2005 Mazda Rx8 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2019 Mazda3 sedan and hatchback get IIHS Top Safety Pick awards

The 2019 Mazda3 is all-new, and now we have crash test ratings from the IIHS for both the sedan and hatchback. A Top Safety Pick (not the TSP+) award was given to both variants of the compact car. Since the IIHS only rates the Mazda3 headlights as "Acceptable" and not "Good," it doesn't get the "Top Safety Pick+" rating. All the major crash categories like small overlap front, side and moderate overlap front are rated as Good. The IIHS also makes crash avoidance part of its battery of tests now to evaluate forward collision and pedestrian detection systems. Both versions of the Mazda3 offer these systems, but the IIHS points out that Mazda's "Smart Brake Support" is only standard on the hatchback. This makes the hatchback standard with a "superior-rated" crash prevention system, and only optional on the sedan. Both cars equipped with the system were able to avoid collisions at 12 mph and 25 mph in the IIHS tests. Even though the Mazda3 does come standard with LED headlight projectors, the IIHS still didn't think they were good enough for a Good rating. There is one video of the Mazda3 going through the side crash test if you'd like to watch the new sedan get hit. You can read our thoughts on the new Mazda3 here. We certainly like driving the redesigned Mazda, and it's good to know the car will perform well in a crash, too.

2015 Mazda3 interior spied for the first time

In terms of exterior appearance, not much has changed from the last time we spotted the next-generation Mazda3 out testing. Oh, sure - we can see plenty of details that clearly show the new Kodo design influence (that front end reminds us a whole lot of the sleek new Mazda6), but these latest round of spy shots don't really show us anything we haven't seen before. Oh, wait, yes they do - the interior.
Feast your eyes on the Mazda3's insides, showing a vastly reworked interior that also takes cues from the automaker's most recently refreshed products. We can see that there's a simple, clean center stack with a slim row of heating and cooling functions, and up top there's a large, presumably touchscreen display, with redundant controls found just aft of the shifter.
We expect that the 2015 Mazda3 will debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show this September, packing both petrol and diesel engines. A sedan variant is also in the works, and should debut shortly after the hatchback.

Masamichi Kogai new Mazda president and CEO

There's some executive rearranging going on in the top suite at Mazda Motor Corporation in Japan, with current CEO Takashi Yamanouchi telling reporters there "I'd like to hand over the work to younger people" now that the company has returned to profitability. Yamanouchi became CEO on November 19, 2008 of an independent Mazda that had to fight for its future in the immediate aftermath of the global financial crisis. What followed was four years of losses before finally getting back to black last year.
Masamichi Kogai (pictured) will be appointed the new president and CEO on June 25, pending approval at the company's annual general shareholders' meeting. Kogai assisted Seita Kanai with the production-efficiency initiative that Mazda called Mono Tsukuri Innovation, which worked to give export-dependent Mazda the best chance at profitability in spite of a rising yen. Kogai, lately in charge of production and purchasing, has been with the company since 1977 and worked in areas from R&D to logistics.
Kanai, who headed the Mono Tsukuri effort and was among the leadership on Skyactiv, will be promoted from executive vice president to vice chairman. Akira Marumoto will become executive VP of Mazda and assistant to new president Kogai. Yamanouchi will remain Chairman of the Board. There's a short press release below to make it official.