Autoblog

Amazing how $4-per-gallon gas can make us sit up and notice formerly innocuous economy cars. In all fairness, cars like the Mazda2 have always shown brightly on our radar. Sporty and stylish with a bargain-basement price tag and a fuel-sipping demeanor that will keep more of those dead presidents in our pockets, it sounds like a perfect fit. When you add in the Zoom-Zoom nature of your typical Mazda, the fun factor just shoots up to 11. We've already discussed this car a bit here at AB, and have even shown you 3- and 5-door hatches we've seen in the metal, but now we are starting to get more glimpses of the sedan version undergoing desert testing. Pictures like these from Fastlane Daily give us hope that this fun little car might finally be greenlighted for sales Stateside. The car might end up being identical to the sedan we saw in China, but all of that camo makes it hard to say for certain. Whatever we end up getting, it will probably be another fun option at the low end of the car market.

Catch the latest version of FLD, co-starring the BMW X1, Nissan GT-R and Cadillac CTS wagon, after the jump.

Click above to view the Mazda2 sedan in hi-res

There are certain things we may never understand about Eastern cultures. Somewhere down on the list comes the notion that compact hatchbacks look better with diminutive trunks. Take for example this Mazda2 sedan, which the Japanese automaker has prepared especially for the Chinese market. The sedan was unveiled at the Guangzhou Auto Show, and joined the hatchback variant in China this month with prices equivalent to $12,400 for the base 86-hp 1.3 to $16,500 for the fully-loaded 104-hp 1.5.

Like the ironically-named Swift DZire launched by Maruti Suzuki in India, the four-door variant of the Mazda2, albeit considerably less gut-wrenching than the Suzuki, still leaves us scratching our heads. But apparently the Chinese market demands it. Take note, Ford: we don't. So please, if and when you decide to bring us the Mazda2, which has been such a huge success overseas, keep the trunk and give us the hatch. (Come to think of it, same goes for the Fiesta.)

[Source: Winding Road]

click either image to view high-res galleries

The ever increasing importance of the Chinese auto market is on full display this week at the 2007 Guangzhou Motor Show, and fortunately we have the Autoblog Chinese crew pounding the show floor as we speak. You can check out their coverage here (translated courtesy of Google), although for those not fluent in Chinese (like us) you'll have settle for looking at all the pretty pictures. Yesterday we told you about the debut of both the Mazda2 sedan and Ford Verve Sedan Concept at the Guangzhou show, and today we have live shots from the show floor courtesy of Autoblog Chinese. Technically these two cars are very much related, as the Verve concept is expected to inspire a production car of the same name that will be sold in the U.S. and markets abroad. That new small car will be based on the same platform as the Mazda2, and after the strong showing of four-doors in China this week, we bet a sedan version of the production Verve is certainly being planned alongside a three-door hatch. Click any image below to view either gallery of high-res shots taken from the floor of the 2007 Guangzhou Motor Show.

Gallery: Mazda2 Sedan


Gallery: Ford Verve Sedan Concept

click above image for more high-res pics of the Mazda2 sedan

This week at the 2007 Guangzhou Motor Show in China, Mazda will be unveiling the four-door Mazda2 sedan alongside the rest of its Chinese lineup that includes the Mazda3 and Mazda5. China is the first market in the world to see the four-door sedan version of the Mazda2, which originally debuted in Europe as a three-door hatch. According to the press-release from Mazda, the Mazda2 sedan will be produced in China by Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co., Ltd. at its Nanjing plant. It's unclear, however, when or even if the Mazda2 sedan will be exported for sale in other markets besides China. It could also be that production of the Mazda2 sedan will occur outside of China at the same facilities where the three-door hatch is produced. Mazda also is introducing a five-door hatchback version of the Mazda2 in China. If any of you find yourselves at the 2007 Guangzhou Motor Show this week, takes some pics and let us know.

[Source: Mazda]