seftonm
09-19-2010, 11:48 AM
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/Canadian_Flag.jpg Mazda will launch its new Sky family of gasoline and diesel engines, with a focus on stripping out weight to improve fuel economy and lower emissions (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/new-cars/auto-news/mazda-to-bring-diesel-cars-to-canada-in-2012/article1708530/)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2009_European_Mazda3_with_i-stop.jpgJeremy Cato - THEGLOBEANDMAIL (http://www.theglobeandmail.com) - Sep 18, 2010
Will they make it, or will they change their minds like so many other manufacturers have? --Ed.
North of Germany's vibrant capital city, inside what was once a key piece of the East German propaganda machine, we are huddled inside a sprawling sound stage.
We need the space because with us is the entire research and development staff at Mazda Motor Corp.
Well, not exactly all of them, but the room is stuffed with engineers, product planners and executive types.
They outnumber the journalists at least five to one, so it seems certain that something big is about to happen, that we're about to be told a massively important story.
Now back in the days when devoted, committed, fanatical Communist Erich Honecker ran East Germany with an intolerant fist (1971-1989), this sound stage was part of a larger television and movie studio complex whose primary role was to do Goebbels-like work in support of the former German Democratic Republic.
I, of course, am wondering if the Mazda people see the irony in bringing a handful of journalists to a former propaganda factory to tell us details about what can only be described as the reinvented and reinvigorated Mazda? This is on my mind as the conversation turns to the Sky program at Mazda as in the sky is the limit.
Mazda officials say they picked Berlin for the briefing and test drive for a short list of compelling reasons. Berlin is a city fast turning into the most vibrant urban centre on the Continent. Mazda types see Berlin as a kind of metaphor for Mazda the car company now freed (since 2008) of Ford's influence is now turning into the most vibrant mainstream car maker in the world. That's the idea, at least. ... http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/new-cars/auto-news/mazda-to-bring-diesel-cars-to-canada-in-2012/article1708530/
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2009_European_Mazda3_with_i-stop.jpgJeremy Cato - THEGLOBEANDMAIL (http://www.theglobeandmail.com) - Sep 18, 2010
Will they make it, or will they change their minds like so many other manufacturers have? --Ed.
North of Germany's vibrant capital city, inside what was once a key piece of the East German propaganda machine, we are huddled inside a sprawling sound stage.
We need the space because with us is the entire research and development staff at Mazda Motor Corp.
Well, not exactly all of them, but the room is stuffed with engineers, product planners and executive types.
They outnumber the journalists at least five to one, so it seems certain that something big is about to happen, that we're about to be told a massively important story.
Now back in the days when devoted, committed, fanatical Communist Erich Honecker ran East Germany with an intolerant fist (1971-1989), this sound stage was part of a larger television and movie studio complex whose primary role was to do Goebbels-like work in support of the former German Democratic Republic.
I, of course, am wondering if the Mazda people see the irony in bringing a handful of journalists to a former propaganda factory to tell us details about what can only be described as the reinvented and reinvigorated Mazda? This is on my mind as the conversation turns to the Sky program at Mazda as in the sky is the limit.
Mazda officials say they picked Berlin for the briefing and test drive for a short list of compelling reasons. Berlin is a city fast turning into the most vibrant urban centre on the Continent. Mazda types see Berlin as a kind of metaphor for Mazda the car company now freed (since 2008) of Ford's influence is now turning into the most vibrant mainstream car maker in the world. That's the idea, at least. ... http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/new-cars/auto-news/mazda-to-bring-diesel-cars-to-canada-in-2012/article1708530/