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Mazda revamping dealers with 'Retail Evolution'

Mazda introduced its Retail Revolution dealership design language 12 years ago, which focused on open-plan spaces, multimedia areas, and allowing customers to interact with the brand before needing to interact with a salesperson. Two years ago the carmaker started work on the next step in its dealership design, and the new language, called Retail Evolution, was unveiled at Mazda of Everett in Seattle, Washington. Aiming to make the Mazda brand feel more premium and increase dealer profits, it goes even further on the open-plan to create "a new level of business transparency." It's all done with a lot of black, white, raw wood, metal finishes, and a lot of glass. Mazda Lounges will offer free wi-fi, and digital displays will replace static photographs. So as not to hurt showrooms still recouping their investment in Retail Revolution, Mazda will work with dealers to figure out how best to update facilities, and the Retail Evolution has three tiers that can be adapted to particular locations. The press release is below, a couple of renderings are above. MAZDA ANNOUNCES ALL-NEW RETAIL EVOLUTION DEALERSHIP DESIGN Mazda of Everett Showcases First Ground-Up Retail Evolution Design IRVINE, Calif. (August 27, 2015) – Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) today announced its all-new dealership design, dubbed "Retail Evolution", featuring an open concept floorplan that offers a new level of business transparency, and a look and feel enhanced through the use of natural materials that results in an even more upscale decor than the company's current popular Retail Revolution design. The first Retail Evolution dealership built from the ground up to this exacting standard will be Mazda of Everett in Seattle, Wash., opening today. "Thanks to our KODO design philosophy and suite of SKYACTIV technologies, our vehicle lineup has never been stronger. We are now able to take that groundbreaking design language and translate it into our dealership experience," said Jim O'Sullivan, president & CEO, MNAO. "Retail Evolution embodies the spirit and direction of the Mazda brand, while offering an upscale experience our customers expect and deserve." Clad in premium black, clean white, and featuring new chrome Mazda signage, the new Retail Evolution Mazda dealerships will provide dealers with strong curb appeal. New materials throughout the building give dealers an upscale look and feel with warm raw-material tones of wood and metal in the showroom.

Toyota and Mazda in talks to build joint US auto plant

UPDATE: The Toyota-Mazda deal has been announced. A newer version of this story appears here. Toyota Motor Corp and rival Mazda Motor Corp are expected to announce plans on Friday to launch a joint venture and build a new U.S. assembly plant, a person briefed on the matter said. A new auto plant would be a major boost to U.S. President Donald Trump, who campaigned on promises to boost manufacturing and expand employment for American autoworkers. Japan's Nikkei reported on Thursday that Toyota would take a roughly five-percent stake in Mazda Motor Corp to develop key electric vehicle technologies and jointly build a factory in the United States. The deal could be announced as soon as Friday, the newspaper said. The person briefed on the matter, who was not authorized to speak to the media and requested anonymity, confirmed the Japanese carmakers were planning to build a large plant in a yet to be determined U.S. location and planned future joint efforts on electric vehicles. The same source declined to offer further details, however. Toyota, in a statement, said the two companies have been exploring various areas of collaboration under a May 2015 agreement. "We intend to submit a proposal to our board of directors today regarding the partnership with Mazda, however, we would like to refrain from providing further comment at this time," Toyota said in a statement issued by its U.S. operations. Mazda said in statement that "nothing has been decided yet" and added the company "will have a board meeting on this matter today. We cannot comment any further." Toyota, the world's second-largest automaker by vehicle sales in 2016 and Japan's dominant car company, has been forging alliances with smaller Japanese rivals for several years, effectively consolidating the Japanese auto sector. A new U.S. assembly plant would likely become the prize in a fierce competition among Midwestern and Southern states eager to expand manufacturing jobs. Trump in January criticized Toyota for importing cars to the United States from Mexico. The Republican president also threatened to impose a hefty fee on Toyota if it were to build its Corolla cars for the U.S. market at a plant in Mexico. "Toyota Motor said will build a new plant in Baja, Mexico, to build Corolla cars for U.S. NO WAY! Build plant in U.S. or pay big border tax," Trump said in a post on Twitter. But since January, Trump has praised Toyota for its U.S. investments.

2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata first in-car observations

We've had few days to digest the all-new 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata since the roadster was first revealed on Wednesday evening when we offered you our first impressions. Since that time, we've gone back and looked at the car a number of times in person here in California, and we've even seen it briefly run under its own power (okay, it was more of a saunter). What we didn't get the chance to do at the reveal, however, was sit inside the car. We've since been able to remedy that, and while we haven't been allowed to drive the new roadster, we do have some initial in-car impressions to share with you.
First, the location and feel of the major controls is quite excellent. The three-spoke steering wheel is an MX-5 specific item - it's not shared with any other Mazda. That's vital, because others would likely be too big in diameter or have the wrong rim thickness. The wheel's redundant controls seem to be well laid out and the airbag boss is very small. The column tilts, but unfortunately and somewhat inexplicably, it still doesn't telescope.
Pedals are well-spaced, and the six-speed manual has the same short throws and positive engagement that we've come to know and love.