The Fun And Dynmic Kabura Concept From Mazda

Mazda Australia will showcase its much-admired Kabura concept car in Sydney. The magnificent lineup includes the new CX-7 crossover, BT-50 truck range, and Mazda6. These vehicles will astound the crowd of this year's Australian International Motor Show.

"This year's Australian International Motor Show will be very important for Mazda Australia," says Doug Dickson, Mazda Australia's managing director. "Not only will we be able to showcase two new cars, but we are very proud to have the Kabura concept car in the country. Kabura signals Mazda's future design direction and we are very excited with the result."

The Kabura concept features a compact sports vehicle that uses 2.0-litre MZR engine to combine fun and functionality to driving pleasure. It is especially designed to cater to drivers who appreciate dynamic and sport driving without sacrificing comfort and functionality. Kabura concept car is not a traditional car - that is the edge of incorporated to it.

"With Mazda6 Diesel on sale in October, the CX-7 on sale in November and the BT-50 range in December, this motor show will provide an excellent forum for us to talk to our customers and introduce these new Zoom-Zoom models," Dickson added.

Kabura, which was introduced at the 2006 North American International Auto Show, shows striking themes and technologies. It is equipped with 3+1 seating arrangement to provide greater passenger comfort without escalating size or weight. Kabura uses powerful Mazda mechanical parts and accessories to boost its overall appeal. It incorporates some of the remarkable Mazda MX-3 parts. Additionally, the concept car also uses rear-drive layout identical to that of Miata.

Mazda CX-7 is the automaker's latest SUV addition. It is said to embrace the 'soul of a sportscar' philosophy of Mazda which means excellent driving dynamics coupled with practical function. It is also equipped with Mazda's Active Torque Split All Wheel Drive system. The latter includes dynamic fuel injection parts Mazda injectors, which are incorporated to Mazda6 MPS.

Mazda Atenza or Mazda6, on one hand, replaced Capella. So far, the diesel-powered vehicle is the first generation of Mazda's stylish, youthful and spirited range. The new BT-50 truck range was given an exciting blend of sophistication and functionality to come up with outstanding and versatile trucks.

Mazda Embraces New Technology

Mazda has released an iPhone app designed to make motorists lives that little bit easier should they break down.

The application is part of their roadside assistance program which enables Mazda drivers to send their breakdown location directly to Mazda by using the app's GPS functionality. This is just the latest example of how the iPhone's functionality is being used to make lives a little bit easier.

The app is free to download for all those who are signed up to Mazda's roadside assistance plan. Once the driver has sent their location through the app they will then have a notification 'pushed' to their iPhone which allows them to concentrate on other matters.

The app has been designed so that it's easy to use - it gathers information about the vehicle through a simple questionnaire so that the roadside assistance team know all the information they need to know.

It currently runs on the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS and is only available in the US - so you will have to keep an eye out to see when it hits the UK.

The first roadside assistance app was introduced by an American road agency. So, keep an eye out for more roadside apps.

You'll also notice a lot of car dealers launching new mobile sites that are designed exclusively for the iPhone. This is so that people can browse through their selection of used cars whilst they are on go. It basically makes their services more convenient and accessible - especially as mobile browsing is really taking off.

Hybrid Cars; Visiting Japanese Auto Makers North American Head Quarters

Japanese Automakers with North American Head Quarters are moving the ball forward and pressing on into the future with new technologies for safety, fuel economy and net-centric systems. Before retiring from the auto aftermarket franchise industry, I took a tour around the nation to see what I had built and visit all our franchisees. During this trip I visited all the all Major Japanese Auto Manufacturers North American Head Quarters as part of our 2002 Victory Tour.

