Inviting all members to join this short convoy from Bermaz Ampang to Mid Valley. Bermaz will launch Mazda8 in Malaysia at Mid Valley on 10 July. We will gather at Bermaz Ampang at 11am before making our move to Mid Valley at 12pm. Expecting surprises from Bermaz to the club members. Support the club, support Mazda…

View Facebook Event at : http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=135864746442163

Mazda is pulling out all the stops for this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. While the company will show off a number of its more exciting models from the past, including the ever wicked 787B edition MX-5 and the more recent MX-5 Superlight Concept, the biggest news is that the display will feature a life-size Scalextric track. Yep. Mazda will build an automated track with real-life cars in an interpretation of every hoon’s favorite childhood toy. Mazda has chosen a handful of cars to celebrate the 20-year history of the MX-5, including a 1990 Miata, a 2000 10th anniversary edition and a California Special Edition.

If that’s not enough to get your eyebrows up, visitors will be able to drive the actual hill climb course in a new MX-5 or ride shotgun in a special-built racer. Not that we needed any more of a reason to want to be in West Sussex this weekend, but these Mazda goodies sound like a good time. The event kicks off on the first of July and runs through the fourth. Hit the jump for the full press release.

Mazda says there’s a little bit of Miata in everything it does. While it’s easy to chalk that up as marketing frippery, when the automaker launched the Little Roadster That Could back in 1989, it proved that great things can come from a machine developed to be simple, reliable and driver-focused. Even now, none of Mazda’s wares offer class-leading fuel economy or practicality, but they’ve proven to be some of the best drivers in their segments. And as enthusiasts, it’s easy to exchange a bit of functionality for a larger helping of fun.

Now, Mazda hopes to achieve this same sort of positioning within the B-car segment – a class that’s grown substantially in America and is projected to double in size within the next few years. The 2011 Mazda2 comes to town right on the heels of its sister car, the Ford Fiesta, but as we found out after a lengthy drive through the city of Montréal and the countryside of Canada’s Québec province, it’s a wholly different machine. And while the Fiesta is sure to provide some serious competition for the 2, there are plenty of other well-to-do B cars in the U.S. that are ready to be sized up against the minuscule Mazda.

If you only look at the stats, you wouldn’t think Mazda has positioned the 2 to be anything overly special. Not only is it the least powerful car in its segment, but it doesn’t offer some of the clever technology or unique packaging to make it stand out from its kin. But Mazda is immensely proud of the new 2, and though we looked on with skeptical faces, the people in charge simply told us that the little hatch’s story is best told on the road. So let’s get to it.

Mazda commercials end with the written line, “Zoom Zoom. Forever,” and there are few who aren’t familiar with that little boy whispering “Zoom Zoom.” But while the tagline might be akin to a diamond from De Beers, the 13-year relationship between Mazda and the firm that created it isn’t forever at all. Mazda has left the agency for Team Detroit/WPP, perhaps taking the little boy with them.

One of the rare slogans taken all around the world in its untranslated state, the firm’s commercials of late have seemed to focus on the blue checkered flag. A Mazda marketing exec once said, “The exhilaration we felt as a child shooting down a hill on our bike, this is what Zoom-Zoom means at its most basic level.” That’s a hard message to get from a flag – which could be the reason for the agency change in the first place.

Generally speaking, all of us at Autoblog prefer to drive a manual. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule. For instance, driving a supremely sedate luxury car with anything other than a sit-back-and-relax automatic gearbox doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Also, when stuck in gridlock traffic, who wants to deal with a clutch pedal?

And then there’s the odd situation presented in our Funny Car Commercial of the Day. We’ll set the scene: There’s a young man driving an old station wagon with a manual transmission. Add one beautiful Italian blonde with long legs and a short skirt who just happens to need a ride. And she apparently wants some attention.

The moral of the story? Sometimes, having an automatic transmission is a very, very good thing. For what it’s worth, the Mazda2 just so happens to offer one. Check out the video after the break and check out veryfunnyads.com for more funny car commercials.

According to Auto Express, Mazda Europe’s British design boss Peter Birtwhistle has confirmed that the Japanese automaker will take on a new styling direction. Perhaps the news shouldn’t come as a shocker, considering that former Mazda design head Franz von Holhausen, the man responsible for the previous styling direction of concepts like the Nagare and Furai, left Mazda for Tesla Motors back in 2008.

Further, Laurens van den Acker, who styled the latest Mazda5, left the Japanese automaker for Renault. As such, Birtwhistle told AE, “Nagare is done. After the 5, it’s highly unlikely that there will be another Nagare car. Mazda has moved on.” Apparently, Mazda found it rather difficult to apply the swoopy and flowing conceptual styling direction to production cars, specifically boxier shapes like that of the Mazda5.

We tend to agree with Mazda that the Nagare look is awesome on concepts but tough to translate to production. So, what’s next? Apparently, Mazda will attempt to turn itself into a “Japanese Alfa Romeo,” with an initial concept based on its new “Thrusting Motion” styling direction. We should see the fruits of this early effort at the upcoming Paris Motor Show.

