32 MAY 2020 ~ CAR AND DRIVER
PHOTO^ ILLUSTRATIONS:^ HUMMER^BYRADOVAN^VARICAK,^ MAZDAANDFORDBYBEN^SUMMERELL-YOUDE/FOXSYNDICATION2023 Mazda 6
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azda’s recent upmarket ambitions had us worried. The
mid-luxury market stopped being friendly about 40
years ago. (How’s Oldsmobile doing these days?) But
just when we thought Mazda had truly lost the plot, the
company looks ready to redeem itself. Most automakers
competing in the middle ground dress up mainstream
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a more pretentious designer. Bucking that trend, Mazda plans to
adopt the blueprint of a full luxury model and hang a lower price on
it. The next-generation 6 , which should be on sale by the end of 20 22,
is set to get a full Bavarian, transitioning to a longitudinal-engine
platform with rear-wheel drive and an inline-six.
That engine won’t just be a new layout for Mazda. It will incorpo-
rate the company’s Skyactiv-X sort-of-compression-ignition gasoline
technology as well as a 48-volt hybrid system. We’ve seen numbers
approaching 350 horsepower thrown around. If that sounds like an
unrealistic R&D load for a company Mazda’s size, well, yeah, it is.
However, Mazda has lately been deepening its ties with Toyota, which
may adopt the six-cylinder Skyactiv-X for the next-generation Lexus
IS and RC. With Toyota’s budget, Mazda engineers could probably
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You already have a pretty good idea of what this car will look like.
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Tokyo auto show. That long-hood, short-deck showpiece was clearly
projecting rear-drive intent, cloaked in an evolution of Mazda’s
seductive styling language with softened lines and subtler forms.
There’s even a chance that Mazda will mimic Lexus and put the
inline-six into both four- and two-door bodies. Rewind two years
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car concept with a hood way longer than necessary for the Wankel
rotary the company was imagining at the time. Few things cement
an upmarket image better than a rear-drive sports coupe. But a rear-
Q_VcR`]\_a``RQN[V`N¼[R`aN_aa\\—Jared Gall2022 GMC Hummer EV SUT
WHAT IT IS A revival of the brand per-
sonified by Arnold Schwarzenegger at
his beefiest, now an offshoot of GMC
and ready to repent for its gas-guz-
zling past with an electric pickup.
WHY IT MATTERS Having learned a les-
son from the Volt plug-in hybrid and
Bolt EV, GM is finally recognizing what
Tesla has long known: Electric vehi-
cles should appeal to our hearts, not
just our consciences. Consider this a
turning point, with the era of dorky
econobox electrics on its way out.
PLATFORM The Hummer will pack
GM’s new low-cost Ultium lithium-ion
battery between the frame rails of an
EV-specific truck platform.
POWERTRAIN GMC says there will be
one-, two-, and three-motor versions
with up to 1000 horsepower and a
60-mph time as low as 3.0 seconds.
A 200.0-kWh battery should allow
between 300 and 400 miles of range.
COMPETITION Ford F-150 EV, Rivian
R1T, Tesla Cybertruck, creatine.
WHAT MIGHT GO WRONG The pickup-
truck segment, where buyers shop
based on capability beyond what they
regularly use, seems the least ready
for electrification. Today’s truck own-
ers might not be willing to make the
switch, especially at what certainly
will be a higher price point and with
a range that could be appalling when
towing and hauling.
ESTIMATED ARRIVAL AND PRICE Fa l l 2 0 2 1 ,
from $50,000 to nearly $100,000.Format Changes
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