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Mazda2 refreshed for 2020 with new style and tech

The North American market Toyota Yaris is a badge engineered version of the Mazda 2. Now, the Mazda underneath the Toyota badging has received some updates in its home market of Japan, and it will be interesting to see if or when the U.S. counterpart will be refreshed with any of these updates. The 2020 Mazda 2, now indeed called "Mazda 2" instead of the older Demio name on the Japanese market, has received new front end styling to bring it in line with bigger Mazda models. The grille and bumper are new, as are the headlights with adaptive LED technology and LED daytime running lights. Apparently the headlights are constructed out of 20 individually controlled LED blocks to optimize light output and direction, which sounds awfully interesting for this class of vehicle. The front end design, just like the new 16-inch alloy wheels, is Mazda-specific and the Yarisized version is unlikely to benefit from them, especially since the headlights are also different on the Toyota. Cabin materials have also been updated, and the driver’s seat is available with six-way power adjustability for 2020. The MZD Connect infotainment has Apple Carplay and Android Auto support, like the Yaris setup. In addition, cabin comfort is said to have been improved with better soundproofing, which is sometimes sorely needed in this class of cars. Safety and convenience features include adaptive cruise control, which is impressive on a city car, and the Mazda 2 also has the G-Vectoring Control Plus system for high-speed stability. Both the diesel and gasoline versions will get Mazda's i-Eloop brake energy regeneration system. The Japanese market also gets an all-wheel-drive version, which is surely a hoot despite only being available with the automatic transmission. CarAdvice says the Australian market will receive the redesigned Mazda 2 early next year, which is probably in line with the rest of the global market that gets it as a Mazda instead of a Toyota; Mazda says Japan market pre-orders have started today and official sales will begin on September 12th. It pays to remember that the base car dates back to 2014, and that the 2020 refresh is a facelift instead of a ground-up redesign. Assuming the usually expected shelf-life for the facelifted edition, the 2 will have racked up respectable mileage from the “DJ” generation bodyshell.

Toyota temporarily idles pair of Indian plants due to labor unrest

The Detroit News reported today that Toyota will restart production at two Indian plants, following a shutdown on Monday.
Factory labor, management and police in Asia engage in the kind of violent altercations that we're not used to, having almost entirely walked away from the overtly brutal relations epitomized by the Pinkerton Detective Agency and the Flint Sit-Down Strike. In India, a plant owned by a Ford transmission supplier plant was shut down in 2009 after incidents between workers and armed men around the same time as Ssangyong workers occupied a factory in South Korea, in 2012 Suzuki Maruti workers rioted over wages around the same time upset employees beat a ceramics factory president to death in retaliation for a labor leader's killing.
Toyota is the latest to company trying to avoid that road. The Detroit Free Press reported earlier this week that it shut down two plants in India after 11 months of acrimonious wage negotiations and arbitration have gone nowhere. Toyota said the plant workers in Bidadi, near Bangalore, had deliberately stopped production at times over the past 45 days and threatened management. The workers said they wanted their wages raised by an amount already agreed to by management, but that management had reneged; news reports weren't clear on the amount, some saying nearly 10,000 rupees ($165 US) more per month, another saying 4,000 rupees ($65 US), but reports agree that Toyota has said it will only go as high as 3,050 rupees ($50 US).

Toyota Sienna Swagger Wagon rides again with Busta Rhymes

Let's face it: there are few things less "gangsta" than a minivan (which goes a long way towards explaining why crossovers have been gradually taking their place as the family-hauler of choice across America, but we digress). The point here is not lost on Toyota, which has embraced the uncool image of the minivan with the Swagger Wagon campaign.
We first saw the suburban-goes-urban campaign pop up with the introduction of the new Sienna back in 2010. And now that the Sienna's been updated for 2015, the campaign is back again, featuring none other than Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr. himself... better known to most as Busta Rhymes. The decidedly white-bread video spot that follows may make you cringe, but you've got to admit that it's well done, even if it doesn't have the charm and freshness of the original.