i wish i could take credit, but my friend Vlad noticed this
read the caption


MaDza's upcoming 3???????
whats that about.

I think it wil just look like the blue car as turbonium 959 said. The mirrors and door handles and the shape and placement of the side blinker are all identical in the two photos.

that one looks good. i like that.

AWD please!!!

it doesnt have enough power behind it for AWD, make it rear wheel and it'll kick some ass. give it 215 horses and then we'll talk about AWD.

-Jason

if subaru can have AWD cars with 165hp (and much less than that in the old days), so can mazda.

yes, i've got wood for subaru right now.

Kind of makes you wonder. It ain't no Porsche.

2.3 l engine (Duratec HE) in current Mazda6 can be rather easliy bumped to 175hp with out going to turbos etc.
175 hp AWD Mazda 3 would be realistic car and a blast to drive!!!
Than add on some aftermarket intake/exhaust and gain another 5-10 hp and we have 185 hp in a MAZDA 3 AWD all for .....
hopefully no more than $20K.
Can it happen?

the 2.3l is not a duratec

mazda 6
 

that is just the european mazda 6 wagon.

It's the same as Euro-Ford Mondeo 2.3 l DuratecHE, at least it comes out of the same program as Ford/Mazda new global 4-cylinder group of engines which Ford calls DuratecHE and if Mazda calls it differently so what it's the same thing anyway.
Ford for some reason did not what to use VVT technology on their US version (2003 Focus/2002 Ranger), only Ford knows how to treat North American car market as a third category one.
Mazda6 gets it along with some improvements around engine mounts to smooth it out even more (I've heard a few people complaining about engine noise on the M6!!!???)

call it a "Duratec" (in quotes)... because this engine is 100% mazda designed and Ford has nothing to do with it

there is no engine noise with the Mazda6... just the exhaust noise which was done on purpose to be "sporty"

Re: mazda 6
 

nope. different front end and it's way shorter than a 6.

That is not correct. The engine WAS designed by Ford many years ago. This engine has it roots in Fords involvement in Formula 1. Mazda was tasked to refine the old design and help with the HUGE job of making the launch of this engine a success.... Things such as making sure many of the parts on the various sized engines are interchangeable and stay that way, to keep cost down. Like heads, rods, pistons, bearings, etc.

Mazda did however design the variable cam timing system in use on the Mazda6 2.3L engine which they call SV-T (Sequential Valve Timing). Under their agreement with Ford, Mazda has the rights to this technology.

On another note, I am part owner of Duratec Performance... as our name implies, we specialize in performance parts for the Duratec line of engines. We will be ramping up on parts for the 2.3L engine here in the next month or so. We just have to wait until we receive our Mazda6i 2.3L and Focus PZEV 2.3L By the time the next Protege comes out (Mazda3) we will have a broad range or parts for the engine and a very good understanding of what works and what does not.

Our site is still in development, but come check us out:

www.DuratecPerformance.com


Thanks,


Nikolas

I've driven the Mazda 6s, and there is engine noise and exhaust noise. But the engine was relatively quiet, especially when compared with the Protege. It is still one of the more loud cars in its class. Fortunately for Mazda, the Taurus, Accord, and Camry all pretty much suck when compared with it.

And would someone please tell me where the hell Ford called this a Duratec? Because Duratec was only used, in the US, on the DOHC V6 motors. I would think they would call it a Zetec. Either way the name is a bunch of marketing BS, which I noticed they were not using for the new Ranger. They are are just calling it a DOHC 16-Valve I4.

I driven both the V6 and I4 versions of the Mazda6

the I4 one has NO SOUND AT ALL coming from the engine compartment

the V6 sounds brute force from the front and back... and who the hell cares? you bought a sports sedan, not a boat