World Auto News & Reviews

Two new bodyshop distributors have been appointed by Mazda UK as part of a drive to improve the service to Mazda’s 150-strong dealer network and 177 Approved Accident Repair Centres and their customers.

Morelli Group will distribute two of Mazda UK’s three approved paint brands DuPont and Spies Hecker. The second distributor is ACIS who will be responsible for the third approved paint brand, Sikkens. ACIS is already Sikkens largest distributor in the UK. Mazda UK has also renewed its current contracts with all three paint suppliers for a further three years.
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Mazda’s continued popularity in Scotland is proven for the fifth consecutive year, with Mazda3 scooping the ‘Best Family Car’ category at The Association of Scottish Motoring Writers (ASMW) Scottish Car of the Year Awards 2009, held in St Andrews on Friday 13th November. The all-new Mazda3 impressed judges with its quality, style and driving experience.

The panel of judges said: “Among the weird and wonderful new arrivals in the family car category the all-new Mazda3 stood out ahead of its rivals and pushed the boundaries in each criterion.”
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The all-new Mazda3 MPS ‘super-hatch’ has been given a residual value boost to coincide with the range-topper going on sale in the UK this Autumn. The 2.3-litre petrol model, which generates 260ps and 380Nm of torque and has a limited top speed of 155mph, has won plaudits from used car valuation experts at CAP.

After driving the car, CAP’s price forecasters praised the model’s sporty styling and aggressive look and consequently upped its benchmark three-year/60,000-miles forecasted value by three percentage points.
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The world’s most popular two-seat roadster, Mazda MX-5, is celebrating its 20th anniversary with another prestigious motoring award.

The ever-popular MX-5 fended off the challenge from premium European competition to be awarded the Best Sports Roadster under $150K in the annual Wheels magazine Gold Star Cars Awards. A solid performance against each of the judging criteria saw the MX-5 come out ahead of the Mercedes Benz SLK 350 and the Audi TTS Roadster.
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Mazda Motor Corporation today revealed its next-generation engine line-up and automatic transmission at the 41st Tokyo Motor Show. On display is the ‘Mazda SKY-G’ direct injection gasoline engine, the ‘Mazda SKY-D’ clean diesel engine and the ‘Mazda SKY Drive’ high-efficiency automatic transmission. This year’s Tokyo Motor Show also marks the Japan debut of the Kiyora concept car as an exhibit of Mazda’s next-generation environmental and safety technologies.
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