Many brands now have a claim of some sort to use for fuel economy marketing, which likely means all of them will advertise fuel efficiency, making the issue so confusing that it might no longer be effective for selling cars. Buyers will assume that fuel economy is a given in the entire class of vehicles and forgo the very real nuances.
Mazda North American today announced at the Los Angeles Auto Show that the racing version of the 2014 Mazda6 diesel would make its motorsports debut at the Rolex 24 endurance race in January 2013 in Daytona Beach, Florida. The Japanese automaker also confirmed accurate commentary by AutoInformed earlier this year that said the racing program would help promote a new Mazda6 diesel sedan, which will join gasoline engine versions next year. (Read AutoInformed on Mazda to Race Diesel Engines in U.S. Grand Am GX and Mazda to Supply Diesel Engines for 2013 Le Mans 24 Hour)
This will be the first time a diesel-powered vehicle of any type has ever raced at Daytona in a new Grand-Am GX class that has no other makers thus far, although it would seem a natural for Volkswagen with its diesel technology. More importantly, this will also be the first time that a Japanese automaker offers an up-to-date diesel engine for U.S. road use.
Honda, once considered an innovator in powertrains, looked at bringing a diesel engine into the U.S. for years, but ultimately decided against the option. Even though Honda has been quite successful with diesels in Europe where taxpayer subsidies for oil burners abound, Honda claims, with more than some justification, that it was never able to make a business case in the U.S. because of the continuing lackluster feelings towards premium-priced diesel engines among buyers as well as the higher cost of diesel fuel. Whatever it is worth, the Mazda6 diesel now has clear track and/or road ahead of it, at least among Japanese family car offerings.
Mazda badly needs a U.S. sales boost. Year-to-date Mazda has sold 31,000 of the older design Mazda6 sedan in a segment dominated by the newly revised Toyota Camry and Honda Accord models, both of which are currently selling almost 30,000 units a month, as well as the Nissan Altima, at 26,000 a month. Mazda total U.S. sales are up 9% to 228,00 in a market that is up 14% at 12 million light cars and trucks ytd.
This family car market has never been more competitive, nor have the products been as sophisticated – good news for buyers, but not automakers and their shareholders, where the bulk of midsize retail transaction prices are in the $22,000 to $30,000 range. (Read Offshore Brands Hold Share in U.S. Auto Sales During Stormy October)
The potential Mazda “unique’ selling proposition here is an engine line-up that includes the badly named Skyactiv-d 2.2. This efficient and powerful diesel engine has stop/start technology and is now rated as the most efficient engine in its Japanese class, if you exclude hybrid models that capital-constrained Mazda conspicuously lacks. The new Japanese market Atenza, aka Mazda6, is equipped with the 2.2-liter diesel that is rated on a Japanese test cycle (JC08) at 22.4 km/L – translation: that’s 52 mpg! – with a 6-speed manual transmission and 20 km/L when fitted with a 6-speed automatic transmission. EPA fuel economy numbers for what will be called the 2014 model Mazda6 are not yet available but are targeted to be class leading.
Mazda in the U.S. has the makings of a “best in class mpg” marketing campaign here, along with another leading performance claim resulting from the diesel’s torque and acceleration. The only competition in the class is the 2-liter Volkswagen Passat diesel, which is now rated at 34 mpg combined on the EPA cycle.