We are seeing a major push by Japanese Auto Makers to re-gain lost ground from post 9-11 lost market share by domestic manufacturers due to the Zero/Zero Financing Strategies of 2001-2002. Toyota had gained incredible market share in late 2002 against Ford, GM and DaimlerChrysler. Toyota started to offer a new SUV option on an old and most popular model. The 4-Runner now with an All-Wheel drive version for add safety and performance. We had the opportunity of going to the Dealership party held by Toyota of North American Corporate to introduce the many Dealership Owners this new vehicle. Also on display were the Hybrid cars and trucks, which were soon be on the lots ready for sale. They are selling many of those models today in 2005 and 2006 models. Toyota's profits were also way up due to the 2001 value of the Yen against the Dollar. The Yen was at an all time low meaning that they could build the cars much cheaper and re-invest much of these profits in R and D projects, some of hit the streets as early as May of 2003 as they released the 2004 models. This will be a war for all manufacturers as the aggressive Japanese Toyota company goes for the gold.

Mitsubishi Motors made quite a run in March, April and May of 2002 by proposing a Zero/Zero/Zero plan. Zero Interest, Zero Down Payment and Zero Payments until 2003 on all Monteros, Gallants, Montegos and Eclipses. No one knew what the fall-out rate would be on these vehicles selling starting in March of 2003 as 90 day delinquent loans go unpaid from Mitsubishi Acceptance Corporation. In hindsight the short-term strategy worked but the fall-out rates were disastrous indeed. Ford Motor Credit had also run into problems on failed auto loans in its major Ford Motor Acceptance Corporations unit. My company was in the business of washing car dealership lots in our Car Wash Guys Dealership Division which washed for many Mitsubishi Dealerships across the nation and counting them out now would not be a good bet as the 2003 models were stacked and the prices were very good compared to the increased prices of Domestic Cars due to import steel tax and fallout rates of bad loans. Even more of a situation exists as Domestic Automakers realize that the new 2003 fallout rates could reach over 8% and therefore have raised prices 10% to counteract this offset.

Nissan had done well in 2000, 2001 and 2002 although had only gained moderate ground against the other manufacturers and most of that came in the light truck market. Infinity did not do as well in 2001-2002 as expected however the major consolidation in the auto dealership industry by AutoNation, United Auto, Auto1, Sonic Automotive and others shielded them from being hurt too bad as they are diversified with all brands from Hyundai to GM. This was a bad year for some manufacturers such as Daewoo, while other brands made good headway. 2001 delivered nearly 17 million cars to Americans and was said to have saved our economy as those sales figures were thrown into the all retail sales categories showing consumer spending good as most retailers had a lousy Christmas in 2001. Nissan did well due to its ability to catch the consumer with flashy light trucks with pizzazz. Excellent marketing if you ask us at the Car Wash Guys, knowing of course that it was pure brilliance.

Mazda did well in early 2001 pre-9-11 due to the gasoline price spike, with its many fuel economy models. But did not do as well during post 9-11 as the domestics took off like a banshee from hell with Zero/Zero and lots of retained earnings to carry them. GMAC took a big bite in Mazda's sales out of the gate in 2002 and Mazda is looked for it's 2004 models to help it catch up in Mid 2003. Mazda also got hurt in the sales to rent-a-car companies and due to its domestic partner and major shareholder putting it in the back seat for now. Mazda Miata's sold excellent between 1999-2002 but not enough to carry the entire company. With a recent brand re-identification under way they missed the boat in early 2002 meanwhile Chrysler and Ford met GM's Zero/Zero and the horse raced out in front during a Buy American post 9-11 craze, the rest was history. We are looked for an excellent return to market position by mid to late 2003 from Mazda and of course their domestic partner as GM's relentless pursuit of the Zero/Zero game slowed down. GM was out in those years to wipe the competition and with the GMAC home division and new housing starts issues if the real estate bubble caused walk always, these other companies may see things rally take off. Good call as we see home sales robust even now in Spring of 2005 and enough to carry the summer. Of course if interest rates hike up and inflation occurs GM made a perfect play and inflation is moving forward and so is the FED with rate hikes, even if money flows out of the country race past inflows. All will be based on Iraq war, so far in 2005 we are 187 Billion into the re-construction of Afghanistan and Iraq and we need those money flows back. North Korean games and Iranian nuclear material standoff and the consumer's over all short-term debt and unemployment realities came up in mid 2003. It is still all up in the air now in 2005.

