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Mazda CX-3 crossover coming to LA

The Mazda booth at this year's Los Angeles Auto Show will showcase some new crossovers. In addition to the refreshed CX-5 that we're expecting, the Japanese automaker has announced plans to unveil its new CX-3 compact crossover.
According to Mazda, the brand's entry into the compact CUV market will feature "the full range of SKYACTIV technology and KODO - Soul of Motion design." We take that to mean lightweight chassis and body architectures along with fuel-sipping gasoline and, perhaps, diesel engines.
The CX-3 will have to take on a slew of upcoming competitors, including the Honda HR-V, Chevrolet Trax and Jeep Renegade, and reports indicate it will share a platform with the Mazda2, which is just starting production in Mexico. We don't yet know if it will be front-wheel drive only or if all-wheel drive will be optional. The CUV is also likely to share the Mazda2's engine, which isn't yet revealed for the North American market. Japan gets the 2 with either a 1.3-liter gasoline engine or a 1.5-liter diesel.

Mazda6 Coupe coming along with more Mazdaspeed models?

The predecessor to the Mazda6, the Mazda 626, was sold in a multitude of body styles across the globe. It could, of course, be had as a sedan, but a two-door coupe, known stateside as the MX-6, was also available on the same platform. Now, a new report from Motor Trend claims that a two-door version of the modern Mazda6 could be on the way.
This would be remarkable for a number of reasons, as automakers have been abandoning this type of non-luxury coupe for decades. A class that counted entries from Toyota, Nissan, Chevrolet, Dodge and Chrysler is now occupied solely by Honda with its Accord Coupe.
Ignoring that, though, MT claims we'll see a two-door Mazda6 in the second half of 2016. When that new variant arrives, it will be with an even more dramatic version of the sedan's Kodo design language. Mazda could rely even more heavily on styling inspiration of the Shinari Concept, which already informs the design of the current 6 sedan, when the two-door model arrives.

Why Mazda’s Skyactiv-X compression-ignition engine is a smart hedge bet

Mazda has cracked the code on a compression-ignition engine, called Skyactiv-X (which utilizes SCCI, or Spark Controlled Compression Ignition). That's a neat engineering accomplishment, sure, but why is the tiny company investing big dollars in fancy tech that's frustrated the much larger companies who've investigated it? In this case, Mazda is peering into a crystal ball to consider how best to flow with a few troubling tides. One is the premature handwringing about the death of the internal combustion engine, another is Europe's swing away from diesel engines. Skyactiv-X seems, at this juncture, a hedge bet against both aspects. EV infrastructure lags massively behind our petroleum infrastructure — no shock there. Mazda claims the tech will net 20-30 percent gains in fuel efficiency over its current gasoline engines and about matching its diesel engine. And that's without any onboard hybrid tech, so that staves off the inevitable necessity to fully adopt electrification for a while — this is assuming that, at some point, it won't be practical to sell a non-hybrid or non-EV. At what date that happens is open to debate, but as I said above, technology like this kicks that decision point down the road a bit. Mazda is here translating research dollars into time, allowing its engine factories a few more years of probably profitable production of internal-combustion engines before retooling, and before somebody needs to pour a massive amount of money into a broad EV charging infrastructure to replace gas stations. None of this is happening fast enough for a wholesale transition to EVs anytime soon. So, that's one bet hedged. The next is Europe's declining interest in diesel engines for mainly health reasons. Just about a week ago, The New York Times posted an excellent primer on this issue, which is somewhat controversial in Europe. Germany's auto industry, a huge portion of its economy, is heavily invested in diesel tech and seriously opposed to proposals in Britain and France to eliminate the technology, which creates unhealthy diesel particulate emissions. The German industry is hoping Band-Aids like pollution-reducing measures will help them, but after a massive and widespread emission cheating scandal, its credibility is at a nadir. It seems like consumers have sensed which way the wind is blowing, and it has hurt sales. The NYT reports that diesel sales in Germany alone — remember, bastion and originator of diesel technology — are down 13 percent.