2014 Mazda3 named a finalist for the World Car of the Year

You would think what it takes to be considered a world class car is a price tag that would intimidate the fattest of wallets. That’s not the case this time as this year’s finalists for the World Car of the Year was announced last week at the Geneva Motor Show.

It’s not surprise that pricey powerful cars like the Audi A3 and BMW 4 series would secure a nomination, but finding its way on this prestigious list is the 2014 Mazda3.

Auto journalists from around the world has praised the design and engineering that was poured into Mazda’s mold of automotive excellence that has come to embody the latest generation of the Mazda3.

The selection committee for the World Car of the Year awards also acknowledged the beauty of the Mazda3 by naming it a finalist for the World Car Design of the Year, along with the BMW i3 and Mercedes-Benz C-Class.

It’s not every day that you see a $20,000 compact competing as a finalist against luxury cars that cost three times as much for a world title.

We won’t know if the Mazda3 is the World Car of the Year until next month when the winners will be announced at the 2014 New York International Auto Show.

For more information about the 2014 Mazda3, visit the home of the Mazda Experts at SportMazdaOrlando.com.

Mazda celebrates their 4-millionth Mazda3

Since June 2003, Mazda has built 4-million Mazda3s to date. To put that in perspective, there have been more Mazda3s built than there are people living in Oregon, the 27^th largest US state, by about roughly 70,000.

It’s been an impressive ten years and seven months of milestones since production first began on the first generation of Mazda3s. The first Mazda3 rolled off the assembly line in June 2003 at the manufacturing plant in Hofu, Japan. A fun fact about the Mazda3 is that in Japan it is not called the 3 but actually named the Mazda Axela.

In 2009, the second generation of Mazda3 debuted with an architecture formed from a collaboration with Ford and Volvo. By 2011, Mazda first debuted the SKYACTIV platform of technologies in the 2012 Mazda3. With fuel economy reaching 40 mpg while still maintaining a fun-to-drive sporty feel behind the wheel helped the Mazda3 grow in popularity over the next few years.

Last September, the 2014 Mazda3 released ushering in the third generation of Mazda’s best-selling compact.

Production is in full swing across the world in Japan, China, Thailand, and at Mazda’s brand new state-of-the-art plant in Mexico. At the rate the 3 is being built today, in the next 10 years Mazda might be celebrating the 10-millionth Mazda3.

For more information about Mazda3 specs and details, visit the Mazda Experts at SportMazdaOrlando.com.

RUMOR: Next up for a SkyActiv makeover, the 2015 MX-5 Miata!

Earlier this year, Mazda and Alfa Romero forged a new partnership which will be bringing a newly designed Mazda MX-5 Miata starting in 2015. At Don Mealey’s Sport Mazda, a new Mazda dealership in Orlando, Florida, our customers have shared with us the relief that the SkyActiv technologies in the 2013 Mazda3 and 2014 CX-5 and Mazda6 bring by offering great fuel economy and unparalleled safety features. Rumors have it that by the model cycle for 2015, the MX-5 Miata will be joining the other SkyActiv vehicles by coming equipped with a 1.3 liter turbocharged diesel SkyActiv engine!

Just a concept? or reality? We'll know soon enough!

It’s also rumored that the new SkyActiv diesel engine that will be added to the 2015 MX-5 Miata will be a modified 1.6 liter SkyActiv engine with an output of approximately 130 horsepower. If this is true, then it would officially make it the lowest horsepower a Miata has had since 1996. However, Mazda is looking at new design and manufacturing techniques that would drop the overall weight getting it down to about 1,760 pounds. While no official word is out by Mazda on the next generation of Miata’s, we’ll know more as time goes by. For more information about new Mazda’s and the current 2013 MX-5 Miata, visit SportMazdaOrlando.com. Sign up for a test drive on our website to experience the thrill of Mazda’s legacy roadster with a Mazda Expert today!

2013 Mazda MX-5 Miata Named Among Car and Driver’s Top 10 of 2012

For an 8^th year in a row and 14^th time appearing on the list, the Mazda Miata made Car and Driver’s Top 10 Best Cars for 2012. New Mazda dealerships like Don Mealey’s Sport Mazda in Orlando, Florida, have witnessed the joy from test drivers of the 2013 MX-5 Miata first-hand, along with its design, performance, and features; it is easy to see why it continually makes the list. A history of being listed isn’t a factor in determining the recognition Car and Driver felt the latest remodeling of the Miata deserved, but as they stated it “remains on the list for the eighth straight year because it shows how engineering rightness transcends performance figures.” The handling and balance of the inexpensive roadster gives what the auto publication acknowledged as a critical piece of criteria in helping it make the list.

For more information about the 2013 Mazda MX-5 Miata, visit SportMazdaOrlando.com to see how a Mazda Expert can take you on a test drive and show you what Mazda is made of!

MotorTrend Names Skyactiv Mazda3 The Best 40 MPG Compact Sedan

With plenty of choices in the compact sedan market touting 40 mpg, MotorTrend pitted six big name automakers against each other to find which makes the best fuel efficient sedan. The test compared the Chevy Cruze Eco, Ford Focus SFE, Hyundai Elantra, Honda Civic HF, Mazda3, and Volkswagen Jetta TDI in a battle of drivability, handling, fuel economy, engine performance, and ingenuity. When the test was over, MotorTrend named the Mazda3 the best compact sedan with 40 mpg mileage.

The automotive publication praised the performance and efficiency that Skyactiv technology has come to represent. When it came to the experience behind the wheel, the article reported one test driver saying “Great-handling car, very tossable with quick steering and very good feedback. The Mazda3 is easily the most fun vehicle to drive at the Proving Ground.” You can read MotorTrend’s article on their website. For more information about the Mazda3 and Skyactiv technology, visit SportMazdaOrlando.com and see how you can take a test drive with a Mazda Expert today!