Mazda will unveil Nagare concept in L.A.
click on image to enlarge
The official leakage ahead of the L.A. Auto Show has begun, and Mazda has oozed out an obscure artsy rendering of a concept it will debut called the Nagare (pronounced na-gah-reh). Unlike the last three concepts from Mazda, the Sassou, Senku and Kabura, the Nagare is said to actually showcase Mazda's future design direction. The new General Manager of Mazda's Design Division, Laurens van den Acker, says the concept sums up the future of Mazda design in one word - "Flow". That's followed up in the press release by a heavy flow of PR design jargon that tells us nothing about the concept, things like "Negare examines light and shadow," and "an evolving expression of Zoom-Zoom." What can we tell you about the Nagare from the accompanying image? It has a brake light, at least one, tiger stripes on the driver's side, no doors, and, oh yeah, it's definitely in the business of examining light and shadow. Still, we did like the Kabura concept Mazda showed in Detroit back in January that was designed by Franz Von Holzhausen, who now heads Design for Mazda North America and lead the Nagare design team.
Follow the jump for Mazda's ebullient press release.
[Source: Mazda]
PRESS RELEASE:
Mazda to Reveal All-New Design Concept
at 2007 Los Angeles International Auto Show
Hiroshima, Japan, 15th November 2006. Mazda Motor Corporation will present an all-new concept car, the Mazda Nagare (pronounced na-gah-reh), for the first time globally at the Greater Los Angeles International Auto Show during its press conference at 16:05 local time on 29 November 2006. Following on the heels of three very successful and exploratory Mazda design concepts – Sassou, Senku, and Kabura – from last year's show season, Nagare is the first indication of Mazda's future design direction.
According to Laurens van den Acker, newly-appointed General Manager of Mazda's Design Division, Nagare sums up the future of Mazda design in one deceptively simple word – Flow. "Nagare is a celebration of proportions and surface language that will evolve into subsequent designs planned for presentation at future international auto shows. Nagare examines light and shadow, and begins to reveal the global design cues for the next generation of Mazda vehicles."
Franz Von Holzhausen, Director of Design for Mazda North American Operations, who headed the Nagare design team in Irvine, California describes the concept as an evolving expression of Zoom-Zoom: "Inspired by the movement of nature's elements, our designers have captured motion, energy and lightness, translating into a beautiful language of lines and forms that are powerful yet effortless, provocative yet strikingly seductive."
And there's much more to come, too, as Mazda continues to evolve Flow through future models. For now, Mazda enthusiasts can experience Nagare as an indication of Mazda Design's confident step in a new direction. Other vehicles on display in Los Angeles will include the Mazda CX-7 crossover SUV, the Mazda CX-9 three-row, seven-passenger SUV, which arrives in North American Mazda dealerships in early 2007, and the brilliantly-designed Mazda MX-5 Roadster Coupe with power retractable hardtop.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
eric 11:25AM (11/15/2006)
For the love of god please let this be the more production ready version of the Kabura concept. We need an affordable sub 25k RWD sports coupe. The market is full of FWD coupes and Mazda could trump them all with a real performance vehicle. Drop in the 2.3l DISI turbo 4 cyl and it will sell lot hotcakes.
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Moe 11:40AM (11/15/2006)
Here is a PDF of a research document by Mazda about aerodynamics and airflow that mentions the Nagare:
www.nec.co.jp/hpc/sx-e/sx-world/no28/e6_7.pdf
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Lee Gibson 1:18PM (11/15/2006)
Eric, what's wrong with the Miata?
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bernie 1:23PM (11/15/2006)
Very unfortunate name. If you were a person of color, would you buy a Nagare? Let's sell a car named Chynck in China!
Don't shoot the messenger - I'm not about racism or PC. I just know what I thought when I first saw the name, and that can't be good for Mazduh.
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Andy 2:20PM (11/15/2006)
People do it when they clone classic cars. They're worthless, either way.
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iQuack 2:13PM (11/15/2006)
Let's hope the all new design is something that's close to production.
Concept cars that cannot possibly be produced bore the crap out of me--just teasing and annoying.
Show me what's likely to be offered for sale within the next couple of years and skip the B.S.
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a jug of Clorox 2:33PM (11/15/2006)
quote ~~~~
4. Very unfortunate name. If you were a person of color, would you buy a Nagare? Let's sell a car named Chynck in China!
end quote ~~~~
Mazda's numerical naming scheme for production models notwithstanding, "Nagare" isn't pronounced per English rules. It's a phoneticization of Japanese so it sounds like "Nah-gah-ray".
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Turbofrog 7:47PM (11/15/2006)
Moe, I'm pretty sure that PDF is completely unrelated. From what I gathered, that was the name of the simulation they used, which would make sense if Nagare meant flow...as in airflow.
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bernie 7:50PM (11/15/2006)
Great so if I name a car pussy but explain that it's pronounced "poo say" women should buy it?
Zoom zoom was innovative. This is a mistake. Companies spend millions to come up with good car names. mazda skipped that step. Ouch!
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doglet 8:09PM (11/15/2006)
"For the love of god please let this be the more production ready version of the Kabura concept. We need an affordable sub 25k RWD sports coupe. The market is full of FWD coupes and Mazda could trump them all with a real performance vehicle. Drop in the 2.3l DISI turbo 4 cyl and it will sell lot hotcakes."
+1
btw, miatas suck because convertibles are for girls. ill take a car with a roof because it weighs less, costs less, stiffer body, safer, simpler with less to go go wrong later. a tiny convertible is not acceptable as a daily driver but a tiny coupe works fine.
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Roland 8:08PM (10/23/2007)
doglet, how old are you? 10? "convertibles are for girls"? is that why it has been named top convertible? most wanted sports car? yeah, I know it does not have the 430hp engine as the Corvette, but a sports car biggest asset is handling. In this category, the Miata shines. Yeah, I coupe Mazda based on the Miata platform would be really nice but the Miata does a great job as a small & nimble sport car.
mikomichan 8:54AM (11/16/2006)
nagare is Japanese for "stream" or "flow"
We don't even know the exact look of the concept and there's already bashing.
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bernie 10:19AM (11/16/2006)
Well, Mikomichan, I think we have all the info we need to bash the name, now don't we?
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engineerEd 1:17PM (11/16/2006)
I've heard "buttnugget" is the Swahili word for fun. I'm sure all manufacturers will be bidding for the rights to that one.
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vex 4:41PM (11/16/2006)
From looking at the picture it seems to me that the engine would be in the rear of the car, and that the form of the cars exterior itself would have little to no "jaggies" all the way to a raised rear. Notice that the rear fenders are cut half way back on the tire and that the fron wheels and fenders seem independent of the body. I know this is just an artist rendering but if the car is anything like this i wouldn't be shocked to see an RR format.
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jane 5:23PM (11/24/2006)
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