With the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry firmly ensconced at the top of the sales charts, Mazda has been looking for a way to get some sedan-based action. The result is this: the all-new 2008 Mazda6, shown at Frankfurt last September.
Based on Ford's European-engineered 'CD-EU' Mondeo platform (double-wishbone suspension in front, multi-link suspension in back), the new Mazda6 has lots of edges, flowing lines and prominent front fenders, forming what chief designer Youichi Sato calls a "bold and exquisite" theme. Whatever. It looks good-particularly when compared to the boxy and bulbous Accord and Camry.
A new 2.5-liter version of Mazda's MZR four has been developed for the front-drive Mazda6 and is likely to be the standard powerplant in America, with a rating of about 175bhp. It will be backed by either six-speed manual or automatic transmissions. While Mazda hasn't announced the availability of six-cylinder engines for Europe or Japan, one should be available here. At minimum, expect the current 212bhp, 3.0-liter V6 to return, though Mazda could adopt one of Ford's larger V6s. Here's hoping for the unlikely, with Mazda skipping the V6 altogether and offering the current Mazdaspeed6's turbocharged 274bhp DISI 2.3-liter four as the upmarket alternative.
In Europe and Japan, the car will appear as a four-door sedan, five-door hatchback and wagon. Here in America, where it will again be produced at the Auto Alliance plant in Flat Rock, Michigan, we'll likely see the sedan first with the other body styles arriving subsequently. The new Mazda6 goes on sale in the fall.
Object Of DesireAudi has a line of cars that can actually be described as beautiful. No more slab-sided 5000s or awkward big-nosed 4000s for this company. Now it builds sex machines.
The latest evidence is the new Audi A4 sedan that debuted at Frankfurt. Built around the same basic drivetrain elements as the A5 (though the differential and clutch swap places), this new A4 has the engine set further back in the chassis than previous generations, resulting in better weight distribution. It's also the biggest A4 yet, with a total length of 185.2 inches (up 4.6 inches from the current A4) on a wheelbase of 110.6 inches (up an amazing 6.6 inches). Audi has used the additional length to sculpt a body that swoops down in front, has flourishes along its sides and builds to an aggressive rear.
While Audi will include such technologies as a new electro-mechanical parking brake, loads of multimedia entertainment options and a fancy, variable-everything, 'dynamic' steering gear, most of what makes up this A4 is familiar Audi stuff. That includes, naturally, the Quattro all-wheel drive system on most models (again, front-drive will also be available), a six-speed manual, a six-speed Tiptronic automatic, and the continuously variable automatic transmission. The five engines returning in Europe-a gas-fueled 3.2-liter V6, 1.8-liter turbo four and three diesels-are also familiar. Only the gas engines are likely to make it here to America, at least initially.
As gorgeous as it is, the new A4 is only the tip of the iceberg. The big excitement will come with the next-generation S4 and RS4 that will inevitably follow after the A4's North American debut this fall as a 2009 model.
Wagon BlasterAll over its press materials, Audi reminds us that this new RS6 Avant wagon isn't going to be sold in America. How dare they exclude us from the 580-horsepower fun?!