Honda has had good success all during the 1999-2002 auto sales boom as large city's streets and highways fill up to nearly gridlock. People knowing of Honda reliability and some having been burned in the late 80's with lousy quality would not buy an American car if you paid them. They are extremely loyal to Honda. In my early days in business I had met the Honda Brothers when they came to the US to buy a long range Cessna 150 Aircraft and even then they were very aggressive with the latest and greatest technology. At the time I was selling aircraft, boy has Honda come a long way indeed. Today they maintain new prototypes in all five categories of hybrid cars, from mixed units to pure hydrogen cell, from all electric to thermo-hydrogen-electric, from natural gas to biofuels such as bio-mass methane and ethanol. It is amazing to the secrets they keep in house with composites, finishes and propulsion. Having spent the most of any of the other foreign manufacturers on R and D projects, Honda looks to surpass the efforts of BMW, DaimlerChysler and Ford in all categories of the newest Hydrogen Cell cars of the future. Meanwhile the race continues to sell as many cars possible and amass as much money as possible at all costs from nearly giving cars away on credit with free hamburgers to pay back in the future. All the domestics are hard set on displacing the foreign manufacturers for good or buying them on the cheap in the case of a total collapse of the Japanese economy if the bad loans are realized for what they are under the current political structure which would not only hurt auto manufacturers but also cause heads to roll in banking, securities and government. In 2005 the foreign automakers with their environmentally clean cars are out pacing domestics in those categories presently due to fuel prices. They will out run any bad debts on auto loan fallout rates as the economy is back and people have jobs, the unemployment rate is extremely low in the United States now.

Likewise in the US if domestics are forced to raise prices as consumer fail to repay loans and re-marketers sell 1-2 year old cars on the cheap next to the over inflated prices of new models, we may see a glut three times as big as that of the used car dealerships, as we saw some of this right after 9-11 and some at the time were worried that with no possible option of using financing incentives to bail them out things might get tough, that did not happen and the industry ended up saving our economy in robust sales. If this did take place during a period of slight inflation and fallouts in other financial areas such as credit cards and new homes which were purchased on 2-10% down we could have seen a grouped of upside down consumers with nothing in the way of net worth to make them worthy of a new car and auto prices through the roof to cover bad debts. It would have been a disaster waiting to happen, luckily the Fed Acted properly and the tax cuts kicked in fueling small business investment. One thing is for sure there will be so many cars on the road you will spend 1-2 hours a day in traffic and that means a lot of dirty cars out there for my company to wash? CarWashGuys.com

How did everything get so out of control in 2001-2002 Auto Markets?

It was not all 9-11, it was not great before that as it appeared that 2001 would end with only 14.1-15 million cars sold instead, they did slightly better with 15.1 million cars sold, which was still a disappointment from the 17.1 million of the previous year. However by the end of the Zero-Zero of 2001 the game had changed and the future risks became greater. The real question was this, would there an emerging middle class that was expanding or would it be contracting? If it was expanding and that sector was increasing now from let's say the Hispanic Population, would it be expanding enough to continue this rate of expansion in the auto industry. Can our roads handle more cars? Can our bodies handle more pollution? Are there going to be any big consolidations in the Auto Industry. What are the plans of the European Auto Companies with names like Volvo, Fiat, Jaguar, BMW, Rolls Royce, Volkswagen, Peugeot, Saab, Porsche, will these mergers continue with American Auto Makers? Will one of these be on the leading edge of new technology and leap-frog other companies with Hydrogen Cells? How many cars can our country hold, who will buy them and most of all who will pay for them? All these questions were still out in the wind and we saw a lot of cars coming off the Rent-A-Car lines and hitting re-sale lots. Would cars with two years old dates be worth 1/3 of new due to inflated prices to counteract fallout loan rates on the Zero/Zeros? Would inflation take care of this? Would it not? Lots of dynamics out there and we saw many cards very well placed changing the game in 2001-2003 as we visit the best players of the greatest game ever created; The Free Market, and no industry contains more out for blood players than the Auto Industry...God we love the game. God Bless the players, our customers and the Game. And folks that is what the Auto Industry was all about in 2001-2003 and now you can see why things are the way they are now as the Auto Dealers and Manufacturers move into hybrid fuel efficiency and net-centric electronics in the 2005-2006 models. The auto industry is a huge important factor in the health of our economy; Think about it.

