2003 Mazda Lx on 2040-cars

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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.

2014 Mazda6: Winter's End Update

The Winter Without End is seemingly dead. Outside my office windows, my brown and yellow lawn is fully exposed to the increasingly powerful sunshine, the morning birdsong is louder than anything until the garbage trucks start rolling, and I'm seriously considering having the summer tires put back on my personal fleet. That last one is a little scary, as I'm a firm believer in the April Snow Jinx, but you get the idea.
The long-term Mazda6 has also long since left my driveway. Looking back on my notes from the time it was in my charge, however, I see all remarks are dominated by one highlighted section at the top: "worst winter drive of all time." I hardly need the reminder, to be honest. Here's what happened.
When the Mazda showed up at my door, we'd already fitted the thing with its new winter rubber: Bridgestone Blizzaks. Plunking down for dedicated snow tires was a near necessity this year - as it almost always is in Michigan. We didn't see much reprieve from snow-choked, iced over roads here in Ann Arbor, and the knobbier rubber proved invaluable in getting me out of my house time and again.

2016 Mazda CX-5 keeps it simple

Take a long, hard look, folks. This is the refreshed 2016 Mazda CX-5, which makes its debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show today. And if you're thinking, "Say, that looks just like the old one," you really aren't alone. The visible updates certainly aren't major - Mazda has instead focused on giving the already-good CX-5 some thoughtful upgrades to make it a more attractive package than ever.
Outside, there are some slight changes to the styling, including new LED light signatures at the front and rear, as well as redesigned foglamp housings. Uplevel models also ride on attractive new 19-inch alloy wheels, with a dark finish.
Under the hood, it's all the same. Mazda's Skyactiv 2.0- and 2.5-liter four-cylinder engines carry over, with 155 and 184 horsepower, respectively. Front-wheel-drive, 2.5-liter models get a small bump in fuel economy, too - the CUV is now rated at 26 miles per gallon city and 33 mpg highway, up from 25/32. Models equipped with the automatic transmission now benefit from different drive modes, as well.