'14 Mazda6 will drop V-6 engine
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LOS ANGELES -- The Mazda6 sedan will shed its V-6 engine in the redesign scheduled for the 2014 model year.
The third-generation Mazda6 will be sold with four-cylinder engines only, according to spokesman Jeremy Barnes. V-6s in mid-sized sedans are losing favor as automakers develop powerful and efficient four-cylinder engines, he said.
The 2014 Mazda6 will get a lightweight sporty chassis, high-compression direct-injection four-cylinder engines, new transmissions and other elements of what Mazda calls Skyactiv technology.
"We believe that the balance of fuel economy and power that Skyactiv offers is what customers want," Barnes wrote in an e-mail.
The redesigned Mazda6, due to arrive in the United States in the first quarter of 2013, will be built in Hiroshima, Japan, and sold globally, Barnes said. The current Mazda6 is assembled in the AutoAlliance International Inc. plant in Flat Rock, Mich., which is owned equally by Mazda and Ford Motor Co.
The 2014 Mazda6's sheet metal is expected to adopt the Mazda Takeri concept car's wide stance, muscular fenders and trapezoidal grille, which is the face of Mazda's next-generation vehicles.
The only other Mazda vehicle sold in the United States with a V-6 is the CX-9 mid-sized crossover. Barnes declined to comment on whether V-6s will be developed for Skyactiv vehicles.
Said Barnes: "I can't say that there won't be a Skyactiv V-6 in the future, but there is no plan to offer one in Mazda6 at this time."
You can reach Ryan Beene at rbeene@crain.com. -- Follow Ryan on 