What Constitutes a Chick Car?

When Henry Ford first started producing automobiles to realize his dream of a car for the common man, a car was, well, a car. Although an object of desire, it was still an object. It did not have a persona nor did it have a gender. Although in the early days, most of the drivers were men. However, the invention of the electric starter put women in the driver's seat.

And once women started to drive cars it naturally followed that sooner or later women would start to buy cars. So men bought cars, women bought cars and couples bought cars together. However, along with technology, car manufacturing became more and more sophisticated in its effort to appeal to a buying public. At first, we heard the words sports car, sedan, luxury car, hardtop, and convertible.
Then not so long ago, the phrase "guy car" and "chick car" started to pop up. These categories were established by young buyers not by grandmothers driving Lincoln Continentals or soccer moms in a SUV.

So just what is a "chick car?" It is not, as the name might suggest, a means of transport for chickens. It is a car owned and driven by women but not all women. However, it is hard to define, as there are so many definitions. Urban dictionary defines a chick car as "a car that is mostly driven by females, but is occasionally driven by males."

As an example, they cite the Volkswagen Beetle. However, Volkswagen sold over a million Beetles, so some men must have driven them more than occasionally. Another definition given is "a car that looks sporty, but has an automatic transmission," with the accompanying remark that "no man with two legs would ever drive a car with an automatic transmission." Again, many men own and drive cars with automatic transmissions.

A third classification reads "any sports car that is available only with a four-cylinder engine and an automatic transmission. While the automatic transmission is questionable, the four-cylinder engine has some validity, as men are known to favor powerful engines where as women consider economy. In analyzing the buying habits of men and women who love and buy sports cars, most women limit their purchases to $30,000.00 while men shoot for the $100,000 mark.

Another definition reads, "Any car painted in pink, light blue, or champagne is a chick car." This might be more meaningful as it is difficult to imagine a Fortune 500 executive, a truck driver, or a construction worker behind the wheel of a pink car.

And finally a "chick car" can be categorized according to the buyer's perception. The car has to be perceived as reliable - a car that can be depended on to make it to its destination. In this category, most Japanese cars were identified as "chick cars" while British cars were categorized as "guy cars."

Examples that have been given of "chick cars" in addition to most Japanese cars, are the new VW Beetle in any color but black (black makes it a guy car); the Mazda Miata, the VW Rabbit convertible, and the VW Jetta.

However, in the final analysis, "chick car" may be synonymous with beauty. It is all in the eyes of the beholder.

Will The Partnership Between Pontiac And BMW Prosper?

Pontiac, which has been introduced as the 'companion' marque to GM's Oakland Motor Car line by General Motors in the year 1926, has been the subject of recent speculation in the automotive industry. The speculation involves the issue of probable partnership between Pontiac and BMW. The hype was intensified by General Motors czar, Bob Lutz when he said that he wants to make Pontiac the "American BMW".

Pontiac is a mid-level brand in the GM lineup. It features sporty and youthful vehicles with high-performance Pontiac performance parts that are sold at reasonable prices. The pioneer General Motors Pontiac was the six cylinder model which was not designed to compete with four cylinder models.

BMW, on the other hand, is a renowned automaker. It has more than 10 years experience in manufacturing Z3 and Z4. Its name has already gained not only fame but reputation in vehicle manufacturing. Some critics are having qualms about the partnership issue because they are thinking that BMW will not allow such thing.

