All About Japan Autos

2009 Model Mazda 2 Three Door 2008 Geneva Auto Show

No longer is it seen as environmentally responsible to toss around terms like “zoom-zoom” in the cavalier manner typical of, say, 2001. Now it’s “sustainable zoom-zoom,” and says James Muir, CEO of Mazda Motors Europe, that means a “focus on the minute and painstaking weight reduction of every component.”

Sounds painful, but on the 2009 Mazda 2 three-door hatchback (which joins the previously released five-door), it’s good for a 220-pound weight reduction over the previous model, says Muir. For a car that’s 153.5 inches long (2 inches shorter than a Honda Fit) with a 98-inch wheelbase (1.5 inches longer than a Fit), this is quite significant.

Mazda broke up what could have been a rather dry, number-y press conference with a performance by the Infidels, who like the Strokes, come across as a modern-day repackaging of the Stones — right down to their moves on stage. Mazda, conveniently, is sponsoring their 2008 European tour