Rumors have surfaced that the next-generation Mazda MX-5 could tip the scales at 2,200 pounds and boast an impressive 50 miles per gallon without losing a lick of horsepower in the process. And while initial reports had the Miata achieving those impressive numbers with the help of Mazda’s forthcoming SKY-G engines, Best Car Japan is hearing something different from Mazda HQ.

The Japanese magazine reports that the 2012 Miata will receive a rotary mill with a displacement of 1.2 or 1.3 liters, helping the roadster drop a few pounds in the process. However, the Wankel has proven to be anything but fuel efficient, so to achieve lofty fuel economy numbers the rumored rotary would be of the hybrid variety. That sounds a bit far fetched, but the Wankel/hybrid marriage has already been consummated in the form of a Fiat 500 prototype created by FEV. The little Fiat contains a rotary that acts as a generator for a Lithium-Ion battery pack.

While it’s an intriguing idea, our money is on a small, efficient four-pot with turbocharging. After all, one of the most attractive qualities of the Miata is it’s diminutive price tag, and hybrids tend to add a lot of cost – not to mention weight – to the bottom line.

The Mazda MX-5 Miata has been electromagnetic when it comes to special editions, nearly as powerful at attracting check-this-option-box versions as the Ford Mustang. The next one to be rung up is the MX-5 Miyako for those roadster-loving Brits. Part of the year-long celebration of 20 years of Miata production, the “summer special edition” Miyako gets the requisite leather interior upgrade with highlighted stitching and badging, unique colors and 17-inch wheels.

It is the first special edition that you can have in both ragtop and folding tin-top forms, with 500 each available to the consuming public. It goes on sale July 1, priced from £18,385 ($27,722 U.S.) on-the-road.

Mazda will be returning to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the famous endurance race which it won back in 1991. Mazda is still the only ever Japanese manufacturer to have ever won Le Mans and its 787B winning car is the only rotary powered machine to have triumphed there. The maverick carmaker persisted with rotary engines and is the only company to still use the tech today. Thus it makes sense that they have decided to return with the Mazda RX-8 Hydrogen RE in the “Le Mans vers le futur” (Le Mans into the future) event.

A new addition to the main event, “Le Mans into the future” is for all sorts of eco-friendly and alternative fuel vehicles. Mazda’s contender will be using a duel-fuel (petrol/hydrogen) Renesis rotary engine where the driver can switch propulsion sources at a touch of a button. Two hydrogen fuel tanks are installed in the trunk and are pressurised to 35 MPa, the current standard for hydrogen fueling stations. Making its debut back in 2004, this RX-8 is available for lease in Japan and Norway.

Just like in 1991, the car will be driven by veteran Yojiro Terada, who has 29 Le Mans races under his belt, 16 with Mazda. He will do battle with cars like the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid and Ferrari 599XX HPDC.

PEMANDU, a government think tank led by Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Idris Jala tasked with formulating proposals to reduce the country’s government subsidy budget has recommended a petrol price hike of 15 sen for RON95 and 10 sen for diesel.

This is the petrol price hike schedule which we’ll be looking at, based on a crude oil forecast of US$73.06 per barrel in 2011 and the region of between US$79.41 to US$94.52 per barrel between 2013 and 2015.

• Current 2010 Price – RM1.80 per liter RON95
• Q3/Q4 2010 Price Hike – RM1.95 per liter RON95
• 2011 Price Hike – RM2.16 per liter RON95 (broken into 2 hikes, once per 6 months)
• 2012 Price Hike – RM2.20 per liter RON95
• 2013 Price Hike – RM2.34 per liter RON95
• 2014 Price Hike – RM2.52 per liter RON95
• 2015 Price Hike – RM2.60 per liter RON95

These are just the proposed hikes for RON95. RON97 was not mentioned in the recommendations, which indicates that the government is further decreasing priority on RON97 subsidies. We could see a price of way over RM3 per liter for RON97 by 2015.

Not only that, the proposal recommends that the government renegotiate the PLUS toll concession contract this year and the LDP contract by 2013, then all toll concession agreements must proceed without any subsidies, resulting in a toll hike of between 10% to 67% depending on the highway, distance, etc from this year onwards.

For those dreaming of a future of driving electric cars, electricity tariffs are to be untouched for those using less than 200 kWh for this year. However gas prices are proposed to be increased by RM3/MMBTU every 6 months, which will translate to an electricity increased of 1.6 sen/kWh every 6 months. If we take the Nissan Leaf’s 24kWh battery as an example, that’s a RM0.38 hike per full charge for the Nissan Leaf every 6 months. LPG, which is priced at RM24.50 has been proposed to be hiked to RM27 with a 20% price increase every year.

The proposal also spells out a “mitigation plan” which involves giving cash rebates of 126 ringgit for owners of cars with engines smaller than 1,000cc in capacity, and 54 ringgit for owners of small motorcycles. My reference source doesn’t mention of this is one time, monthly, or yearly. There is also a proposal for a 20% discount on toll charges for frequent users and a cash rebate of RM20 for anyone with a Malaysian IC – not sure what this cash rebate is for but I’m assuming it’s for fuel?

According to PEMANDU this will save the government about 3 billion ringgit this year, 14 billion ringgit next year, 21 billion ringgit in 2012, 29.5 billion ringgit in 2013 and 35 billion ringgit in 2014. These plans are yet to be approved by the government.