Mazda Club Malaysia

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.