There we were, confronting what appeared to be a can of concentrated Zoom-Zoom some 30 feet high while the music played. Then the kabuki curtains dropped to reveal the 2011 Mazda 2. Afterward Mazda handed around cans of energy drink scaled down for human consumption that contained the real stuff in the same shade of metallic green as the Mazda 2 showcar. We later allowed as how the car had been finished in the same color as the patent leather shoes that ex-Mazda designer Franz von Holzhausen (now at Tesla) used to wear.
Jim O'Sullivan, president and CEO of Mazda North America Operation, later told us that the unveiling went pretty smoothly, much better than the time the showcar took a ladder through the rear glass the night before the public presentation and he could hear the air compressor for the paint sprayer as the car was being finished behind the curtain even as he gave his speech to the assembled media.
More important, O'Sullivan says that the future in North America for B-size subcompacts like the Mazda 2 looks very bright. "As soon as the economy recovers," he says, "the price of gasoline will rise and there will be more room for small, affordable and fuel-efficient cars like the Mazda 2. You'll see the market for these cars expand significantly, and we think that delivering our core Mazda attributes like style, fun-to-drive and a good level of standard equipment will set us apart." He also notes, "You'll see the U.S. market getting a lot more like Europe."
Robert Davis, MNAO's senior vice president of product development and quality, tells us, "We think that the market for the B-segment in the U.S. and Canada will approach a million cars. It used to be that the biggest purchases you made were a house and a car, but now there are so many other big expenses in people's lives that the kind of spending that people do on cars will change. And after 2013 when fuel economy standards change, you'll see a lot of activity in this segment."
The Mazda guys tell us that the future can be seen in the Canadian market, where cars like the Mazda 2 are already about 12 percent of the market and are expected to reach 20 percent within a decade. In addition, we'll see lots of technology in these cars despite the cost pressure, and this includes diesel. For example, a new, all-aluminum inline-4 is on the way from Japan that doesn't require any urea after-treatment in the catalyst to minimize particulate emissions.
hondacura4 says:
08:37 PM, 12/ 2/09
"You'll see the U.S. market getting a lot more like Europe."
I say bring on the premium compacts!
thejohnp says:
09:25 PM, 12/ 2/09
If that means diesel Mazda engines, I'm down!
billt9 says:
11:17 PM, 12/ 2/09
I want a Mazda1 with navi, 19 speaker harmon kardon, perf leather heat and cool seats, leather dash, panoramic roof, HUD, LED adaptive headlights, surround view monitor, 70 mpg diesel, self parking, and paddle shifters.
The age of the microcar has come.
inlinesix says:
11:35 PM, 12/ 2/09
Yup. Bring on some good small cars.
uncanny_man says:
03:41 AM, 12/ 3/09
Oh I hope not. Nothing like being forced into a small car by gas prices without even having the option of bus or train.
bankerdanny says:
05:22 AM, 12/ 3/09
Maybe it has arrived, but not for an ugly car like that. I'll take a Fiesta or (when it gets here) Fiat 500, thanks.
bodyblue says:
09:10 AM, 12/ 3/09
Watch out FIt, here comes the 2 and the Fiesta. In just a few months the current sub-compacts from Honda, Toyota and Nissan will no longer be the only game in town.
chunky_azian says:
09:16 AM, 12/ 3/09
"I want a Mazda1 with navi, 19 speaker harmon kardon, perf leather heat and cool seats, leather dash, panoramic roof, HUD, LED adaptive headlights, surround view monitor, 70 mpg diesel, self parking, and paddle shifters.
The age of the microcar has come."
Self-parking in a Mazda2? Perhaps some people should be required to take a driving test again.
nissanfanatic says:
09:59 AM, 12/ 3/09
Can you say MazdaSpeed 2 anyone?
http://www.caradvice.com.au/9006/mazdaspeed-mazda2-mps/
sabastian says:
01:11 PM, 12/ 3/09
^Yes, please.
imclarkkent says:
01:54 PM, 12/ 3/09
"the price of gasoline will rise and there will be more room for small, affordable and fuel-efficient cars like the Mazda 2..."
Gas prices averaged 1.61/gallon last christmas, and is now up to 2.68; the second highest recorded December on record. The prices may not be stratospheric like they were in 2008 before the global economy forced prices down, but to insinuate that gas prices aren't (comparatively) high already seems amiss.
It always rubs me the wrong way when people don't acknowledge the current state of affairs. We don't need "affordable and fuel-efficient cars"; we need a solution to our dependency on fossil fuels in general. Here's something to consider: My 1985 Honda Civic (my first car) got 38/43. So where is the advancement in mpg? True we have more efficient engines, but that just means the car companies can stuff the vehicle with more frivolous amenities and profit margin. Heck, there was even a Sentra diesel that got what, 50 mpg highway? If Tesla can come up with an all-electric vehicle, why can't major car companies? No, the Volt is NOT a genuine all-electric. It's still a slave to dino-go for anything more than 'about 50 miles'. It's a just another marketing-purposed hybrid, albeit one with more forward-thinking technology.
And on that topic... Anyone who wants to argue that technology isn't being trivialized for the primary purpose of marketing need only look at the flashy displays of 99% of the hybrids out there, with their cotton-candy, green-is-the-new-black, happy-happy growing trees nonsense. How about we stop wasting all that R&D on something the driver shouldn't really be looking at when they are driving anyway (maybe we would need less airbags if we gave people less distractions), and put it into solving the REAL problems.
cr_driver says:
04:57 PM, 12/ 4/09
Fit, fiesta, mazda 2, whatever, no please, I`ll pass.
blownb310 says:
02:56 PM, 04/17/10
"We don't need "affordable and fuel-efficient cars"
Oh yes we do. Bring on the fuel efficient diesels! Finally!!!!!