The North American Mazda6 will be powered by a newly developed 2.5L inline four-cylinder engine or a 3.7L V6. The four-cylinder is already available in the European and Japanese Mazda6 models, while the V6 engine is the same unit from the CX-9 SUV. Mazda is yet to reveal power ratings for the four-cylinder but expect to see more than 156hp offered by the previous 2.3L mill. The V6, meanwhile, should deliver the same 273hp as the unit in the CX-9.
A six-speed manual and a five-speed automatic transmission with manual-shift mode will be available for the four-cylinder, while the V6 is only available with a a six-speed automatic transmission with manual-shift mode. The only bodystyle will be the four-door sedan. Other unique features of the North American version include a new grille and rear fascia and bigger fenders.
The car will be built at the same AutoAlliance International Flat Rock site in Michigan where the previous version was sourced. The car will first hit showrooms in August and should be priced from just under $20,000.
North American 2009 Mazda6
European Mazda6
Reader Comments
Fri Apr 25 2008 7:31 AM
chris says
that picture up there actually looks somewhat good. i'll have to wait until I see it at NAIAS in 9 months though.
I hope the new 3 is significantly different than this styling. thats the rumour anyways. i know they took the first 6 and got the 3 from it, but this design is more suited for a larger (read: boring) car. the new 3 had better be a really big move in the other direction.
cmon mazda, you're so close to convincing me of switching from ford. you're almost there... make it happen. seal the deal.
Fri Apr 25 2008 9:26 AM
Savedsol says
Despite being larger, the US gets the short end of the stick. NOT faithful to the world car.
Fri Apr 25 2008 9:43 AM
chris says
how are we getting the shorter end of the stick? the NA model is much more upper class looking, and as you said, it's larger so that it can actually compete with the camry which is gigantic.
it's on the same all new mechanicals as the world version, and generally speaking, the difference is only in the body work. which again, if you compare with the international model, has more accents to make it stand out. for example, those funky exhaust pipes.
the only thing this one doesnt have compared to others is a range of small engines. but would you really want anything smaller than a 2.3L in this beast?
Fri Apr 25 2008 10:35 AM
MyWheelsOnWalls.com says
No wagon for the U.S.? Thanks Ford as I'm sure that was not a Mazda decision. Oh well, I'll just have to take my money else where.
My current Mazda 6 wagon has been great and I was looking forward to the new one.
Fri Apr 25 2008 10:59 AM
Another Manual Tranny Bites the Dust says
It's bad enough that Ford doesn't offer its Euro vehicles in North America, but we really didn't need to get screwed out of a manual option for the v6. A fundamental miss. Strike that car off my shopping list.
Fri Apr 25 2008 11:00 AM
chris says
MWOW: ford doesnt have that much say in mazda's policies. infact mazda still has enough control over themselves that they've stated recently that they want to move further away from ford than they already are.
ford and mazda mostly are an engineering, parts, and facilities partnership. the autoalliance plant in flat rock for example makes the 6 and all of the Mustangs. ford gave mazda 1 billion in cash, straight up, for them to engineer the first 6, with the intent to harvest the platform for global operations. ford's mid sized cars run on a mazda platform, and mazda's small car runs off a collaborative platform. the B-series, and tribute, are rebadged rangers and escapes. the ford probe was also a mazda.......... you get the picture. they only collaborate on things that they both can agree on, for mutual benefit.
Fri Apr 25 2008 11:40 AM
Mike says
Nobody buys wagons anymore and most don't buy sticks.
Fri Apr 25 2008 1:32 PM
Ivan says
Looks very hot, reminds my current gen Maxima. My only concern is what's gonna happen when you put front plate? I think whole front will loose its appeal.
Sat Apr 26 2008 1:51 AM
MyWheelsOnWalls.com says
Chris- All the managers that make the decisions at Mazda came from Ford. Ford cycles them through all the brands before promoting them through the ranks and gives them a CEO responsibility of a brand. What I'm getting at is that they are all taught to think the Ford way.
Mike O'Driscoll for instance started at Jaguar before Ford owned them and then went off to run Lincoln and is now back at Jaguar with a Ford way of managing (although now sold to Tata Motors it should be interesting what happens).
Most of Mazda's managers started on the bottom at Jaguar moved up within then were sent off to various upper management roles within the Ford brand before landing key positions at Mazda.
Platform sharing has nothing to do with what Mazda gets to sell in America it all comes down to what Ford trained its "robots" to decide.
Sat Apr 26 2008 10:49 AM
ohmy says
euro one looks better but the NA version isnt that bad, lil on the bland side, reminds me of a solara
Wed Aug 13 2008 11:56 PM
YetAgain says
Yet again, the US market gets the less attractive model and fewer options of style and engines than the European market. The marketing people at Mazda USA must be using Buick clients in their samples. I see that it took the Ford marketing people 5 years to understand that the European Focus is a superior car to the US version and needed to be offered here. Perhaps the same lack of foresight is in play here with the 6 in the land of the not-so-free to choose cutting-edge cars.
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