MazdaUSA - ZOOM-ZOOM - Magazine

THE ALL-NEW MAZDA6 PROVES ITS METTLE ON A GRAND TOUR OF TESTING

The new MAZDA6 has gone through much more than a facelift. The development team worked for years with the mindset that they were creating a 100 percent original work of art, designed to far exceed North American customer expectations-and the reach of the competition. They raised the game of the car on all levels, then tested the heck out of it.

BAPTISM BY FIRE AND ICE
When the MAZDA6 hits showrooms in the fall, it'll be the culmination of an epic journey of more than a million miles, testing drivability, durability-every aspect of performance. Engineers put the car through its paces on test tracks and road trips along the most challenging routes and under the most extreme conditions North America has to offer.

"We traveled all through the U.S.-you name it, a MAZDA6 prototype has probably been there," says Hiroshi Kajiyama, MAZDA6 Program Manager. "Trips to Canada and Mexico, too."

For engineers who want to feel the heat (or high ambient temperatures, as they might say), there's no better place than Death Valley, California, where the car's performance was put to the test at 122ºF. At the other end of the spectrum is Thompson, Manitoba; the engineers felt the need to prove the car's extreme cold mettle by burning through this unforgiving land of ice and snow at temperatures of -13ºF and below.

GOING INCOGNITO
The MAZDA6 prototypes ran in packs of three during these top-secret test drives, with around 10 engineer handlers. The engineers left their white lab coats at the office to be inconspicuous, but the cars, taped up with camouflage, still garnered unwanted attention wherever they went.

We had to hide the instrument panel when we stopped for gas," Kajiyama tells us. To solve the problem, the high-tech team employed a decidedly low-tech solution: "We placed a bath towel over it," he says.

What did you say when people asked you about the car? "We're all Japanese, so we just kind of pretended we didn't understand English," Kajiyama says with a smile.

AMERICA IN MIND
Before pen hit paper, the engineering team listened carefully to North American drivers, Mazda dealers, engineers and designers. After extensive interviews, a clear picture of the needs of American drivers emerged.

We do much more driving on highways than Mazda owners in many other countries, and we demand a smoother, quieter drive.

"American drivers want to be enveloped in a cocoon," says Greg Brown, Auto Alliance General Manager, New Model Programs & Launch Coordination. "We have not only created the quietest cabin yet, both in terms of road noise and wind noise, but the driver interaction in the cockpit is amazing." As for the interior, Kajiyama adds that "with gradual illumination of the instruments, it's like the dawn of a new day."

With the longer distances American drivers tend to travel, we encounter more varied terrain, so we also demand better handling.

"The MAZDA6 has the Zoom-Zoom responsiveness, and the sense of security and safety that Americans demand," says Kajiyama. "Add to that the available blind-spot detection system, and it's an unprecedented package."

WORLD TOUR
Just some of the places the MAZDA6 has already been around the world

Hiroshima, Hokkkaido, Mine & Miyoshi, Japan
Phoenix, Arizona
San Antonio, Texas
Acapulco, Mexico
Detroit, Michigan
Naples, Florida
Denver, Colorado
Las Vegas, Nevada
Thompson & Winnipeg, Manitoba
Bemidji, Minnesota
Mexico City, Mexico
Chicago, Illinois