2011 Mazda Mazda3 I Touring on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Mazda poaches designer Kevin Rice back from BMW

Kevin Rice left Mazda a baker's dozen years ago, but now he's back.
A graduate of the Transportation Design program at Coventry University (just across town from Jaguar headquarters), Rice worked his way up in the industry working for the likes of Opel and Italdesign Giugiaro before landing a job at Mazda. Between 1995 and 2000, he collaborated on such projects as the RX-8 and the 1999 Neospace concept that previewed the Mazda2 before moving on to BMW, where the new 3 Series and 4 Series were among the last projects he worked on during his 13-year tenure in Munich.
Now back at Mazda, Rice has been named the Japanese automaker's new creative director, charged with further honing the brand's KODO design language from its European headquarters in Oberursel, Germany. We're looking forward to seeing what he and his design team come up with in the coming years.

Mazda patent shows rotary placement in complex AWD hybrid layout

If we were playing alt-powertrain Bingo, a recent Mazda patent application filed in Japan would be one or two letters from victory. What's exciting about the patent, discovered by Japanese outlet T's Media via Motor Trend, is that while it makes a case for an internal combustion engine of any configuration, one of the drawings showing a rotary engine. The wild bit is that the whole powertrain comprises the ICE, a transaxle, two tiny in-wheel electric motors turning the front wheels, a third electric motor in the driveline, a capacitor, a lithium-ion battery, and three inverters. Motor Trend parsed the mechanics, and the way it reads, Doc Brown couldn't have done a better job. The rotary engine at the front turns the rear wheels, but not directly. Instead of a flywheel on back of the engine, the drawing shows a 25-kW electric motor and an inverter, then a driveshaft running to the transaxle. Along the axis of the transmission tunnel in a normal car, between the inverter and the transaxle, lies a 3.5-kWh battery running at 48 volts. MT writes that the electric motor can add its output to the ICE output to drive the rear wheels, or the e-motor can turn the rear axle on its own. Up front, two inverters and a double-layer capacitor join the ICE in the engine bay. The capacitor and tiny hub motors in the front wheels run at 120 volts, a higher voltage than the rest of the electrical system, so that the small in-wheel motors can generate the same torque as a larger motor running at a lower voltage. The AWD system acts on-demand. Given the signal, the capacitors discharge their energy to the wheel motors, and recover energy from braking. When the capacitors are at full charge, they send excess regen energy to the lithium-ion battery; conversely, the battery can recharge the capacitors when they're low and the front hub motors need power. The patent explains that the ICE works with the rear e-motor to drive the rear wheels at low speeds, the front motors called on to "generate an output only when a large output is required in the high vehicle speed range." The rather complicated system is focused on providing the benefits of a hybrid system and all-wheel drive, but at lower weight than one would expect. A rotary serves due to its compactness, but one of the drawings shows an engine with a V layout. Hub motors get dinged for adding unsprung weight, hence the small motors here.

Should you buy a leftover 2015 or a brand new 2016 model?

One of the most common questions I get asked as a car dealer and auto auctioneer is, "When is the best time to buy a new car?" The answer is usually the time period between Labor Day and the middle of November. That's because this is when new car dealers and the manufacturers are trying to get rid of their current-model-year vehicles to make way for a small army of 2016 models. Rebates, incentives, cheap financing, and overstocks of unpopular models all help create the liquidity needed to turn the old inventory into a new set of wheels for the buying public – often at a very reduced price. But sometimes the "old" new car isn't a better pick than the "new" new car. It depends on a lot of factors, including the car in question and the differences from one model year to the next. I recently received an email from Jeff, who is interested in the Mazda CX-9 and asks whether he should buy a 2015 model or wait for the new version that will debut soon in LA. I'll use his as the example case. Length of Ownership The longer you own a vehicle, the less model year depreciation will be an issue. For example, the difference in value between a five-year-old Mazda 6 and a six-year-old version is about $1,500 according to the Manheim Market Report ($5,600 vs. $4,100). But if you look at the difference between 10-year-old and 9-year-old versions of that same vehicle, the price difference shrinks all the way down to $200. Because Jeff plans to own his new crossover for many years, the 2015 model wins in this category. View 19 Photos Rebates and Incentives The current CX-9 has a $4,000 cash incentive from Mazda. This is in part because Mazda still has quite a few left over. That $4,000 rebate for the current model is already coupled with even stronger discounts at the dealer level for those leftover 2015 models. TrueCar is showing that a loaded 2015 model can be had for $7,000 off the sticker at $28,600. You may even be able to beat that price by negotiating the deal yourself. Another thing to consider is that new models tend to be in high demand when they launch, which means that your purchase price will likely be substantially higher with the new model than it will with a leftover 2015. Again, financially speaking, this is a vote for the 2015 model. New Stuff It's also important to weigh what new features will come along with the updated model and how important they are to you.