Mazda Previews Straight-six, Affirms Upcoming Crossover With Toyota Hybrid System

Mazda previews straight-six, affirms upcoming crossover with Toyota hybrid system

Buried in Mazda's generally bleak second-quarter earnings report were a few juicy nuggets of news. Though the company had an operating loss of $502 million and sales are down 21 percent in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hiroshima-based firm has big plans for the future. Enthusiasts and environmentalists alike should take note.

Firstly, Mazda showed an image of its upcoming straight-six engine. Essentially, it's the SkyActiv four that powers all of Mazda's current lineup, but with two additional cylinders. Unsurprisingly, the company says that it can be engineered to fit any of the current SkyActiv guises — the standard octane-variable gasoline powered G, the diesel D, and the sparkless-ignition X. The big six will pair with a new eight-speed automatic and can be combined with either a plug-in or 48-volt mild hybrid system, promising big power and efficiency.

Suicides Up In Japan For Fourth Straight Month

Suicides up in Japan for fourth straight month

The number of suicides in Japan rose for a fourth straight month in October.

The National Police Agency says the number of people who took their lives last month was 2,153, up 39.9 percent from a year earlier. The monthly total is the highest in the past five years.

Toyota Gazoo Wins 24 Hours Le Mans For 3rd Straight Year

Toyota Gazoo wins 24 Hours Le Mans for 3rd straight year

LE MANS, France — Toyota Gazoo's No. 8 car comfortably won the 24 Hours Le Mans by five laps from Rebellion No. 1 on Sunday to secure a third straight victory in the prestigious endurance race.

It was also a third consecutive win for Swiss driver Sébastien Buemi and Japan's Kazuki Nakajima driving. Brendon Hartley was the other driver, having replaced two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso.

Tokyo Cases Top 100 For 3rd Straight Day

Tokyo cases top 100 for 3rd straight day

The Tokyo metropolitan government says 131 new coronavirus cases were confirmed in the capital on Saturday. That's the highest since the state of emergency was lifted on May 25. It marks the third straight day with over 100 cases and brings Tokyo's total to 6,654.

Officials are telling people to be careful when visiting nighttime entertainment spots where a number of clusters have been found. They advise choosing bars or nightclubs that are taking steps against the virus.

Mazda6 Rumored To Get Straight-six And Rear-wheel Drive

Mazda6 rumored to get straight-six and rear-wheel drive

Last June, Japan's Best Car magazine laid out what we considered a whopper series of rumors about future Mazda developments. The mag said it had been speaking to a Toyota source on an unrelated matter, and found out that Mazda's work on a straight-six Skyactiv engine was predicated on that engine's use in Toyota Group vehicles, including Lexus models. Car and Driver has apparently consulted its own sources, and in a new report utters many of the same pronouncements as Best Car. The next-generation Mazda6, due around 2022, will molt out of its transverse engines on a front-driver platform, and be the first home for the longitudinally-mounted straight-six on the automaker's new rear-wheel drive "Large Architecture." 

The gas-powered Skyactiv-X six-cylinder, a shade under 3 liters of displacement, will get help from a 48-volt hybrid system, and top output could hit 350 horsepower. A second straight-six will come in an oil-burning Skyactiv-D flavor, and PHEVs are certain to eventually factor into the equations.

Japan Ghg Emissions Down For 5 Straight Years

Japan GHG emissions down for 5 straight years

Japan's Environment Ministry says the country's greenhouse gas emissions were down for the fifth straight year in fiscal 2018.

The ministry says domestic emissions in the fiscal year that ended in March 2019 amounted to a carbon dioxide equivalent of 1.24 billion tons.