Mazda has finally released pricing for the all new 2009 Mazda6. The MSRP for the 2009 Mazda6 i SV will be an inexpensive $18,550. So what do you get for your money? The 2009 Mazda6 i SV will come with a 170-horsepower 2.5 liter I-4 engine and will be mated with a 6-speed manual transmission. Then you have the more powerful 2009 Mazda6 s which will come with a 273 horsepower V6 engine and this version will be mated with a six-speed Sport AT automatic transmission. The MSRP of the 2009 Mazda s will start at $24,130. Mazda will release the Mazda6 in late August 2008.

Four trim levels will be offered to the consumer; SV, Sport, Touring, and Grand Touring and all trim levels will have optional equipment. Of course all manufacturers offer standard equipment regardless of trim level and the Mazda6 is no exception. The standard features include; air-conditioning, power windows, mirrors and door locks, anti-lock brakes (ABS), dynamic stability control, traction control, frontal and seat-mounted airbags for driver and front passenger, side air-curtain airbags for front and rear seat passengers and a tire-pressure monitoring system.

2009 Mazda6

Source: [Mazda]

The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) rates cars every year based on the cars fuel efficiency. At a time in our country when gas prices are over $4.00/gallon I thought it would be appropriate to look at the numbers and give a breakdown of fuel economy by class. In the list the Toyota Prius is getting the best fuel economy of any car in any class because it gets 48 miles city and 45 highway. Also the list is so dominated by Japanese cars that it makes it extremely appropriate to report this list just for the fact it fits in with the theme of this blog.

This list is a complete list of each automobile that is the top in its class for the 2008 model year. A complete list (Japanese cars only) can be found on our post “Fuel Economy: 2008 Japanese Automobile Models (Part 1: The Small Cars)” and ending with “Fuel Economy: 2008 Japanese Automobile Models (Part 6: The Hybrids)”

2008 Top Fuel Efficient Cars by Class:

Source: [EPA]

Forbes just came out with a list of the 10 Toughest Cars on the Road. Eight of the ten cars on the list are Japanese cars, five of the cars were from Honda and one from Honda’s other division Acura. If you look at the list none of the cars are from the domestic auto manufacturers. Of course with a list like this there will be naysayers to the list. People will always point out flaws in these lists and will call the list flawed no matter who or what is on the list. Do I personally think the list is accurate? As someone who loves most of the cars made by the Japanese manufacturers I would have to say yes. Since I live in Marysville, Ohio where a lot of the Honda branded cars are built here I am a little biased. Not to mention that I have driven almost all of these Honda cars including the most of the Acura models available. The big winner of the list is the 2008 Honda Odyssey and is a vehicle I personally own. Of all these cars on the list all of them get great gas mileage in their perspective class and are extremely reliable.

Without further adieu I give you the list!

10 Toughest Cars on the Road

1. Honda Odyssey
2. Honda Accord
3. Toyota Highlander
4. Honda Civic
5. Honda Pilot
6. Audi A4
7. Honda CR-V
8. Volvo XC90
9. Subaru Forester
10. Acura RDX

2008 Honda Odyssey – Toughest Car on the Road (According to Forbes)

Source: [Forbes]

Sorry about the chart the left side got cut off. All data is present though!

The 2009 Honda FCX Clarity which started to be leased in the United States this month will also begin getting leased in Japan in November 2008. It seems pretty odd to me that a car that is built in Japan will be leased to the United States first than to the Japan. With the weak dollar maybe it is more cost effective for Honda to do so. Anyway the FCX Clarity in Japan will be limited to government agencies and certain corporate customers. Here in the states only 200 of this hydrogen powered cars will be leased out to customers.

The FCX Clarity is powered by a fuel cell stack that takes hydrogen and mixes it with oxygen to form energy. Other technologies in the 2009 Honda FCX Clarity include, bio fabrics, climate controlled seats, Shift-by-Wire technology, and an extra rear window for greater visibility.

2009 Honda FCX Clarity

Below is a chart for the Japan only model of the 2009 Honda FCX Clarity:

Source: [Honda]

Back in April Suzuki released a press release stating that they would offer a Navigation Technology package as standard on all of their new 2009 Suzuki SX4 Sport and 2009 Suzuki SX4 Crossover. Suzuki got such an overwhelming response because of the announcement that they decided to add the navigation package on all of current 2008 SX4 models too. This new package deal will be offered on a special edition 2008 Suzuki SX4 Sport and SX4 Crossover.

The technology known as Suzuki TRIP (Travel, Real-time traffic, Information and Play) is a collaboration between Suzuki and Garmin. The system itself is a flip-up 4.3 inch screen display and is fully integrated into the vehicles audio system. Along with the hardware the device is equipped with MP3 player, mapping software, and preloaded information that includes; hotels, restaurants, gasoline stations, ATMS, and over 500 Suzuki dealerships throughout the U.S. Also available is an expansion module that provides reviews for things like hotels, shopping, nightlife, sporting events, and other tourist attractions.

The MSRP on the special edition 2008 Suzuki SX4 is right around $15,999 and according to Suzuki is the first automobile anywhere that offers the navigation package as standard on any vehicle priced under $16,000.

2008 Suzuki SX4 Crossover and Sport

Source: [Suzuki]