Fiat May Deepen Proposed Partnership with Mazda and Produce its Cars at Chrysler Plants

As it turns out, the Fiat Group's decision to tie the fate of its next generation Alfa Romeo Spider to the Mazda MX-5, could be the beginning of a new relationship between the two automakers.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event at a Chrysler plant in Belvidere, Illinois, Fiat and Chrysler Group CEO Sergio Marchionne said that the company is open to deepening its newly found partnership with Mazda in order to lower its manufacturing and developing costs as well as to expand its reach.
"We will continue to look at other bilateral arrangements," said Marchionne who added, "We're totally open."
Reuters reported that while Mazda builds Alfa Romeo's next Spider on the same production line as the new MX-5 in Japan, the Fiat and Chrysler Group could manufacture the Japanese automaker's vehicles at its own plants worldwide.
The Italian company has entered several production partnerships over the years, including the Fiat 500 that is built in a joint venture with Ford's Ka in Poland, the Fiat Punto with GM's Opel Corsa and the Fiat Sedici with Suzuki's SX4 in Hungary.
"The economics make it very difficult for most automakers to continue to produce all their own platforms and powertrains", Marchionne told reporters, according to Reuters. "We're willing to engage in discussions with anyone else," he added.

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Japanese TV show pits MX-5 against BRZ and FR-S at Twin Ring Motegi

A Japanese motoring show, complete with titles in comic fonts, put three racing pilots behind the wheels of the Mazda MX-5 Miata, Subaru BRZ and Scion FR-S (Toyota 86, in this case) for three laps of the 2.1-mile East Road Course at Twin Ring Motegi. Of course the segment producers know that putting the 167-horsepower roadster against the 200-hp coupes isn't exactly fair, so they gave the Mazda a small head start of about three grid positions.

Ex-sports car racer Takayuki Kinoshita handles the Mazda, former open-wheel pilot Naoki Hattori drives the BRZ, and former Le Mans-class winner Keiichi Tsuchiya gets fast and loose in the FR-S. The drivers offer copious on-track commentary, but it's in Japanese. That said, watching the MX-5 try to stay in front and watching Tsuchiya start drifting are universal gearhead languages. You'll find the action after the jump.


News Source: YouTube


VIDEO: BRZvs86vsRoadster BATTLE

Mazda to Discard V6 Engine, Plans to Develop Skyactive Rotary Engines

Mazda to Discard V6 Engine, Plans to Develop Skyactive Rotary Engines - When premium carmakers such as BMW and Audi put so much focus on their four-cylinder powerplants, it's only reasonable that mainstream brands like Mazda do the same.

Currently, the Japanese carmakers offers a larger V6 engine on its Mazda6 sedan and CX-9 crossover, but that won't be the case with their successors. Speaking to Car & Driver magazine, Robert Davis, Mazda’s senior vice president of U.S. Operations, told the publication that it has no plans to develop a next generation V6 under it SkyActive program.

Instead, it will focus on making its larger cars lighter and offer turbocharged versions of its four-cylinder engines.

Davis was also asked about the future of Mazda's Rotary engine. According to the Mazda official, the company will continue its development applying the same core technologies found in other SkyActive products including more-efficient transmissions. He added that Mazda is also exploring the idea of using a new rotary engine as an electric generator.

When asked about the next generation of the popular MX-5 / Miata, Davis said that it too will benefit from the firm's SkyActive program and that it will be lighter than the current model. In addition, he said that the company is preparing some very special editions of the compact roadster model.

Source

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