A few weeks back we gave you a glimpse of what the new Mazda Furai concept looked like. Now that leaked photo has turned into a full blown image.

The Mazda Furai actually made a couple of hot laps around Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca piloted by ALMS ace Jamie Bach, where this photo was taken.
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A stealthy looking Mazda “quasi” supercar, this one only generates 450hp from its three-rotor engine, will visit Detroit next month.

The Furai has stayed pretty well under wraps, with Mazda being relatively close lipped about its details. What I do know is that Mazda took an America Le Mans Series racecar as its inspiration and designed the car on top of the Courage C65 chassis that Mazda promoted on the race track a couple of years back.

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Things have come a long way since this “good old boys” photo of an AMC design team working on a clay model was released in the early 60’s. Maybe American Motors would have had better success if their cars were actually made out of clay. Products such as the Gremlin, Pacer and Javelin while innovative, all had major holes that eventually lead to AMC falling through one, and finally shutting its doors in the 80’s.

Fast forward to 2007 where visitors to the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show will be able to watch a life-size “concept car” being sculpted out of clay. The final model will be completed on November 24^th.
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Mazda seems to have taken greening to its next level. The Japanese automaker has unveiled a new fabric for car interiors made entirely from plant-derived fibers. The fabric was shown at the Tokyo Motor Show on the seat covers and door trim in the all-new Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid.
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Life is so busy that sometimes even the best of us have momentary lapses of concentration. Such was the case this past weekend when the best co-driver I’ve ever driven with slowly pulled out in front of a guy who was traveling much too fast in a McDonald’s parking lot. Fortunately, nobody was hurt other than a bit of pride.
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Ok, to tell the truth I have never played chess and I don’t know my Rook from a Pawn. I have a good idea what it means when the King jumps the Queen but that’s another story. Having won more endurance races than any other team in the U.S., what I do know is how to win endurance races. Many spectators and even racers really don’t have a true understanding of how complex winning an endurance race is let alone an endurance race series. What is there to it? Build a good car, use all the best equipment, have the best drivers and go win, that’s all there is to it. Riiiight.

Winning major endurance races begins with an understanding of what it takes to win. I have also learned not to be intimidated when teams from all over the world show up with their unlimited budgets. All it takes is one bad decision, one missed apex, one mechanical failure or the planets not aligning at the right time. That said, the car must without a doubt be well engineered and prepped and have all the necessary back up parts and a team who knows how to change them should they need it quicker than anyone else. This means lots of thought must be given not only to the “what if” but how each item can be improved so it can be a “quick-change” instead of a repair. For example, our entire rear end assemblies are made into quick change so in the event we should need to change one it would include housing, gears, wheel bearings, brakes, quick disconnect brake lines, and all. Then we rehearse changing it so that everyone knows EXACTLY what tools need to be ready and who does what, etc. We can change an entire rear end and be pulling back onto the track in less than 2 minutes. Then there is transmissions, clutch, and even quick change engines with radiators attached already filled with coolant. Engine change will take us 12 minutes from start to finish. It’s all about preparation.
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Following the trend set by a few other manufacturers, Mazda has given the world a sneak peek at the all new Mazda6 which is scheduled to be unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month. Officially, the wraps will come off at a press conference September 11 in Frankfurt.

Not only is this a full redesign of the sedan, but it is the first model to incorporate Mazda’s new Zoom-Zoom design philosophy. Sadly, the wagon has been dropped from the lineup.

Mazda press release after the break
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Well, its no secret that the current clad Corolla is well over-due for its model year makeover. Toyota has now hung onto the current design, extending the conforming, utilitarian, and conservative (read: boring) outlook for 2 extra years. In some circles I have heard this to be a really interesting strategy:

1. Civic/Mazda3/Lancer are all enjoying a facelift late 2005 Impreza hits the scene in new-dapper present, mid-2006.

2. Celica is retired, RSX is hung, Civic SIR/TypeR is introduced in respective domestic markets, WRX/STI/MazdaSpeed3 readily available

3. Yaris making a nill impact with the dealership offered ‘aero package’ For those that absolutly unaware of Toyota’s new “flagship” sports compact, let me paint you a picture:

Yes, get a good look at that rear. This thing doesn’t have enough horses for you to see it again once you’ve passed it.

WTF is up with Toyota? are they too busy ENJOYING WORLD DOMINATION WITHOUT A SPORTS CAR? WTF???????
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If you’ve never been to a professional level race, you owe it to yourself to visit one. There really is nothing like the sights, sounds and smells of car racing. Maybe the best event of all time is the annual Champ Car World Series visit to the Toronto waterfront. While the event is easily the favorite race of most teams, it might be one of the best for fans as well.
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Press day at the Canadian International Autoshow opened yesterday with the announcement of the winners of the AJAC Canadian Car of the Year awards. Beating out the Honda Fit and Mazdaspeed 3 for top honours was the 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid.

You can read the full AJAC press release after the break
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