether the residents of Augsburg are quite so enamoured is another question. As I leave the museum I pass a sign proclaiming my entry into an "umwelt zone" for low-emissions vehicles. The oil-tinged plume of smoke in my wake rather makes a mockery and underlines one reason there are no rotary engines in the current Mazda product range. Created by a German but perfected by the Japanese, it seems appropriate to celebrate the association with the Wankel engine here. Mazda may have gone on to sell nearly 2 million rotary-engined cars to the world — the U.S. included — but 50 years ago it brought two Cosmos to the Nurburgring and entered them into the grueling Marathon de la Route as a proof of concept. After 84 hours of continuous running and a fourth-place overall finish, Mazda had demonstrated to the world a rotary could stay the distance. I have a slightly less grueling schedule but look forward to following the instructions to rev the hell out of the Cosmo to clear the smoke out of its system. Those following me will certainly be hoping this does the trick. A thirst for oil as well as gasoline isn't the only rotary trait. The two chambers of its motor displace 491 cc apiece, equivalent to about 2.0 liters in a regular reciprocating design. In this second-series car, it delivers around 128 horsepower, which drives the rear wheels through the transmission's five gears. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of progress in any of them, truth be told, the characteristic lack of torque making for more noise than meaningful acceleration. It's a small car and weighs just more than 2,000 pounds, with a power-to-weight ratio not far off that of an original NA Miata. But it's one for carrying speed, not building it. The wood-rimmed Nardi wheel is one piece of luxury in an otherwise functional, vinyl-trimmed cabin, and through it the Cosmo has a nice blend of stability and agility.

Weekly Recap: Geneva's splendor reflects growing demand for ultra-luxury cars

Geneva is one of the most glittering auto shows in the world, but the list of high-powered and bespoke luxury cars was decadent this year even by the rich standards of the Swiss exhibition. It's great for enthusiasts to revel in the flame-throwing Aston Martin Vulcan, the racing-inspired elegance of the Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept and the insane performance of the Lamborghini Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce, but there's a reason for all of this opulence: the luxury market is big business. And it's growing. IHS Automotive forecasts that so-called ultra-premium sales will nearly triple this decade from 123,000 to 353,000 units around the world. The estimate includes brands like Aston Martin, Bentley, Ferrari and Rolls-Royce, but doesn't count BMW, Mercedes and Audi, which offer less expensive models in addition to their high-end flagships. Though IHS includes Porsche and its relatively large volume in the study, the ultra-premium segment is still set grow at about the same rate, even without the German automaker's figures. So what is propelling all of this growth in the most expensive segment of the auto industry? Put simply, there's more rich people. IHS Automotive principal analyst Tim Urquhart pointed to economic expansion in China, market recovery in the United States and a surge in the lucrative technology sector as contributing factors. This dovetails with a research report by UK-based Oxfam, an international relief organization, which found the world's richest one-percent owned 48 percent of global wealth in 2014, and it's expected to increase to more than 50 percent by 2016. View 17 Photos Carmakers are moving quickly to capitalize with new products, expanding their portfolios with low-volume speedsters like the 800-hp V12 Vulcan at Geneva, and plans to enter new segments, like Rolls-Royce's strategy to make an SUV. "Ultra-premium carmakers are looking to explore ways of growing their product offerings, and thus their bottom lines, in this most potentially profitable of segments," Urquhart wrote in a report on the Geneva show. In a nutshell, there are more choices for people with more money. It's a good time to have expensive taste. Other News & Notes 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata production launches It won't be long now. The 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata arrives later this year, and it's officially in production. Mazda announced this week that the roadster began rolling off the assembly line at its Ujina factory in Hiroshima, Japan.