With the announcement of Lutz of his desire to combine Pontiac and BMW capabilities, the automobile fanatics expressed mixed reaction. Some consider the idea laughable in the light of the company's recent lineup. On the other side of it, some are looking forward for the accomplishment of said endeavor.

Auto Bild, a German car magazine has also publicized its speculation about a down-market Z-car to slot just below the Z4, where the original 4-cylinder Z3 was just a tad larger than the MX-5 Miata, the next-generation Z4 moved up significantly in size and price.

The partnership of the two automakers may be impossible to some but there is still a great possibility for it. Mazda MX-5 Miata. Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice are intriguing vehicles. Their sales percentage is constantly growing. Nonetheless, if the partnership of the two automakers prospers, the query that must be contemplated is whether people would actually shop.

Cleaning Your Auto Floor Mats

You may have equipped your car with the most expensive auto floor mat around, but how sure are you that it does its job right? Though expensive mats don't always mean the best in the market, those expensive ones are usually the high-end items. Usually they are made up of tough and enduring materials which make the item in expensive.

Auto floor mats are very important accessories to keep your car clean, this is a fact. If you want to protect your car's flooring and upholstery from the hazards of foreign materials, weathering and dirt particles that can cause stains and damages, you should provide your car with good mats.

Good mats on the other hand are expensive. This is the main reason why most car owners purchase universal mats or substandard mats for their car's flooring thinking that they can save money in purchasing affordable ones over those quality ones.

Some car owners however, really invest in purchasing good accessories for their vehicle. They provide their vehicle with those high-end floor mats not just to protect the car's interior but also to provide beauty and elegance inside the vehicle. If you are one of the many people who really invest in purchasing quality over price, then you have all the reason in the world to take care of those expensive items you purchase.

This article will give you auto floor mat maintenance and cleaning tips to give your expensive mats longer life.

Cleaning your auto mat is a simple task, and will only take about 10 minutes of your time. Follow these steps and enjoy that clean and comfortable feeling.

Step1. Take off the mats from your car and place it on a hard flat surface. Rinse off all the dirt from the mat using a high pressure hose. Rinse thoroughly.

Step2. Shake off the excess water and let the mat dry.

Step3. Spray a rubber protectant on the mat; make sure you spray its entire surface. Wipe the mat using microfiber towels. Then add vinyl protectants once more on dry areas.

That's it, a clean auto floor mat for a comfortable ride.

New Roadster Coupe Model For Mazda MX-5

The British International Motor Show has become the venue for many auto manufacturers to bring to the public's and the motoring world's knowledge new inventions, innovations, cars, and vehicles. And because this is such, many car followers and aficionados have certainly made sure that they attend such great events.

And for the 2006 British International Motor Show, the Mazda Motor Corporation is out to make sure that the motoring public knows one of their newest creations - the Mazda MX-5 Roadster Coupe. The company even presents this newest vehicle as a vehicle that "opens up a new dimension of fun and versatility for people who love open top sports cars." Something you surely would be looking forward to.

The Mazda MX-5 is known by other names. Do not be confused but all the following names refer to only this roadster - Mazda Miata, Eunos Roadster, and Mazda Roadster. It has been built using the FR convertible and has been produced since 1989. The MG F, Pontiac Solstice, Toyota MR2, and Saturn Sky are a couple of vehicles in the market that compete greatly with this Mazda roadster. Keep in mind, though, that this new one that the auto manufacturer would be sending out is actually part of the third generation of Mazda MX-5s. Owners find it easy to locate replacement parts and performance parts for even the newest models. Where you can find auto parts Mazda Navajo is also where you can most certainly find parts and accessories for this cool roadster.

With the new Mazda MX-5, any driver could surely enjoy the performance that this car could bring out. The style is also unique and quite breath-taking. But for this new model of the Mazda MX-5 Roadster Coupe, anyone who looks at it would find that it holds the exemplary Power Retractable Hard Top. This hard top is actually the very first of all hard tops to be electrically retractable. And yes, it does not take up much space when the top is down.